D.G. McIntosh

Doug McIntosh • Profiles in Mileage

K-12 Educator • Learning Environment Consultant/Author/Speaker • Giving Back • Music Blogger • Running Slogger

Introduction

A friend of a friend once told me when you retire from your day job, "Every day is Saturday, and if not Saturday, Sunday." So here, 'In the time of coronavirus' I've traded the professional looking photo of me at my desk with the pressed shirt for my daily t-shirt, shorts, shades, and hat ensemble.

In early 2020, I decided to end my K-12 educational consultant business, Groupwerk® and website that now links here at dgmcIntosh.com. My focus now is writing and philanthropy.

It's not that I won't ever be involved with schools doing learning environment design or public speaking, it's just now time for me to do it for free. So if you are an educator coming here to look me up, I can still put on the pressed shirt and pants and help you with your learning space or school learning spaces, but now you can work with me through my non-profit, Project Learning Studio™.

Recently, I decided to organize all my current projects into this website because they all just sort of flow together like never before for me.

As I began to list my various 'job' titles in the subheading above, Don Henley's Greatest Hits album, Actual Miles came to mind. I love the album cover of Henley as a used car salesman because I certainly have racked up the miles over the years.

In 2020, I qualified for Medicare and my first thought was, great now I'm lumped in the same general 'senior' group as my mother. So I guess the miles have been metaphorically ticking, and if you're interested, you can keep reading and take a look at this Ol' 55.

K-12 Educator
I'm a K-12 teacher who never wanted to be an administrator, although I spent much of my career working directly with Principals and central office administrators as a Swiss Army knife resource teacher.

In 2014, I completed a successful thirty-five-year career in special and general education in San Diego Unified School District. Here’s a brief history.

I was a special education teacher for students with severe multiple disabilities. I created many electrical control devices for these student’s communication and leisure. I also created professional development for teachers and parents working and living with these students. In 1983, I started a non-profit business called, Designs for Success that fabricated individualized adaptations for students with disabilities. I was also the District’s first Assistive Technology Resource Teacher, which later grew into its own Assistive Technology Department under Special Education Services.
In general education, I taught Kindergarten and later became a K-6 Computer Lab Teacher.
I served many years as a central office K-12 Magnet Schools and Educational Technology Resource Teacher for the District. During these years, I worked with many talented colleagues and teamed to provide inquiry-based professional development that integrated technology in learning activities. I also evaluated and field tested many hardware products and furniture that became District standards in classrooms, libraries and labs, including: Macs, Windows and Linux laptop computers and cart systems, student standing desks, teacher wireless microphone/audio systems, video projectors, document cameras, interactive whiteboards and eliminating the traditional teacher desk for a multimedia presentation station. In Ed Tech, I created a website called the Product Price List with images and descriptions that was very popular for many years with District teachers and staff to view all the district technology and AV furniture standards.

As an Ed Tech Resource Teacher, I was tasked to work with the District's Facilities Planning staff to assist with new school construction with the technology integration of classroom audio systems, video presentation systems and laptop computers.
In 2009, Dan Wolfson (Educational Technology Program Manager) and I co-created the i21 Learning Initiative which over five years provided professional development for the District-wide deployment of interactive whiteboards, sound system, presentation station and 1:1 laptops for every classroom and teacher in the District. Dan and I wrote the first strategic planning drafts for the entire deployment.
I finished my teaching career at Mission Bay High School in San Diego as both their International Baccalaureate (IB) Coordinator and Technology Coordinator. Working with school staff and the community, I helped grow and promote the IB program to a level of sustainability as it continues to prosper today. I also created sit/stand options for students in classrooms and transformed the library into a learning commons.

Learning Environment Consultant/Author/Speaker

In 2014, I took my experience and passion for learning to start my own educational consulting business, Groupwerk, Inc.

