• Massachusetts Licensed Educator in Information and Technology Literacy, Project-Based Curriculum Designer, Professional Development, Strategic Planning

  • Creative Commons Open Access Expert, Public Historian, Digital Humanities Curator

  • New Media Journalism, Photography, Civic Media and Technology Instructor.

CIVIC EDU: Education Designed to Unite

A Civic Story

I’ve designed K-12 curriculum since 2001. My first hire after graduating from the University of Rhode Island School of Library and Information Science, was as a Library Media Specialist in a beautifully diverse community on the “Boston Line.” Just days into the job—911. Educators were instructed to block all access to media information, and back then, that was possible. Technology advancements over the last 20 years have opened so many opportunities for global learning, and just as many threats for global pandemonium. After teaching thousands of public school students, I returned to graduate school in 2016 focused on new media and digital humanities education. I designed digital curriculum for national exhibits, ‘GBH public broadcasting, and education journals.

Three things inspired CIVICS EDU’s vision for community-wide civic designs. In 2015 the United Nations unanimously ratified 17 simple goals for a sustainable world by 2030. These goals asked the entire world to think with a global vision. I agreed. Second, the pandemic forced the world’s educators to think with a digital vision. Literally overnight! Third, I grew frustrated working in school districts without enough support to design and implement these two bold visions. And spoiler alert, whole communities, not single educators, are needed to design and implement technology driven sustainability curriculum. Project-based learning is simply the toughest learning design to coordinate. After three years as a researcher, I created CIVICS EDU, LLC in 2024 to design project-based civic learning plans, for all standards, utilizing digital technology to track registrations and results.

Civics EDU: Education Designed to Unite helps communities develop unified plans to advance sustainability while teaching standards in Civics, Humanities, STEM, and Media Literacy. Each community has a unique story and strengths. Students engaged in those stories grow their skills and a sustainable community simultaneously.

We have the technology to do this. We just need a team. Let’s make a plan!