Kevin Corbett Bio

Kevin Corbett - #edtech
Kevin Corbett – Ed-Tech.Ninja

I guess you could say I’m a bit of a “technology geek”–like a squirrel attracted to anything shiny, I’m drawn to new technology!

My first “computer” was the Atari 400 video game system in 1979, followed closely by the Atari 800. I was hooked! I enjoyed learning, using, playing, and exploring new technologies.

In college, I constructed my own “Personal Computer” (PC). At the time, having one’s own home computer was considered out of the ordinary, until the release of the Apple Macintosh–as ushered in by the artsy, controversial, and super-cool Apple: Orwell’s 1984 commercial. For me, being able to move away from a typewriter and the reams of correction tape I used, made it clear that productivity could be increased.

Kevin Corbett with Howard Gardner at Harvard University
Kevin Corbett with Howard Gardner at Harvard University

With the advent of the graphical web browser in the early 90′s, I was fascinated with the power of the “information superhighway”. I still fondly remember the chirping sound a 14.4 modem made as I eagerly anticipated it connecting to the Internet via CompuServe and AOL dial-up accounts. Using Gopher, and soon after the graphical Mosaic and Netscape Navigator browsers, it was like opening a portal to a whole new world.

As a science teacher nearly 25 years ago, and with the help of a brilliant colleague (thank you Nancy Flowers!), we brought the first Internet into our area’s school district through a cable we connected to a “pirated” phone line some 500 feet away in a janitor’s storage closet.

 

It was as if we were magic! Students were mesmerized!

No longer were we talking about hypothetical things from old text books and outdated encyclopedias. We could access government research and university information that was new and cutting-edge. Students were transfixed with the power and excited to explore & learn.

In 1995, I taught myself HTML and started developing web sites for corporations and small businesses looking to establish a presence on the World Wide Web. Back in the Internet’s infancy, it was hard to find early adopters who shared the vision that the Internet was a means to provide businesses with a new way to extend their geographical location, reach new markets, and communicate with their customers. It’s a different story now!

Kevin Corbett with Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak
w/ Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak at Bb World

Located next to Microsoft and Nintendo in Washington, our company had the good fortune to meet thousands of creative entrepreneurs and learn many valuable lessons from some of the industry’s most innovative and brightest rising stars. It’s always energizing to collaborate with smart people to solve problems, create solutions, make really cool products, and have fun too!

Extending our experiences to the students in my classroom only made sense. It was an important means to make learning personalized and individualized. I made an intranet for students and constructed websites that included daily class lecture notes, labs, assignments, and hyperlinked online resources, so students could access them whenever they wanted.

Since then, I’ve never looked back.

eLearning

The fastest growing industry the past twenty years has been in elearning. Teaching, training, and learning have always been important aspects of industry. Now that it could be done remotely, resources could be concentrated with time and money saved.  And, as colleges and schools of all levels strive to provide increased options and opportunities to their students, these needs are often being fulfilled outside of the educational institution themselves, by a growing number of educational content & service providers.

My first online teaching experience was in the mid-90’s through John Henly, with the University of Washington. I taught the University’s first hybrid, Educational Technology course (online and once a week in a classroom) to high school teachers. It was the wild west–Fun and a great experience for sure!

Kevin Corbett Testifying Before the Senate Education Committee
Testifying on eLearning’s benefits before the State’s Senate Education Committee

In the last 15 years, I’m proud to be a part of one of Washington State’s oldest and most successful, virtual e-learning programs. To have the opportunity to build from the ground-up and develop a program with a team of amazing, creative, and hard-working professionals and trusting administrators has been very rewarding.

Along the way, it’s been educational and insightful to work with professionals at all levels–public, private, & government, to develop policies, procedures, and promote online learning to our state’s students.

I enjoy sharing experiences and presenting at conferences and as a consultant in assisting other institutions to plan for the future and build their own programs.

The power and potential of online learning is considerable and I enjoy the power of providing transformational technologies, that can benefit future generation. Providing the most rich, rigorous, engaging, and valuable learning experience for students–of any age, is very gratifying to me.

eLearning, Online Learning, Mobile Learning (mlearning), Social Media, & Gamification

Having fun and learning-—whether you’re a 15-year-old high school student taking an online class, or a 36-year-old corporate trainee, IS possible and the challenge I enjoy pursuing!

New advances in technology–especially smartphones, have me excited about using portable devices for mobile learning (#mlearning) anywhere, anytime, any place, any space!

And, with my love of gaming, I continue to investigate game-based-design and gamification so that people of all ages can truly increase engagement with their learning, cooperate, & share with others through social media, while learning and having fun!

Let’s Connect!

I’d like to encourage you to connect with me–in whatever way is easy for you. I am humbled by the talented and amazing people that I’ve had the good fortune to meet online and the incredible relationships I’ve developed in growing my own Personal Learning Network (PLN).

Contact me about consulting services, project development, and/or speaking engagements. I look forward to working with you in the future!

Thank you!
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