Personal

Your Name

Dennis O'Connor

Website

http://wiredinstructor.net

Location

San Marcos, California

About Yourself

Dennis O'Connor is K-12 teacher, professional development
specialist, online educator, and educational technology consultant with
33 years of classroom experience. As a district Language Arts
Coordinator he organized teacher training in the Writing Process and
the 6-Traits Writing Model. As a computer coordinator he established
the first email system and computerized business labs in his district.

Dennis
taught 7/8 language arts and technology for 15 years at Kingsbury
Middle School, at Lake Tahoe Nevada where his students scored top in
the state for three years in a row on the (traits based) State
Analytical Writing test. The core-based technology infused curriculum
he designed at Kingsbury was recognized when the school was named the
Nevada National Technology Spotlight School for 2000.

In 1995, groundbreaking work in technology infused interdisciplinary teaching led to a Milken Educator Award.
After working online with the ISTE, National Educational Technology
Standards Project in 1998, Mr. O'Connor became a project writer
developing units of practice for ISTE-NETS, Connecting Curriculum and Technology. Dennis remains active as a product lead reviewer, subject matter expert, and project writer for ISTE.

In 2001 he earned an MS. in Online Teaching and Learning from California State University, East Bay
(formerly CSU Hayward) where he taught graduate students for several
years. In 2005, Dennis earned an M.Ed in Instructional Design and
Technology Integration at Western Governors University. His undergraduate degree is in English from the University of California, Berkeley.
In addition to teaching Mr. O'Connor has worked as a builder, freelance
magazine writer, corporate training director, and educational
technology consultant.

Dennis was recently named Program Coordinator for the UW-Stout E-Learning and Online Teaching Program.
In addition to overseeing this new program, he also teaches two classes
for the Online Professional Development Program at the University of Wisconsin-Stout. His courses: Teaching and Assessing Writing with the 6-Traits and E-Learning for Educators are electives in the UW-Stout Online Master of Education program.

Dennis also works as an online curriculum development specialist for the 21st Century Information Fluency Program, which is part of the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy's educator professional development program. Currently he is creating content and editing the Full Circle Resource Kit for IMSA.

After
living in the Sierra Nevada Mountains at Lake Tahoe, California for
nearly 30 years, Dennis has moved to San Marcos near San Diego
California. In his spare time Dennis enjoys snorkeling, swimming,
gardening, and spending time with his family.

History

Member for

4 years 38 weeks