[Note: This page is an adapted version of one completed in Full Disclosure at Around the Corner-MGuhlin.org. It has only been personalized and the text largely remains the same as that used by Miguel Guhlin]
About Michael K. Barbour / Full Disclosure
Michael Barbour explores a variety of topics at his blog, Virtual High School Meanderings. While he maintains his own domain at http://www.michaelbarbour.com, his blog is hosted at the no cost WordPress domain. He uses Wikispaces to run his wiki because it’s just a bunch of pages.
Making a Living
How does Michael make a living? Well, Michael is currently an Assistant Professor in the Instructional Technology program at Wayne State University. He is also in the process of establishing a consulting business where he hopes to work with K-12 online learning program in Canada, the United States and worldwide.
Michael isn’t paid to publish (it’s just part of being a faculty member), but his work on both K-12 online learning and gaming in education is published fairly regularly. Like most academics, those items which are published in non-open source outlets are the copyright of the publication (although I tend to ask for permission to post the item to my personal website). I also make a habit of trying to publish in open source journals (at least as much as I am able, being an untenured faculty member in a tenure track position).
You’re a blogger, huh?
Yes, I’m a blogger. I started my Virtual High School Meanderings blog in early 2005 (largely due to the influence of Nathan Lowell) and haven’t looked back too much, except for the obligatory navel-gazing that characterizes bloggers. I don’t get paid for blogging, nor do I advertise on my blog – although I do post some vendor items that show up in my mailbox when I believe that they would be of interest to the general K-12 online learning community (and this typically happens around the Virtual School Symposium when my inbox tends to get more of these items). I don’t believe in advertising on my blog or making money from what I write there because I’d rather keep my integrity. What I write on my blog is strictly for fun, playing with ideas, as well as exploring various issues surrounding K-12 online learning.
I used to write for other blogs, and you can see which ones here. I do not receive payment for any of the blogs I write for. Again, I believe to receive payment would damage my academic integrity. I’m open to reconsidering that point of view and would love for someone to talk me out of it, since my wife has made a point to me that while *I* may get a thrill out of writing, she gets a thrill out of getting a check for that work.
DISCLOSURES
Business ties: Not sure I have any.
Media ties: Aside from what I’ve already shared, you know my media ties. They are pretty much non-existent, except for my affiliation with Technology and Learning magazine as a paid columnist. Since they buy the copyright to articles they publish, you can pretty much say that I do the research, the editor revises my work until its unrecognizable except in general purpose and scope. Yet, I’m not going to complain…they’ve bought the article!
Stocks: I own no stocks.
Religion: I don’t thin I’ve ever blogged about religion, but I was raised in the United Church of Canada and I still consider myself a Christian
Politics: Being a Canadian, and a left-leaning one at that, most of my views tend to be quite left of many of my American colleagues. While I was a card-carrying member and quite active in the Liberal Party of Canada during my youth and undergraduate years, I have found myself voting for almost all of the main political parties in the Canadian political sphere.
I am not a single issue voter, although single issues in the past have caused my indecision to be quickly solved. In most education issues, I tend to fall on the side of public education (e.g., I think Michael Apple makes a great deal of sense in most of his writing).
There are a lot of issues, but I’m not going to jump into those now. If you have a question, drop me an email and maybe I’ll formulate an opinion.
A Few Questions
1. Please list your other current employers, whether full time or part time.
None at present
2. For what other employers (consulting) have you worked in the last five years?
- University of Georgia
- Centre for Distance Learning and Innovation
- Illinois Virtual High School
- Discovery Collegiate High School
3. What sort of volunteer work do you do regularly, if any, and for whom? (Please include any public relations, advocacy or advisory board involvement.)
I am an active member of the following organizations:
- American Educational Research Association (primarily the Rural Education Special Interest Group
- Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education
- North American Council for Online Learning
I am also a member of many others, see my CV for a current and historical list.
4. Do you do any work paid or unpaid in politics or government? Have you done any lobbying of governmental bodies?
Not to date.
5. Do you have any financial investments or financial ties that may limit your ability to cover specific topics free of conflict, and if so, what are the topics?
None that I’m aware of, and if I did, I’d be sure to point them out.
6. Although we don’t regulate the activities of spouses, partners or immediate family members of our contributors, do any of their professional or personal involvements or any of their financial investments or ties make certain topics inappropriate for you, and if so, what are the topics?
No (my wife is a nurse).
7. Have you accepted any free trips, junkets or press trips in the last two years? Have you accepted any substantial free merchandise or discounts from people we might cover?
The only thing I can think of was the Distance Education Association of New Zealand paid my way to their conference in 2008 as I was one of their three keynote speakers (and this is a common practice in the academy). Beyond that anything free I have received is available to just about anyone else.
8. Has anything you’ve written later resulted in a published editor’s note or retraction for deliberate falsehood or plagiarism or become the subject of a lawsuit involving allegations of deliberate falsehood? (If yes, please include details about the publication and your role in the article or story. If a lawsuit, please describe the disposition of the case.)
No (or at least not that I have ever been aware of). If I make mistakes, I correct them on my blog.
Again, the text of this page was taken from the entry Full Disclosure at Around the Corner-MGuhlin.org. Miquel notes that he adapted these questions from Jeff Jarvis at BuzzMachine.com.
