About Me

I teach primarily American History and American Government, to juniors and seniors, respectively. I’ve taught World History, as well as several electives — Economics, WW2 & the Holocaust, American Military History, and World Military History. Those last three are my creations, and I’ve had the good fortune of working under administrators who’ve been open to oddball electives if enough students are interested. This is my sixth year at Empire High School, in Tucson, Arizona.

I've become increasingly interested and involved in all things related to technology in education over the last few years, in large part because I'm immersed in it at my (one-to-one high) school. I'm happily beyond 'gee-whiz' with tech - it has to improve the learning experience and learning outcomes in order to be worth the time and effort. I love the collaborative potential in wikis, the asymmetrical connections enabled by blogs, and the workflow efficiency possible through all manner of W2 technologies. I despise tokenistic use of technology.

I have a BA Ed. from the University of Arizona College of Education, with a major in Social Studies. I am also a graduate of the Defense Language Institute, and have a MA in Military Studies from American Military University, with a focus on Land Warfare in World War II. I’ve attended a number of national conferences, was a past presenter for the National Social Studies Supervisor’s Association, and am an ABC-CLIO History Fellow. I have also authored content and curriculum for two of ABC-CLIO’s Social Studies databases. In Spring 2007, I was recognized by the Daughters of the American Revolution as Arizona’s ‘Outstanding Teacher of American History.’ I recently completed a second MA, in Educational Administration, from Grand Canyon University.

After teaching for over ten years, and this being my sixth working in a one-to-one environment, I’m at the point where the technology is no longer novel, and so I can actually concentrate on using it well, without being overly excited about it. I think there’s a distinct “gee wiz” factor to edtech, and while it motivates people to look deeper, it also obscures reality with what I call “flash & dazzle” — style over substance. I’m over that — but with some experience under my belt I can now work on what works best, and incorporate new technologies and methods in a more systematic, rational manner.

Find me on twitter: @mrgypton

My Blog: Thoughts on Teaching & Educational Technology