Derek Shackleford

I am fascinated by the world we live in and fully believe that travel is one of the best educations that a person can get. My first three years of teaching after graduating from university were actually spent overseas in New Zealand and Taiwan. One of my most memorable travel experiences occured when my wife and I took a year leave from our teaching jobs and spent the ensuing 13 months backpacking around the world. The experiences and knowledge gained from my travels have had a huge impact on who I am as a person and as an educator.

"The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page."

Saint Augustine

In the classroom, I am a firm believer in using technology to enhance students' learning and am always looking for new tech tools and ways to use these tools to make learning more relevant and engaging for my students. I also use Project Based Learning as my primary method of learning in the classroom. I believe that PBL helps students become more collaborative, active, inspired and engaged learners as well as better preparing them for the tech based society we live in today.

"If we teach today as we taught yesterday, we rob our children of tomorrow."

John Dewey