Cell: (801) 232-9173

Email: [email protected]

Hi, I’m Tom. I’m an Educator at Kansas State University teaching remotely and living in Layton, Utah. I am a fan of technology, education, and volunteering. I’m also interested in video and photography. You can see some of my work at https://vimeo.com/blacktagkompany

I am a media literacy researcher and documentary filmmaker and the author of the Digital Online Media Literacy Assessment (DOMLA), a self-assessment tool employed globally to gauge media literacy among students from middle school to university levels.

As an award-winning documentary filmmaker, I focus on issues affecting Kansans. My 2016 documentary, Slow & Low: The story of the Kansas ag. pilot, highlights the lives of agricultural pilots, formerly known as crop dusters, and received multiple awards, including a Telly Award and an Aegis Award. In 2021, I collaborated with the late Dr. Ian Punnett to produce The Empty Breadbasket: When the land that feeds the nation cannot feed itself , a documentary exploring food access challenges in rural Kansas and celebrating community-driven solutions. This work earned a Silver Telly Award.

Theoretically speaking, I am a constructivist, promoting the idea that learning is most effective when concepts are applied to real-life situations to build new knowledge. My research and creative interests encompass media literacy, media accessibility, and documentary storytelling with an emphasis on food accessibility.

Research Interests: Science Communication, Visual, Digital & Media literacy, Multi-media as an assessment tool.

Education

Ed.D. Educational Leadership / Instructional Methods & Technology Idaho State University. May 2013.

M.Ed. Instructional Media & Technology Eastern Washington University. Aug 2003

B.A. Broadcast Communications Brigham Young University. Dec 1991

Professional Education Experience

Associate Professor -Journalism & Mass Communication, Kansas State University. Aug 2019 - Present

Assistant Professor -Journalism & Mass Communication, Kansas State University. Aug 2013-2019

Assistant Professor – Mass Communication, Idaho State University. Aug 2005–June 2013

Visiting Assistant Professor – Mass Communication, Idaho State University. Aug 2004–Aug 2005

Apprenticeship Workshop Instructor, Multi-Media, IATSE Local Union 99. Sept 2004–May 2007

Adjunct Professor - Communications – Salt Lake Comm. College. Jan 2004–Aug 2004