Professor Glenn Finger, FACE

Professor Glenn Finger is Dean (Learning and Teaching) in the Faculty of Education at Griffith University, Queensland. This portfolio involves responsibilities which reflect his passion - learning and teaching. He has extensively researched, published, and provided consultancies in creating transformational stories of the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to enhance learning. He has contributed to the scholarship of teaching through more than 60 peer reviewed publications (including Books, Book Chapters, Journal Articles, Conference Papers) and major reviews, including collaborative research in various international settings, including National Kaohsiung Normal University, Taiwan.

He became a member of the Australian College of Educators in 1981, and, more recently, was the President of the Gold Coast Regional Group from 2006-2009, and was made a Fellow of the Australian College of Educators (FACE) in 2008.

He is the lead author of the book Transforming Learning with ICT: Making IT Happen (2007), and the Co-Editor of the ACER press publication, Developing a Networked School Community: A Guide to Realising the Vision (2010). For his outstanding teaching related to ICT, Glenn has won various teaching awards and citations, including:

• (2010) ACEC2010 Digital Diversity Conference Highly Commended Paper, Melbourne Australia.
• (2009) Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC) Award for Teaching Excellence (Social Sciences).
• (2008) Australian Teacher Education Association (ATEA) Pearson Education Teacher Educator of the Year.
• (2008) Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC) Citation for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning.
• (2008) Fellow, Australian College of Educators (ACE).
• (2008) Honorary Member, Golden Key International Honours Society.
• (2008) Australian Council for Computers in Education. Award for Best of Strand Paper Jamieson-Proctor, R., & Finger, G. (2008). ACTing to Improve IcT Use for Learning: A synthesis of studies of Teacher Confidence in Using ICT in two Queensland schooling systems. Australian Computers in Education Conference (ACEC): ACT on IcT, Canberra, 29 Sept.-2 Oct. 2008.
• (2008) Australian Council for Computers in Education Award for Best of Strand Paper - Sun, P., Finger, G., Cheng, H.K., & Lin, W. (2008). Identifying the Critical Functionalities of eLearning Systems: Relationships between Teachers Personal Values and eLearning System Functionalities. Australian Computers in Education Conference (ACEC): ACT on IcT, Canberra, 29 Sept.-2 Oct. 2008.
• (2006) Griffith University Faculty of Education Learning and Teaching Citation.
• (2006) Australian College of Educators 25 Year Membership award.
• (2006) Australian Council for Computers in Education AwardHighly Commended Paper - Jamieson-Proctor, R., & Finger, G. (2006). Relationship between pre-service and practising teachers' confidence and beliefs about using ICT. Paper presented at The Australian Computers in Education Conference 2006, Cairns, Australia, 2-4 October 2006.
• (2003) Gold Coast Honours Award for services to Education in the Gold Coast community.
• (2002) Awarded Griffith University Teaching Excellence Award.

Professor Glenn Finger loves teaching as it holds the potential for making a difference by assisting in transforming the lives of others in ways through promoting lifelong and lifewide learning. For more than 35 years, his teaching career has been driven by a commitment to improving the life prospects, the aspirations, and learning outcomes of his students. As a student who struggled in his early years of schooling, he has a deep, personal understanding of the difference a great teacher can make by connecting with students and awakens that joy in creative expression and knowledge.

After starting his teacher career in 1975, he taught many students through being a Health and Physical Education specialist, primary school teacher, Deputy Principal, and Acting Principal in a wide variety of educational contexts. His greatest delight is keeping in touch with many of his students who share with him their rich personal stories of their lifelong and lifewide challenges and achievements.