My career in education started in the mid-1970s. What began as a love of teaching led me through roles as a classroom teacher, computer consultant, school principal, and eventually university lecturer — each chapter building on the last.
I grew up professionally in the Quebec English school system, and that context has shaped everything: how I think about curriculum, technology, leadership, and what schools are really for.
Before becoming a principal I was the computer consultant at the Lester B. Pearson and Baldwin-Cartier School Boards — an early signal of where my interests were headed. Technology in education wasn't a detour from teaching; it was always an extension of it.
I also worked with the Ministry of Education through the Quebec English Schools Network, which gave me a broader view of the system and the particular challenges — and strengths — of English-language education in Quebec.
My proudest achievement is founding Clearpoint Elementary in 2006, now an IB International School. What makes Clearpoint special is that it was designed from the start as a community school — open to all students, with no entrance requirements or testing. An inclusive IB school was a first for Quebec, and I'm still proud of that.
Before Clearpoint I served as principal at Terry Fox Elementary and Riverdale High School. I retired from the Lester B. Pearson School Board in 2012 after a long and rewarding run. I was also a founding member of the LCEEQ (Leadership Committee for English Education in Québec), representing principals from its inception in 2005 until stepping down in June 2019.
"I love kids and schools. Learning should be project-based, child-centred, and constructivist at its core — with technology amplifying student voice, not replacing it."
Since retiring from the school board I've been lecturing at McGill University's Faculty of Education. I've now been teaching EDPT 200: Integrating Educational Technology in the Classroom for nearly 25 years — one of the courses I'm most proud of. This fall it's back on the schedule for 2026.
Over the years I've taught a wide range of courses at McGill spanning educational technology, instructional design, research methods, organizational theory, educational leadership, and fiscal management. I also taught at Bishop's University, including a special topics course on Teaching and Learning with Generative AI. The full course history is on my Teaching page.
I also organized the LBP EdTech Summer Institute and have volunteered in several LBPSB schools giving workshops on how technology can transform learning and teaching.
I believe that a constructivist approach to learning should be our primary focus — students building knowledge through authentic, meaningful tasks, not passive reception. Technology earns its place in the classroom when it deepens that process, not when it substitutes for it.
The framework I keep coming back to is the New Pedagogies for Deep Learning model and its 6 C's — the qualities I think education should be cultivating in every student:
My current work centres on the integration of generative AI in classrooms from kindergarten through university. It's the most significant shift in educational technology I've seen in 40 years — and I'm as curious and energized by it as I was when personal computers first arrived in schools.
The question I keep asking is the same one I've always asked: not "what can technology do?" but "what should we actually use it for, and when should we step back?" That tension is at the heart of everything I teach.
On a personal note — my first passion has always been literature. I completed a Masters in English Literature at Université de Montréal, just for the love of it. Ancora imparo. I am still learning.