My education was the liberty I had to read
indiscriminately and all the time,
with my eyes hanging out. --Dylan Thomas

Oklahoma Teacher's Certification

• MsEffie's LifeSavers for English Teachers: http://homepage.mac.com/mseffie/index.html
  The best materials I've developed in 30 years of teaching.
• Writing Out Loud: http://title3.sde.state.ok.us/library/itv/writingoutloud.html
  Instructional Pages for 23 writers and illustrators featured on the public television show, part of the Library Media/ITV website (paid).
• Library Media/ITV Website: http://title3.sde.state.ok.us/library/
  Division of the Oklahoma State Department of Education (paid).
• Oklahoma Writing Project: http://www.ou.edu/special/owp/
  Professional Organization website for English teachers (paid).
• Oklahoma Writing Project BLOG http://blogs.writingproject.org/blogwrite24/
  Professional Organization web log for teacher consultants (paid).
• Student Web Pages on Invisible Man: http://homepage.mac.com/mseffie/student_work/invisible_man/index.html
  Class projects by sophomore English students, Spring 1999. Archived.
• Student Web Pages for TEAM: http://homepage.mac.com/mseffie/student_work/team_unit/TEAMproject.html
  Class projects by sophomore English students, Spring 1998. Archived.
• Student Poetry Presentations: http://homepage.mac.com/mseffie/assignments/poetry/poetrypresent.html
  Class projects by sophomore English students, Spring 2000. Archived.
• Norman North Web Site: http://www.norman.k12.ok.us/710
  Discovery Channel School Spotlight, SCRTECH Bright Site; Oklahoma Technology Adminstrators School Site of the Month, Ionet Five-Star Award. No longer web manager. Archived.
• Central Home Page: http://www.norman.k12.ok.us/720/
  Oklahoma Technology Adminstrators School Site of the Month, Ionet Five-Star Award in 1996.
  Memorial Site maintained.

Schools Attended

1984 - 1990 University of Oklahoma
Admitted to English Ph.D program; approximately 30 hours post M.A.;
Erratic and undisciplined enrollment; no progress toward degree.

1979 - 1984 University of Oklahoma, M.A., 1984.
Major: English emphasizing composition and literary criticism.

1968 - 1974 University of Oklahoma, B.A., 1974.
Major: Journalism emphasizing advertising and public relations.
Minor: Teacher certification in journalism and social studies.

1963 - 1967 Altus High School, High School Diploma, 1967.
College-bound public high school curriculum.

Employment

2006 - present Bishop-McGuinness Catholic High School (English Teacher)
Courses taught: English II and Pre-AP English II.

2001 - present Oklahoma Writing Project, University of Oklahoma, Norman OK
Technology Liaison; e-Facilitator; Workshop Presentations on Technology and Writing; Website and Web Blog Designer; ListServ Manager.

• Board of Directors
• special interests include technology integration and online communities

2005 - 2006 Belle Isle Library, Metropolitan Library System, Oklahoma City OK
Technology Assistant; assist patrons in use of computer software; answer inquiries concerning hardware and software; monitor use by children and adults.

1997 to 2004 Norman High School North, Norman OK (English Teacher)
Courses taught: Advanced Placement English IV, English IV, Film Studies, TEAM English 2, Advanced English II, Classics, ACT Preparation.

• Advanced Placement Vertical Team
• Pro Teacher for Technology
• special interests include arts integration and cross-curricular instruction
  

1985 - 1997 Central Mid-High School, Norman OK (English Teacher)
Courses Taught: Traditional and Advanced English II; Communications (elective).

• 4MAT Lesson Design Training, Summers 1993 and 1995.
• T.E.S.A. (Teacher Expectation Student Achievement) Trainer, Spring 1992.
• received Norman Foundation Grants, 1985 and 1996
• special interests include revision strategies and web page design.
  

1975 - 1985 Millwood Junior-Senior High School, Oklahoma Ciy OK (English Teacher)
Courses Taught: English I, III, and IV; Advanced Placement English IV; Humanities I and II; Yearbook; Journalism.

• designed programs and taught Advanced Placement English and Humanities.
• designed program and taught Gifted & Talented English and Social Studies, grades 7-12.
• advised yearbook four years.

earlier life - 1975 Miscellaneous character-building jobs, which thoroughly reinforced the need for a good education -- babysitting, telephone sales, clerk-typist, night psychiatric aide . . .you know.

