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E-Mail: bober@mail.sdsu.edu Assistant Professor; educational consultant (generally specializing in K-12 related projects)
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E-Mail:
bober@mail.sdsu.edu Assistant Professor;
educational consultant (generally specializing in K-12
related projects)
|
I was raised in Simi Valley (long before it became home to the Ronald Reagan library and known for the Rodney King trial) and watched it grow from a small bedroom community to a real city. I was a teenager during the late '60s and early '70s, and lived through exciting, disturbing, and memorable political times ... but I was lucky enough to witness my own community move from county control to cityhood -- an interesting struggle of different interests, perspectives, and visions. After my high school graduation, I attended UC-Santa Barbara, and then the University of Oregon. My undergraduate career was completely undistinguished; nonetheless, I learned enough to settle into teaching at-risk students, first with San Diego City Schools and later with the Grossmont Union High School District. In 1988, I decided that a master's degree was essential for the goals I had set for myself ... but I found SDSU's EdTech program quite by accident. My real ambition was to become a great writer, but my partner (Bill) urged me to study something that would let me earn "real money." Though I made the decision to earn a doctorate long before I finished the master's degree, I thought it best to take a brief hiatus and rediscover my family and friends. So ... it wasn't until 1992 that I left for Arizona State University and the Learning and Instructional Technology (LNT) program. For five years -- both while I was in school and after graduation -- I commuted between Ahwatukee (a neighborhood on the southeast edge of Phoenix) and San Diego; in 1997, we decided the costs of maintaining two homes simply didn't outweigh the benefits ... so we we sold our desert home and returned to full-time living in San Diego. |
Since 1992, I've
done extensive consulting -- a "home-based" business I fell
into initially because I needed to find work that meshed
with my doctoral studies at ASU. I stayed with it after
graduation because I liked having options, learning new
skills, living "on the edge," and sharing with others
important tips I've learned along the way. I've developed
all sorts of materials ... some quite boring and mundane
(for a real thrill, be sure to read the GED practice tests
published by Cliffs Notes) ... others quite exciting and of
which I'm very proud (a workers' compensation fraud
awareness course that's presented all over the state). An
abbreviated vitae
is available for review, along with slides associated with
recent presentations at the American
Evaluation Assocation
(November, 1999), National
Educational Computing Conference
(June, 2000), and Society
for Instructional Technology & Teacher
Education
(March, 2000). I've been teaching
in the Department continuously since Fall '96, and I'm
appreciative of the opportunities I've been afforded. I'm
directly involved in the evaluation of several technology
infusion grants in place in local-area school districts, as
well as one that targets the emerging technology practices
of SDSU's preservice teachers. I'm involved in the design of
workshops to improve the tactical skills of school police
officers (training mandated by state law), and the
evaluation of a program designed to improve the ID skills of
peace officer instructors. I try to select projects that
reflect my views of professional development and the
competencies we all need to meet the demands of today's
workplace. If I had the time,
I'd go back to school again ... first to study business
management (since over the years, I've learned that my
abilities as an instructional design far outweigh my
strengths at managing finances) and then to become a
forensic scientist!
My limited spare
time is devoted to caring for Bill and our brood of animals
-- five dogs, three cats, six fish). I've outlined several
stories about the dog pack (most of them featuring William
Tecumseh Sherman, pictured here), but still haven't found a
publisher. (Good thing I'm not easily deterred!) I'm also an avid
distance runner, but my last marathon finishing time was
less than spectacular. For now, I'm focusing on
half-marathons, including the La Jolla Half and America's
Finest City. Maybe I'll make to the New York Marathon in
2001 ...
Last updated on August 11,
2000.
This is a personal home page and does not represent the opinions
of San Diego State University.
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