Meet Your Instructor

Dennis O'Connor
Wiredinstructor
Phone: (530) 318-1145
E-Mail: multicultural@wiredinstructor.net

Dennis O'Connor has been an elementary and middle school teacher, as well as professional development trainer for 30 years. As a district Language Arts Coordinator he organized teacher training in the writing process and Traits Writing Model. He earned an M.Ed. in Online Teaching and Learning from California State University, East Bay (Formerly CSU Hayward) where he is currently teaching graduate students how to teach online. He is also enrolled in the Instructional Design and Technology Integration M.Ed program at Western Governors University. He earned his undergraduate degree in English at the University of California, Berkeley. In addition to teaching Mr. O'Connor has worked as a freelance magazine writer, a corporate training director, and educational computer consultant.

In 1995, groundbreaking work in technology infused interdisciplinary teaching led to a Milken Educator Award. After working online with the ISTE, National Educational Technology Standards Project in 1998, Mr. O'Connor became a project writer developing units of practice for ISTE-NETS, Connecting Curriculum and Technology. Mr. O'Connor remains active as a standards review consultant and project writer for ISTE.

Mr. O'Connor taught 7/8 communications for 15 years at Kingsbury Middle School, in Lake Tahoe Nevada where his students scored top in the state for the past three years on the (traits based) State Analytical Writing test. The core-based technology infused curriculum at Kingsbury was recognized when the school was named the Nevada National Technology Spotlight School for 2000.

Dennis currently works as an online curriculum development specialist for the 21st Century Information Fluency Program, which is part of the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy's educator professional development program.

Dennis lives in the Sierra Nevada Mountains near Lake Tahoe, California with his wife and three children. In his spare time Dennis enjoys working on vintage cars, hiking and back packing with his son Kyle in the Desolation Wilderness (which just happens to be in his backyard), and learning online.

Email your questions and comments to Dennis. Feel free to drop by Dennis's homepage at: http://www.wiredinstructor.net .