About G. Spann

 Hello and welcome!


I am an online instructor at Fraser Valley Distance Education School. My teaching assignment includes Science 8 - 10 and Earth Science 11. I have been teaching full time in the public school system since 1982, teaching Physics, Math, Science and Computer Science, as well as, working part-time as a paramedic (PCP-IV) since 1984.

In the past, I have played and enjoyed such sports as: soccer, basketball, baseball, volleyball, and long distance running. Now I spend as much time as I can on the golf course and have a handicap index of 10.4. I hope to get that under 8.0 soon. I also enjoy games of chance, anyone for a game of poker!

Other endeavours include being published with Person Education/Prentice Hall Canada. This is after years of work/research in the classroom and in collaboration with the University of British Columbia during the Technology Enhanced Secondary Science Instruction project. The TESSI experience also allowed me to work with educational reform in Mexico. This was an ongoing project for 3 years where we trained Mexican instructors here in Canada as well as in Mexico. It was a very interesting and exciting experience.

 I have a BSc (Astronomy & Physics), M.Ed. (Curriculum Studies) from UBC, but not before doing 18 credits of course work in an M.Ed (Administration) a few years back. Let's just say that I've had enough post secondary schooling for awhile. But who know's, maybe a Ph.D. just before I retire (or maybe after I retire!).

I have been involved with BCSPAC (formerly BCARC) since 1991 and the Executive Director of the British Columbia Schools' Programs Assessment Consortium since 1997. In 1995 I was fortunate enough to be a recipient of the Prime Minister's Award for Teaching Excellence in Mathematics, Science and Technology.

Recent initiatives involve being a part of the Cisco Networking Academies. I thought I was going to give "learning new material" a rest, but this stuff is really neat! What a great opportunity for high school students. I have obtained my CCNA and CCAI certification in Aug 2000. Who knows, I might be able to start another career path with the few hours left in the day.