Allow me to introduce myself...

Teacher, new-media designer, web technologist and business person

I am an award-winning university trained educator with considerable ESL and EFL teaching experience at all age levels from kindergarten to university. I also have extensive experience in professional web & internet development as well as e-Learning (computer assisted learning). With a Masters of Education in online learning I hope to apply my teaching and web development skills in a forward thinking institution that appreciates the power of computers and web technologies in language learning.

I am, at once, a highly skilled information technology professional as well as a progessive and experienced professional teacher. I believe that experience, in concert with my advanced training in online learning content development qualifies me in a unique and compelling way for the progressive, technology oriented learning environment of today. As a cooperating teacher in Canada I gained experience training teachers and performed the same function while working in Thailand. I have developed instructor training programs throughout my career, most recently in the B.Ed IT program at RKW. I have considerable skills in project management software and methodology. In addition, I have extensive enterprise-scale IT project management experience. This, combined with excellent organisational skills, prepares me well for the dynamic and demanding environment of today.

As a formally trained and considerably experienced teacher with significant corporate & small business and information technology skill sets I offer a great deal to any prospective employer. I am qualified to manage or instruct in any school or corporate environment. I can assist in the development, marketing and promotion of any business or institution. I am qualified to instruct a broad range of subjects and have more than 17 years of relevant experience.

I am comfortable working with all ranges of students from kindergarten school children to senior level business and government leaders. I have taught as a professional teacher for over 16 years and have learned to effectively combine progressive educational technique with any and all available technologies. In addition to my educational experience I also have considerable professional experience in the corporate business world.
My involvement in cutting edge business and information technology deployment makes me a unique and valuable educator/consultant. My consulting and software skills range from web & database development for corporate environments to the development of business information technology strategies from implementation through to training. I am, at once, a highly skilled information technology professional and business consultant as well as a progessive and experienced professional teacher.

My information technology experience can be effectively applied at the assessment and project management levels for any size of business requiring internet strategies, business to business solutions and database integration for web applications. By the same token, this experience can be applied in any educational setting requiring assistance in the shift from traditional to e-Learning or computer assisted education.

Education & Certification

My formal education was geared towards a career as a teacher. This has been complemented by my extensive experience as a web & internet solutions developer and information technology consultant in the business world. It is said that there is no teacher like experience and in the world of the web that is especially true. I have brought together my formal training and experience as both a teacher and web developer in my M.Ed in online learning in which I have focused my attention on the optimisation of reading instruction in an online learning environment.

M.Ed	Online Learning	University of Southern Queensland	Completed 2006

B.A	English Major French Minor	University of Alberta	Completed 1986

B.Ed	English as a Second Language	Laval University	Completed 1989

Permanent Professional teaching certificate	Primary and secondary school	Alberta Teacher’s association	1991

Experience

A wealth of teaching and professional IT experience

Higher Colleges of Technology	B.Ed Program Faculty	United Arab Emirates	2006-present
I am currently a full time faculty member at HCT. I assist students and faculty in developing e-learning environments and online learning applications. I instruct both the theoretical and hands-on aspects of web application development. I share my business and project management experience in this area to assist my learners in the management of the application development process. I help develop both curriculum and content for the program.

SMPJN High School	Secondary school	Kuala Belait, Brunei	2004-2006
I was a high school English teacher Brunei. I taught English full time. At SMPJN PHAB school I was the school web developer and webmaster and was in charge of the school reading program. I had close to 100 students. As a member of the school I.T. committee I provided training for our heads of departments and staff. I provided teacher training in all aspects of information technology.

Payap University	College English Instructor and developer of online self-access learning centre	Chiang Mai, Thailand	2003-2004
At Payap University I was a full time English instructor in the English Department. I taught students of a broad range of abilities and levels of interest. Duties included class preparation, marking, cumulative and summative evaluation and participation in cultural activities for the University. Courses taught covered English Fundamentals, grammar, written English, listening skills, conversational skills and reading. While at Payap I developed an intranet web site for their Self Access Learning Centre. I played a central role in the Self Access Learning Centre which catered to both students and teaching faculty.

ELC International	Centre manager and senior English Instructor	Chiang Mai, Thailand	2000-2003
After a year at ELC International I was promoted to the the position of Senior Academic Manager. In this position I was responsible for managing the day to day academic affairs of our Northern Thailand flagship language centre. I managed teaching staff, recruited and trained new staff, implemented curriculum and helped clients find the best learning solutions for their needs. I was directly involved in both teacher training and curriculum development. I was also charged with ongoing business development. In practical terms this means that I found new customers for ELC International on an ongoing basis. I succeeded in doubling the student population there. I was the company web master and developed the company web site.

