Long before John would record eLearning projects for industry leaders like Educational Research Bureau (ERB), he was part of an ensemble of voice actors in 2006 who worked on e-textbooks for high school students.   “American History” was a popular textbook from MacDougal Littell, a division of Houghton Mifflin.  Back in the day, this was an “interactive” textbook - in the form of a singular disc - that was inserted into a desktop computer’s DVD-ROM drive. This “eEdition” provided students with animation and interactive content for an audio-visual experience.  John got the chance to be Thomas Paine, author of “Common Sense”, published in January 1776, the 47-page pamphlet that would encourage the residents of the Thirteen Colonies to embrace the concept of independence from England.  Here is John’s favorite two minutes from “Common Sense”.

 

Now jump ahead nearly 20 years.  John’s recent narration work for ERB included eLearning projects for elementary, middle and high school levels of test-taking for Reading Comprehension, Mathematics sections and other subjects as well.  This popular alternative to the traditional SAT is a well-regarded highlight of the eLearning industry.  Here are some samples from the math and reading comprehension sections of former tests.

 

John has always been attracted to Education, even beyond his B.A. in English Literature and M.B.A. from Fordham University.  Whether it was playing the role of Professor Frank Lillie on stage in “The Ernest Just Story” at the Stella Adler Theater on Hollywood Boulevard or simply coaching a middle school team for “Odyssey of the Mind” in New Canaan, Connecticut, all things professorial were always fun.   John worked as an adjunct professor and advisor for five years at Fordham’s Graduate School of Business at Lincoln Center in the Master’s in Investor Relations Program.  He hosted regular workshops for the MBA students who would learn from Manhattan’s IR professionals about how to best solve current Public Relations-type problems.  

 

But aside from these accomplishments, John’s best experience in Education was getting asked to be a guest speaker for Fordham’s undergraduate class in “Sports Media”, taught by WFUV-FM’s outstanding Sports Director Bobby Ciafardini.  John gave an overview about the VoiceOver industry, shared how he “broke in” to the business, got his SAG-AFTRA card, etc.  But the best part was passing out commercial copy for the students to perform with each other.  Going back to Keating Hall at Rose Hill as a lecturer was the most fulfilling experience of John’s professional life.  Go Rams!