Mark Patrick Harris

WGTE Public Media

Director of Web Services

1997-2007

In 1997 I was offered a temporary and flexible position with WGTE Public Broadcasting in Toledo, Ohio. WGTE had been selected to operate the Internet portion of an ambitious state-wide educational project called Inquire Ohio. It was the perfect opportunity to work on a large-scale project utilizing cutting-edge techniques and technologies, and to experience real-world feedback from students and teachers throughout the state of Ohio.

Ohio SchoolNet Statewide Initiatives

Ohio Educational Technology Agencies serve Ohio's K-12 schools and assist educators in meeting and exceeding state performance standards. One of the agencies' first major programs to utilize internet technologies was Inquire Ohio, in 1997. WGTE Public Broadcasting was assigned the online role in this program, and continued to provide the core of web development and online support through subsequent inquiry-based educational initiatives such as Hunting for Everyday History, Gateway To History, The Rest of Your Brain, and others. As webmaster for these programs, it was my job to design the program websites and integrate new media in such a way as to facilitate collaboration between students, teachers, program administrators, and the community. To learn more about these programs, click on the links below:

Build Your Own Website™ and other Educational Applications

The success of Inquire Ohio made it clear that there was enthusiam within the educational community for a more classroom-centric approach to online outreach. Top-down web applications like Blackboard were becoming more widely adopted, but were designed from a school/district administrative perspective. After a series of focus group meetings with teachers, parents, and students, I designed and developed WGTE's Build Your Own Website™ (BYOW) content management system. Over time, several more applications were developed and integrated into the original BYOW plan: