Biography

I have been a designer, developer and manager of informational and instructional systems for over 40 years.  I worked in the corporate world for 26 years before transitioning to higher education 14 years ago.  I have worked for Westinghouse Electric, NCR, Ariel Performance Centered Systems, Otterbein University and finally at Southern New Hampshire University.  Currently, I am the Manager for LMS Operations within the SNHU IT department (ITS).

My undergraduate degree is in Theatre Arts and I have a master’s degree in Instructional Technology.  I took my first computer course in 1973 while in high school (Fortran IV).  The first computer I ever used was an IBM 1130 and programming was done using OCR Hollerith cards.  Since then, I am entirely self-taught with programming and have developed programs in Basic, dBase III, Pilot, IconAuthor, Authorware, Visual Basic/VBA, ASP, PERL, JavaScript, and Linux Shell.  I am also an award-winning web developer having created my first web site in 1996.  My objective for this course is to understand the framework and rigor of Java development.

I have had numerous academic and trade articles published over the years and am a frequent presenter at conferences and my primary area of expertise is in SIS-LMS data integration.  In the field of instructional technology I have an interest in academic integrity as it applies to online learning (I am working on a manuscript for deterring, detecting, and managing instances of academic dishonesty in online learning environments).

Outside of work, I pursue an interest in odology (the study of roads); William Least Heat-Moon (author of Blue Highways) wrote several chapters about my roadside studies in his 2008 book, Roads to Quoz.  I am a regular columnist for American Road magazine.  My roadside pursuits have been featured in USA Today, Smithsonian, the Washington Post and other major publications.  My avocations include genealogy, music (I play and build many different stringed instruments), photography, cartography and GIS systems, and amateur radio (call sign N3HVX).

I was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and have lived in Denver, Colorado, Yellow Springs, Ohio, and Westerville, Ohio.  My wife and I currently live in Chelmsford, Massachusetts.