Persona Vitae
I find it helpful to provide some pertinent information to those who ask about my qualifications... so here goes.
Experience: I have taught for a total of 17 years, mostly at the middle school level. I am certified by the State of Florida, and considered highly qualified in the fields of Biology, Language Arts (6-12), Social Sciences (6-12), and Middle grades science (5-9).
Education: I am degreed from the University of Central Florida, with a Bachelor's Degree in Science. I also earned an Associate's Degree in Education from Daytona Beach Community College. I hold a special certification from Beijing Univesity, Beijing China, as well as special certificates from The University of Florida in Teaching about Asia, and from the Northrop Grumman/ NASA in suborbital zero gravity flight. During the summer I completed advanced coursework in astronomy and physics through the University of Florida. I also spent a full week at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute studying aquaculture and the applications it holds for Florida's future.
I spent 3 years working on Appledore Island as part of Cornell University's North Atlantic research program. While there, I studied dolphin communication and physiology. I have also participated in Dolphin research through the Institute in Marathon, Florida. In addition, I have worked with NASA and the Keystone Institute on projects for missions to Mars, global warming, and environmental pollution. I worked as part of the COSEE program for mapping and cataloging species in the Gulf Of Mexico and worked on developing plans to help restore coastal barriers to hurricane prone areas. I spent 3 weeks traveling through China and working a project to help curb greenhouse gases and traveled to Antarctica as part of the ANDRILL/ ARISE project measuring ancient Co2 levels in core ice. I am a Discovery Channnel educator and promote the use of Unitedstreaming as a way to incorporate multimedia into the classroom. I have presented for the Discovery Channel at the Florida Educatonal Technology Conference and also at the NSTA's Charolotte, NC National conference for Facing the Future.org. Recently I was selected to serve as one of the judges for the Go Green, Do Something world wide science projects, through Siemens, Youth can Change the World and the Discovery Network. In this upcoming year I will be speaking at the NSTA confernece in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and in Phoenix, Arizona. I am a strong proponent of the It's About Time (project based inquiry science) program recommended by the Nationa Science Foundation and produced by the Herff- Jones company.
Teacher Contact Information:
My planning period is from 7:30am to 9:00am, however, I tend to reserve the last 15 minutes for personal planning. If you would like to set up a conference, please call the school at 352-671-6120 and I will make arrangements to meet with you. I prefer the student be present at conferences. My E- mail address is thomas.allison@marion.k12.fl.us. My screen name is Caksitanka on AIM. If I am online I am usually available for questions pertaining to class. I do not engage in social conversations with students and I do log all conversations.
Should you need other methods to reach me, please speak to me personally.
My preferred method of communication is via E- mail and I encourage every parent to provide an e- mail address. Although I have voice mail through the school, I rarely check it. Please do not leave important voice messages on my school phone as it may be several years before I get back to you. (not a typo, please use one of the other methods above to contact me)