I started teaching in 1990 right out of college. I taught 2 years at Deer Valley HS, 2 years at Westwood HS, and 4 years at Central Arizona College before coming to South. Before starting my teaching career, I studied communications at Phoenix College. I later changed my major and my location and earned a:
* B.A. in English Literature from California State University, Bakersfield in 1989,
* M.Ed. in English Secondary Education from Northern Arizona University in 1993.

In 2004-2005 I took a sabbatical from Maricopa to finish up my doctoral dissertation on the effects of hybrid courses on retention and student satisfaction, and I finished my:
* Ed.D in Instructional Technology & Distance Education at Nova Southeastern University in 2006.

I am a big advocate for the use of technology in the classroom, and I’ve been doing a lot of research on podcasting/vodcasting and many other Web 2.0 technologies that have popped up on the web in recent years. I share my experiences with these technologies on my various blogs:
* The Maricopa Experience
* Coop’s Word on Podcasting & Blogging
* Coop’s Word Wiki: Technology Use In & Out of the Classroom
You can find me online in various social networks:
* Twitter: soul4real
* Del.icio.us: soul4real
* Diigo: soul4real

Sessions:

Using Web 2.0 in Education

Wikis, blogs, podcasts, and other social networking tools are taking the world of higher education by storm. How are faculty in higher education using various Web 2.0 technologies. More importantly, why are they incorporating different web-based technologies into their courses? Come join a discussion about how and why educators are using these technologies, how such use affects teaching and learning, and why it’s important to not overlook the value of applying these trends.