As a learning environment consultant and designer, I advocated for the 20th to 21st century transformation of a school's three most common learning spaces from: classrooms to learning studios; libraries to learning commons; and labs to makerspaces.
I ran a for-profit educational consulting and design service having the opportunity to partner with schools and companies to craft unique learning spaces in many K-12 classrooms, libraries, and labs.
In 2018, I self-published my free ebook, Learning Environment Design (LED): The K-12 Integration of Learning Design, Physical Space Design, and Digital Space Design. My ebook is always live online as I update a little here and a little there all the time with my latest thinking.

In fact, I'm in the process of updating my book for 2021 and beyond when students are all back in face-to-face classrooms with their teachers. It really will be no stretch for me, as I have always advocated for mobile and modular (mobimod) learning spaces for individualized and collaborative work within the classroom.

Giving Back

In 2020, After Groupwerk®, I created a path to accomplish my passion for crafting engaging learning environments through philanthropy.

I was blessed to have such a career to help teachers be their best. The teachers and students that crossed my path gave me so much joy to be an educator, and I'm so thankful for the experiences I have had with them in schools, and professional development over the years.
I wanted to give back by directly helping teachers who have a passion to create and work in their own flexible learning space. So I created Project Learning Studio™ as a nonprofit working with companies, organizations and citizens to provide donated new furniture, products and/or services to transform K-12 classrooms. As I write this, I don't have a foundation or donors, yet. It's just one guy with a lot of experience making learning spaces cozy and engaging. If you are a teacher interested in changing your traditional classroom, contact me. I'm still standing. For me, Project Learning Studio™ is one of my best ideas that I plan to sustain for the rest of my life.

Project Learning Studio™ also addresses the need to now focus on the 21st century classroom. In the last couple of decades, there has been millions of state and federal dollars channeled to new construction or remodeling projects for libraries, and makerspaces or speciality school-to-career labs. It's now time to put furniture dollars into existing K-12 classrooms that have all the same old desks and chairs along with a learning space mentality made in the 20th century.

Music Blogger

In 2015, I started Monday Monday Music™. It's, 'A Weekly Blog About Rock 'n' Roll And Americana Genres Of Music.'

I started the blog to improve my writing skills with a weekly Monday morning deadline. The inspiration for the title comes from the 1966 hit by the Mamas and the Papas, Monday, Monday. In 1966, I was eleven years old and absorbed rock 'n' roll into my being like most kids older and younger than me.
So the blog is always two parts: one, I write something about the subject, and then, I create a playlist relating to the subject.
I have a core group of friends and family that give me a lot of support, but I'm starting to grow my audience, so check the blog out. I've got your music playlist for the week covered.

Running Slogger

In 1973, I graduated from high school and started running around town and at the local community college just down the street from my house in Santa Maria, California.

I was never a speedster and in the 1980's all these triathlon athletes started forming professional teams with sponsors. So I just started calling myself 'Team Tortoise' because I was always a jogger, and now I'm a slow jogger, or simply, a 'slogger.'
Around 2008 or thereabouts, I started the web site Team Tortoise to reflect my running style and got my two sisters involved to the point where I designed some graphics and we made t-shirts for several half-marathons we ran together.
I put the website together for us slower folks on the go and anyone can download the Team Tortoise, or Team Turtle logos for their 'own team' just out there keeping active and moving forward.

My sisters and I started a tradition several years ago where we run the annual San Luis Obispo County Food Bank Turkey Trot fund raiser on Thanksgiving morning. Some years we get other family members or friends to join us to walk or run. In 2020, we did the event virtually because of the pandemic. Here's hoping we can be face-to-face again with all the good people at Pismo Beach in 2021! You can't help but see us in our neon green Team Tortoise/Team Turtle singlets!

So, here's my passion projects that I'll be 'working' on for years to come. If you are interested in contacting me, click on the link here and let me know your thoughts on any of my projects, and I may be able to assist you in someway. I've been know to take a sad song and make it better.