Jeffrey+Mordan

My name is Jeffrey Mordan.

All I've ever wanted to be was a teacher. When I graduated art school, I planned on teaching art in college. Then I went to visit a small, independent school in center city Philadelphia for a part-time job. That school was The Philadelphia School.

I was amazed at the learning going on. The visual art classes were at a level I could not believe - things I hadn't done until college! I was hooked.

I’ve worked as an visual arts teacher at TPS for the next 11 years. Through out that time, I would help other teachers integrate technology into their classrooms. I was never really interested in technology. Truly, I never touched a computer before coming to TPS (I always used a type writer for my college papers). What interested me was working collaboratively with other teachers; brainstorming variations on a lesson and solving challenges that arose in the classroom.

I am now the Director of Technology at TPS. I focus my attention towards teaching teachers and staff while at the same time maintaining our entire school infrastructure. My knowledge of computer systems has come from years of experience with Apple computers, a lack of fear, and training from various outside consultants the school has hired over the years. I have seen many technological transitions over my educational history. Though I’m curious about the tools of technology, I am often left frustrated by them: their designed obsolescence, their complicated procedures and how their ubiquitous nature sometimes trumps what’s best for the environment. But technology as a mindset is utterly engaging; the mindset that questions three great human myths. 1. That humanity has reached the pinnacle of its development. 2. That we are completely separate from each other and 3. That the physical world is all there is (From The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle).

I hope to explore these further with this PLP opportunity. Here is a bit more about me through my digital footprint.  Jeffrey  