Teaching a Love for Technology

Since 2013, Dr. Jacqueline Derby has been an Online Teaching and Learning faculty member for Colorado State University-Global Campus.  Her love for technology grew when she began servicing and repairing PC and Macintosh computers while a college student working on her teaching degree.

Once she received her degree, she began working as a middle school art teacher and sharing her love for technology by using it as a tool to motivate and engage students. She then enrolled in a Master’s in Teaching program that was taught online.

Integrating Her Hobby into Her Career

Dr. Derby continued to explore ways in which technology can be used in the classroom and in 2001 became a Master Teacher for Intel’s Teach to the Future program. She began instructing teachers on how to integrate technology into their current curriculum and had the opportunity to become an online instructor. This is when she decided to pursue a PhD in Education with a focus on Educational Technology. The title of her dissertation was “Applying online virtual worlds to informal professional development: A study of rural teachers participating in Second Life.”

Dr. Derby has seen many developments in online learning since she began teaching online in 2002. She explains that it is an evolving form of education and she finds it exciting to be continually learning about new ways to engage students using this learning platform.

She has worked with middle school, high school, undergraduate and graduate students in the online learning environment. Along with teaching online she has also developed online courses and competency based programs where students demonstrate mastery of academic content by the completion of projects.

Her Sweet Side Job

In her personal life, Dr. Derby enjoys living in New Hampshire where she and her family are sugar makers. In the early spring they tap maple trees and boil sap to make maple syrup. Did you know that it takes 40 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of maple syrup? This means you have to boil off 39 gallons of water.

Dr. Derby is a devoted New England Patriots and Manchester Monarchs (AHL Hockey) fan. Her advice to current and future CSU Global students is to never stop learning. Find your passion and then learn more about it. There are so many opportunities available in online learning. You can learn about anything by enrolling in an online learning program. Just look at the wide variety of programs available to you at CSU Global and begin learning today.