Norm

Hi,

I thought I should act on my own pleas to all of you to introduce yourselves to the rest of our group...so here I am.

I have been involved in the Microsoft Innovative Teachers Program since its inception in Canada in 2004. That included working on the committee that drew up the project evaluation guidelines that had been used in the global program up until this year, though the new rubric is very similar to the one we developed, I also served on the National Advisory Board for Partners in Learning until it was disbanded once the program was set up.

My involvement with the program was triggered by the signing of an agreement between Microsoft Canada and the Government of Manitoba to work together on Partners in Learning. I believe that Manitoba and New Brunswick are still the only two provinces with such an agreement. One of my roles is to coordinate Partners in Learning Programs in Manitoba.

I currently coordinate the program for the Ministry of Innovation, Energy and Mines within an initiative called MindSet, the Manitoba Network for Science and Technology. MindSet's role is high tech labour pool development to make sure Manitoba has enough young people choosing the training and careers related to the fields of ICT, new media, biotechnology, aerospace and new materials/composites. I have done that work for 10 years. Previous to that I had been a consultant to Industry Canada's SchoolNet where I was recruited to create at a national level, programs I had created at my school. There, I created four national programs and worked ongoing programs as well. I taught for 28 years before being seconded to the federal governent.

In 2008, MindSet won the Global Award of the International Partnership Network for "creating the workforce of the future." MindSet received a national award from the Conference Board of Canada in 2005 for "broad community collaboration in business education partnerships." I have also written two textbooks with over $4,000,000 in sales across Canada.