Online Education for Dummies!
The Cutting Ed, Inc.
+1 (217) 253-8670
Kevin@thecuttinged.com
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About Kevin
Professional
My interest in technology began when I was 14. I worked detasseling corn for a summer and saved up and bought a Commodore 64 (Whoooo! Hoooo!). I spent hours teaching myself to program, which later lead to a programming position with the University of Illinois. Anyone remember Plato terminals? I spent three years working with the Computer Adaptive Testing and Measurement team developing online study materials for domestic and international audiences.
For the past twelve years, I have developed curriculum and taught in both academic and corporate environments. Even though I have taught multiple subjects, a majority of my teaching has centered on technology. After graduating with my Master of Education degree from the University of Illinois, I moved to California where I taught for a Business College. Due to my desire to save paper (not to mention the desire to no longer fight for the copy machine), I started providing lecture notes and other resources to students on CDs. As the Internet emerged, the college asked me to teach a web development course. It was a natural transition for me to move from burning CDs to placing course content on the web. Before I knew it, I was interacting with my students electronically and my interest in online education began. It was this interest that pushed me to participate in the Online Teaching and Learning program through California State University-Hayward.
The online program through CSU is similar to the MVCR program offered by the Illinois Online Network (http://www.ion.uillinois.edu), where I have designed and taught online courses focusing in areas of online pedagogy, instructional design, web design, synchronous communication and more. I also facilitated a state-wide initiative whose goal was to develop a rubric outlining quality standards for online courses.
Recently, I served as the Coordinator of Instructor Support for the University of Illinois Global Campus (http://global.uillinois.edu). In this position, I provided pedagogical and technical support to instructors, supervise the mentoring program, and participate in mentoring and evaluating instructors. I left this position to start my own education consulting compnay called The Cutting Ed, Inc. (http://thecuttinged.com). The company specializes in helping clients envision education and training for the 21st century. I also just finished coauthoring the book Online Education for Dummies with Dr. Susan Manning (shameless plug, I know. *smile* ).
In January of last year, I decided to continue my education journey and have enrolled in a doctoral program through Nova Southeastern (http://www.nova.edu). The program is a doctorate of education degree with a concentration in instructional technology and distance education (http://www.schoolofed.nova.edu/doctoral/concentrations/itde.htm). One of the reasons this course is so important to me is the fact that my research looks at the institutional contributors to the job satisfaction level of distant adjunct faculty.
Personal
When I am not working or studying, I enjoy spending time with my partner and son. Garrett is 20 months old and is a blast to hang out with. Together we enjoy reading, playing basketball, and playing at the park.
Online Education for Dummies
Kevin Johnson, CEO of the Cutting Ed, Inc. has coauthored a book with Dr. Susan Manning. The book is scheduled to be on shelves in January.
Congratulations, Kevin & Susan!