Dan Whalen has worked in the biotechnology industry, taught high school Biology and Animal Behavior and is currently the Secondary Instructional Technology Coach at Collingswood High School in Southern New Jersey.  Dan is inspired by the influx of EdTech to our schools and sees it as the push that can help teachers transform their practice to benefit today’s students.  He is passionate about learning and sharing his experiences in hopes of improving the quality of schools in our country.

Dan is first and foremost a family man and enjoys spending time with his sons and his wife, a fellow teacher at his school.  He has coached wrestling, a sport that continues to be near and dear to him.  He considers himself a “born again optimist” after a period of cynicism in the middle of his teaching career.  For stress relief he enjoys distance running and hopes to qualify for the Boston Marathon someday.

Dan graduated from Boston University in 2002 with a bachelors degree in Biology.  He went back to school to become a teacher and earned his first Masters degree in Teaching from The College of New Jersey.  With the influx of technology in peoples personal and professional lives, Dan was inspired to further his career with a Masters in Instructional Technology from Saint Josephs University.  He will complete his degree in December 2016.

Whether in his personal or professional life, his mantra is “relentless forward progress”.  Mistakes will be made, but it’s important to learn fast and keep moving forward.  Life is just too short to dwell on the “woulda, coulda, shoulda”.  Thanks for reading!