Tom Iarossi, M.A.

Affiliations:

     I have over 25 years of experience in education and training. I have helped organizations like Mothers Against Drunk Driving, the Salvation Army, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the U.S. Army, and numerous private companies to identify organizational requirements and develop effective training programs to satisfy immediate and long-term goals. I have personally trained over 5,000 people in my career. Teaching is not just a job for me; indeed, I am first, last, and always an educator. Teaching defines who I am - I live for those "A-HA!" moments.

     My philosophy is simple: With the right resources and the ability to use them, anything is possible. Throwing money and people at a problem is an exercise in futility - in order to develop real solutions, the entire organization must work as a unified whole, working toward a common set of goals with a common set of tools. 

     Educational technology is no exception. Whether it's software on a single computer or the entire Internet, whether it's an encyclopedia on CD-ROM or access to the Library of Congress, technology offers educators incredible new opportunities to really, finally, effectively reach their students. To make a real difference in the world, students need to develop top-notch critical thinking skills, something the old days of pedantic, drill-and-regurgitate, rote instruction never quite accomplished.

     Technology, properly integrated as an basic component of the entire educational process, stands to bring untold amounts of new information and new skills to the fore. Education will no longer be a battle to break through all the old, traditional barriers of apathy, ignorance, lack of parental support, and lack of resources. Learning will become a synergistic, unified effort by all stakeholders in the educational process.

     We owe our students, and ourselves, nothing less. 

Tom Iarossi