Instructor's Self-Introduction

Name: Bob Jost

Current Assignment(s): In my forty plus years as an educator, I have had the opportunity to teach all of the elementary grades from Kindergarten through Grade 6.

After 25 years in the classroom, I served for 4 years as the Director of Technology Integration at the Fresno Pacific University Center for Professional Development. In that position, I developed professional development workshops and online courses for both the local educational community as well as the broader online community. I have been teaching online courses since 1997.

In 2001, I returned to the public education system. From 2001 to 2013, I served as the computer lab teacher / technology specialist at Manchester GATE Elementary School in Fresno, California. In that position, I worked with over 750 second through sixth grade students each week in the computer lab. I also worked closely with the classroom teachers at Manchester GATE to develop strategies and resources that support the integration of technology into their classroom curriculum.

Manchester GATE School Site

I retired (actually, I prefer to say "graduated"...) from the school district in June of 2013. I will continue to teach this online course and two others for the Center for Professional Development at Fresno Pacific University. I have been teaching online since January of 1997 and have guided nearly 4,000 educators through the three online courses that I developed and teach.

Area of Expertise or Special Interest: My passion has always been to integrate available technology into my classroom. For many years, I had a fully operational amateur radio station and shortwave broadcast receiver in my classroom. When the World Wide Web exploded on the scene in the mid-90's, I quickly recognized the potential that the Web offered to support, enrich and enhance my classroom curriculum. My primary academic focus since 1995 has been on integrating this exciting new technology into the elementary classroom curriculum.

Retirement has presented many opportunities for life-long learning. I am continually enrolled in multiple free MOOC online courses from Coursera and edX. I have also been developing my singing skills... singing with the West Coast Mennonite Men's Chorus and with local and regional Sacred Harp (Shapenote) Singing groups. I volunteer with a local fair trade non-profit store. I bake most of our bread. I enjoy working in my yard and having the time to regularly work out at the gym. Life is good!

I am pleased to meet you and look forward to working with you on this course.

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