Ontario Association of Career Colleges Excellence in Teaching Nomination Package Jason Eckert Dean of Technology - Submitted March 2013

Ontario Association of
  Career Colleges

Excellence in Teaching
 Nomination Package
    Jason Eckert
 Dean of Technology

 Submitted March 2013

Excellence in Teaching Nomination Package
                             Jason Eckert
                          Dean of Technology

For over 14 years, Jason Eckert has
devoted himself to triOS College. I
can quite honestly say that triOS
would not be where it is today without
Jason. He is the epitome of an
extraordinary instructor and exudes
leadership.

Jason started as an instructor and
has now grown into becoming the
Dean of Technology. Here are
several examples of how Jason
demonstrates leadership:

      Jason was instrumental in the
       revitalization of curriculum for all of the triOS technology programs in July
       2012. Jason worked with industry leaders, employers, graduates and
       other faculty members to revamp the curriculum to meet the needs and
       standards of the industry.
      For the past two years, Jason has established and maintained the “Video
       Game Makers Camp.” The camp is for children age 10-14 that have a
       passion for video games. Jason’s goal is to get the younger generation
       thinking about careers in technology. The camp runs over March break
       and is taught by triOS College video game students.
      Since technology is so close to
       Jason’s heart, he has implemented a
       pilot project with Amazon’s Kindle
       eBook Reader. Following Harvard
       University’s lead, the pilot is to
       examine the possibility of eliminating
       traditional text books with Kindles.
      Jason has also brought together triOS
       students and instructors to build the
       software that will operate and control a
       moon rover currently being built by
       McMaster engineering students.
      Another example of leadership is Jason’s
       willingness to assist with the Ontario
       Science Centre’s video game exhibition
       “Game On 2.0” (history of video games
       from 1962 to modern day). triOS College
       is the main sponsor for the exhibition and

Jason has agreed to conduct seminars and camps that will encourage
       attendees to think beyond gaming as a pastime and more as a career
       choice. Jason’s expertise in the industry and passion will definitely
       inspire people to enter the growing technology sector.

Over the years, Jason Eckert has inspired so many students and staff to work
harder and achieve more. Jason is a brilliant man whose passion for technology
and learning has inspired hundreds to follow in his footsteps. He does this
through leading by example.

      Since certifications are a benchmark in the IT world, Jason has proven his
       wealth of knowledge by obtaining over 30 certifications (i.e. Microsoft
       Certified Trainer, Linux+ Certified, SCO Master ACE, Cisco CCNA
       Certified, Apple Certified Help Desk Specialist & many more). By earning
       so many, he has inspired several students to obtain certifications as well.
      Apart from all of his other
       responsibilities, he is an author of
       several leading textbooks for Course
       Technology/Cengage (Boston) and
       Wiley/Microsoft (Indianapolis). Some
       published works include Guide to
       Linux+, Microsoft Windows Vista
       Guide, Microsoft Official Academic
       Course – to name a few.
      Jason is also an inspiration to other
       instructors. He is always willing to
       step in and help out wherever and
       whenever needed. He acts as a
       mentor to other campus staff and
       encourages them to go beyond their
       limitations to help our students
       succeed.

It would be extremely difficult to find an instructor that is more passionate about
their field. I feel that I cannot even do his passion justice in words. Jason is a
self-admitted nerd who cannot contain his excitement surrounding the technology
field.

He is admired by staff and students for his knowledge, willingness to help and
hard-working nature. If you ask Jason for something, he is more than willing to
help regardless of how many things he has on his plate. Here are some
wonderful examples of Jason’s remarkable passion:

   Over the last few years,
       triOS students have
       participated in the Great
       Canadian Appathon
       (CGA). The CGA is a
       48-hour weekend
       gaming competition
       presented by XMG
       Studios Inc. that
       challenges post-
       secondary students
       across Canada to
       develop games. Few instructors would be willing to put their lives on hold
       and live at a campus with their students over a weekend. Jason however,
       fully embraced this opportunity and created some amazing memories with
       triOS students. He was on hand to help his students with game
       development, tweet about the event, provide excessive amounts of
       energy drinks, make sure students were fed and most importantly, inspire
       them to tough it out for the competition and finish their games by the
       deadline.
      Similar to the CGA, Jason
       encouraged his students to
       participate in the Microsoft Win8
       Development Hackathon. The
       Hackathon was a Windows 8 code
       fest where participants heard first-
       hand from Microsoft executives and
       were able to try their hand at
       coding. It was a fantastic
       opportunity for students to network with people actually working in the
       field. To make the event even more of
       a success, Jason created a triOS game
       console for participants to try out
       throughout the weekend.

Apart from all the amazing initiatives and
projects Jason is involved with, he also
incredibly nice, sincere and hilarious. He has
no restrictions when it comes to having fun and
learning more about technology. He even let
triOS create this photo (left) for a company
event.

On top of being an amazing instructor and phenomenal Dean of Technology,
Jason is also a single father of a teenage daughter. We pulled this tidbit from his
online blog (http://jasoneckert.net),

       “Parenting is one personal aspect that I do not see emphasized too often
       in biographies. It requires skill, patience, and continuous learning.

       I’ve raised my daughter since she was 5 years old on my own - and yes -
       I made school lunches, did lots of laundry, built backyard forts and
       cleaned the house after having a ton of kids over.

       My daughter is much older now, but we still do lots of stuff together in
       what little free time we have - we swim, hike, canoe, camp, read, shop,
       watch movies and visit the Ontario Science Centre.”

We hope that through this submission you are able to get a glimpse of the
extraordinary man Jason Eckert is. If you require any additional information,
please be sure to contact me.

Thank you!

Written by Brittany Tkach on behalf of:

Kathy Edge
kathy.edge@trios.com
Regional Director of Operations
905.814.7212 x1010

triOS college business technology healthcare
6755 Mississauga Road, Suite 103
Mississauga, On L5N 7Y2
fax :: 905.813.8250