At the Puxi Campus of the Shanghai American School in Shanghai, China, Dharmendra teaches high-school Physics, Biology, and International Baccalaureate Environmental Systems and Societies. He also leads occasional Mimio training for the entire K-12 campus, and regularly provides Mimio support to other teachers at the school.
In his 21 years of teaching, globe-trotting Dharmendra has taught in four countries—the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, Bermuda, the United States, and China—and has worked with both gifted students and students with learning and behavior challenges. He says that his teaching passion is to break barriers and build bridges among the diverse student groups he has taught. “I challenge my students to question the status quo,” he says. “I encourage my students to find their passions and to do the best they can at it. Make work a joy!” He calls the Mimio interactive system “technology for all,” a portable and affordable system with “wonderful interactivity.” He notes that you don’t have to have a laptop, an LCD projector, or even electricity to benefit from a Mimio system in the classroom, because “Mimio can record whiteboard notes on its bar with batteries! Cool!”
Dharmendra enjoys using MimioStudio™Gallery and contributing to the MimioConnect® interactive teaching community on mimioconnect.com. He has used MimioStudio software and iMovie to make several learning objects, which are available at the Shanghai American School video portal. He describes his favorite Mimio trick as follows: “You have two classes of the same subject matter and you begin your class—drawing diagrams, writing notes, solving problems. Save it when done—obviously! But don’t close it. Simply undo everything by clicking the undo button multiple times. When the next class comes in, you just have to redo at your convenience. If this is too drawn out, then you can erase all of your notes in strokes that suit your presentation style—chunks. In this way, when you undo, the last thing you erase will be the first to return. When you have it all the way you want, hit recorder and save a great lesson with audio.”
Dharmendra has a number of notable accomplishments as an educator. He has prepared students for a range of external examinations, including the Caribbean Examinations Council, the SC state exams, Cambridge International Advanced Levels, Cambridge General Certificate of Education Ordinary Levels, and the International Baccalaureate. He was a lead teacher in the implementation of GLOBE in Trinidad and Tobago (an international environmental education program). He has taught environmental management to adults at community colleges in Trinidad. Recently he completed a Professional Certificate in Online Teaching from the University of Wisconsin in Madison. “I am very interested in online teaching methodology,” he says, “and I feel Mimio can play a role in that.”
Dharmendra holds a B.S. in Chemistry and Biology from the University of the West Indies, an M.S. in Environmental Management from the University of London, and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Education from the University of the West Indies. His interests include watching wildlife and science documentaries, studying nature, playing and watching cricket, performing karaoke, making amateur movies with his six-year-old son’s toys, and building models. He also sponsors the Anime Club at his school.