Special Activities

• "Visions of the Dark Years: World War II and its Legacy in France," Summer Seminar, National Endowment for the Humanities, France (Paris , Lyon, Vichy,and Caen), Summer 2007.
• Consultant, Advanced Placement Literature, College Board. "First Chapters: Passage Analysis and Book Promotion;" "Rhetoric for Beginners: Using Advertisements to Introduce Rhetoric;" "Covers: Using Musical Interpretation to Teach Poetry;" 2005 to present.
• Reader, Advanced Placement Literature, College Board, Daytona Beach FL, Summer 2004 to present.
• National Writing Project Electronic Writing Marathon, Online, August - September 2004.
• Advanced Placement Summer Institutes; Literature, Mary Pruitt, University of Oklahoma, Summer 2004; Pre-AP, Shelly Cook, Texas Christian University, Summer 2002; Language, Fred Damiano, University of Texas, Summer 2001; Literature, Brendan Kenney, University of New Mexico, Summer 2000; Pre-AP, Sharon Kingston, University of Oklahoma, Summer 1999.
• Technology Matters: National Writing Project Advanced Institute for Technology Liaisons, Marshall University, Huntington WV, Summer 2004.
• "Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man in the Spotlight," Presentation, National Council of Teachers of English, San Francisco, November 2003.
• "Photography: Personal Narrative/Public Documents," Quartz Mountain Fall Arts Institute, October 2003.
• "Dante's Commedia in Siena," Summer Seminar, National Endowment for the Humanities, Italy (Siena, Florence, Pisa, Rome, Ravenna, San Gimignano, and Assisi), Summer 2003.
• "Writing to and from Photographs," Quartz Mountain Fall Arts Institute, October 2002.
• "The Reading Writing Connection," Presentation, Curriculum and Assessment Conference, Westin Hotel, Oklahoma City, July 2002.
• "Shaking the Shakespeare Blues: Creative Approaches to Teaching Shakespeare," Presentation, National Council of Teachers of English, Baltimore November 2001.
• "Viewing Films Actively: Written Responses to Motion Pictures," Roundtable, National Council of Teachers of English, Baltimore November 2001.
• National Board Certification (National Board for Professional Teaching Standards) for Adolescence and Young Adulthood/English Language Arts, November 2001.
• "The OEJ Connection," Featured Columnist for the Oklahoma English Journal. Appropriate and useful websites for each issue and a webpage on The Oklahoma Writing Project website. Quarterly, beginning Fall 2000.
• PASSing the End-of-Instruction Exam, State Department of Education, June 2000.
• Scanners and Digital Cameras, NPS Technology Training, Summer 2000
• Advisory Committee for Web Site Design and Desktop Publishing Program, Moore-Norman Technology Center, Spring 2000.
• "All Books Are Either Dreams or Swords," Oklahoma Writing Project presentation, Putnam City Public Schools, November 1999.
• "Using Literature as a Springboard for Creative Writing," Oklahoma Writing Project presentation, Mustang Public Schools, November 1999.
• State Department of Education "Road Show" Workshops, one-day comprehensive English teaching in-service at Pryor, Ponca City, Woodward, OKC's MetroTech, and Elk City; over 400 teachers attended, Summer 1998 and 1999.
• PageMill Techniques and Advanced PageMill Techniques, Norman Public Schools Technology Training, Summer 1999 and 2000
• OK TechMasters Lead Technology Training, Rose State College, University of Central Oklahoma, Norman Instructional Services Center, Francis Tuttle Technology Center, Oklahoma City Public Schools, and Norman High School North; beginning Fall 1998 to present.
• Dimensions of Learning, Fall 1999.
• Web Page Design Workshops, Norman Public School Web Managers, Summer 1998.
• OK TechMasters Master Teacher Training, Summer 1998.
• "The Fairy Tale: Literary Analysis for All Ages," Oklahoma English Journal, Fall, 1997.
• "An Annotated Children's Literature Bibliography," Oklahoma English Journal, Fall, 1997.
• Revitalizing the Classics, Joint O.C.T.E. and O.W.P. Fall Conference, 1997.
• Presentations given at more than 50 in-service workshops, teacher-education classes and at state educational meetings (Using Film to Teach Writing, Collaborative Learning, Writing about Literature, Writing Across the Curriculum, Writing on the Computer, Digital Portfolios, etc.)
• Oklahoma Writing Project, University of Oklahoma, Technology Liaison 2001 to present, Returning Fellow, Summer 1997 and Summer 1986. Teacher/Consultant 1979 to present. Board of Directors, 1998 to present.
• Norman Public Schools Teachnology Day Workshops, 1996 to 2000.
• Workshops on Desktop Publishing, the Internet, and Web Page Concept & Design, Fall 1996.
• Oklahoma Graduation Test, State Department of Education. Proofread test items, 1991. Served on Oklahoma Graduation Test Committee, developing objectives for reading and writing, 1989.
• Secondary Suggested Learner Outcomes, State Department of Education. Validated revised outcomes, Summer 1985.
• Teachers' Institute, Oklahoma Foundation for the Humanities. Focused on Jefferson's Declaration of Independence and its influence on American literature, Summer 1985.
• Independent Study Fellowship, National Endowment for the Humanities. Researched novels by black women, Summer 1984.
• Oklahoma State Educational Fair, Oklahoma State University. Presented computer applications for English classes, 1983.
• Test Writer, American College Board (ACT). Wrote language expression and usage sections, 1982 and 1983.
• American Partnership: A Handbook for Teaching Citizenship and
  Leadership, K-12, State Department of Education. Co-wrote and revised 677-page manual, Summer 1982.

Contact Information