CDMG	Director and Vice President, Senior Developer	Edmonton, Canada	1997-2000
As a major shareholder and director of this successful internet and new media design & advertising agency I developed several skill sets. My experiences range from small business management to corporate scale web development and project management. As VP of Business Development my specific focus was on corporate sales and project management. CDMG's clients included Xerox, Apple Computers, KPMG, Telus, TransAlta Utilities and other large corporate clients as well as myriad small and medium size enterprises. Service offerings from CDMG included enterprise scale web development, database/web integration, advertising & marketing planning, graphic design, video production, multi-media development and CD ROM production. Annual sales for CDMG were $750,000.00 in 1999. My position in the business has now been purchased by the majority shareholder. My experience in this job translates into enterprise scale web implementation and new media production management. I have a comprehensive skill set in corporate and small business negotiations, small business management and promotion as well as project team management. In addition, I have skill sets in a wide range of professional web, video, audio, graphic design and programming software. I was one of the two owners and founders of the firm. Initially, I and my partner performed all of the design and development work ourselves, but success in the marketplace quickly led us to hire a staff of 12 people. CDMG did traditional print design for advertisements, annual reports, magazine layouts and billboards through to leading edge multi-media design and development, web-site design, digital video and television commercial production. Our clients included municipal and provincial government departments and numerous small to medium sized enterprises. I did a significant portion of the information design, programming and development in the following select projects. A list of additional clients is available on request. Economic Development Edmonton The United Way Alberta Capital Region : Edmonton Space and Science Center TransAlta Utilities Alberta Tourism

Elk Island Public Schools	Master Teacher	Edmonton, Canada	1989-1997
As a full-time professionally certified master teacher I was responsible for all areas of curriculum development and instruction. Subject areas ranged from English and French as both primary and second languages to sciences, social studies, mathematics, computers, art, physical education, health, etcetera. Instruction was given in both French and English. This position solidified my skills and knowledge sets as a professional teacher. I developed an awareness of the diverse needs of students as concerns learning styles, evaluation methodology and teaching techniques. It was in this position that I initially developed my skills as an information technology professional.

Awards

an award winning teacher recognized for innovation

I have received several awards and nominations in the area of education.

Hilroy Prize for Outstanding Creative Education

$5,000.00 cash award
Awarded once a year to only three teachers nationally
Awarded by the Canadian Teachers Federation (the national body that oversees all professional teachers in Canada).
Awarded in 1993 for a classroom project I developed called Earth Explorers.

The Hilroy prize is both highly prestigious and financially rewarding for its recipients. Sought after by many, it is awarded to teachers who demonsrate outstanding creativity in instructional design, methodology and approach. Of the millions of teachers in Canada, only three are selected in any given year. The project for which I was awarded this prize was an application of my knowledge about learning styles. Students were able to select their own learning method for all of the activities involved in the project. In this way, individual students were able to personally identify and then practice their own learning style. All of this was encompassed within an environmentally focused project. Learning styles accomodated by Earth Explorers included: command-task learning, peer-partner learning, cooperative learning, and guided-instruction learning.

Alberta Teacher's Association Progressive Education Award

$2,500.00 cash award
Awarded once a year to one teacher in the province of Alberta
Awarded by the Alberta Teachers Federation (the provincial body that oversees all professional teachers in the province of Alberta, Canada).
Awarded in 1995 for a multi-media CD ROM developed called Native Peoples of Canada.

This prize was awarded for a multi-media CD ROM that I developed. The CD ROM contained audio, video, animation and interactive lessons. Developed at a time when multi-media development was in its infancy, Native Peoples of Canada was both innovative and educationally valuable. Students were able to learn about Native culture while experiencing it as closely as possible short of encountering it first hand. The Progressive Education Award is prestigious. It is awarded to teachers who are leaders in the arena of progressive education.

Nominations Received
Over the 8 years that I spent in a full-time "regular" school classroom I was twice nominated for the Excellence in Teaching award in the province of Alberta. This nomination is made by a combination of parents, students and school administrators. Nomination alone is quite a kudo, as it takes so many people working on their own time to create the nomination.

Other Awards Received
In October of 2004 I was awarded 1st prize in the CfBT "Education in Brunei" photographic competition. The award carried a cash prize of $500. You can see them here.

Skills, Languages and Interests

Trilingual, with a diverse set of interests

Languages: English (native speaker) French (fluent) Thai (fluent)
Software: I am fully functional in a wide range of software packages including, but not limited to:

Adobe CS2 Creative Suite (PhotoShop, Illustrator, Acrobat)
Adobe Premiere
Power Director
Adobe DreamWeaver 8, Flash Professional 8, Fireworks, Contribute
Microsoft Office
HTML, XHTML, CSS, XML
PHP / MySQL
ASP.NET
Visual Studio 2003
Apache 2.0
Mindjet MindManager
Articulate Presenter and QuizMaker
WebCT Vista
Respondus

Philip Toews

Husband Father Educator

When you feel in your gut what you are and then dynamically pursue it - don't back down and don't give up - then you're going to mystify a lot of folks.

›› Bob Dylan

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