Education Leaders Program / Michael E. Sweeney
Michael E. Sweeney
St. Petersburg, Florida
School affiliations
Websites and publications
"The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, nor to worry about the future, but to live the present moment wisely and earnestly."
After spending 11 years working for Pinellas County Schools as a special education teacher and then technology specialist, Michael E. Sweeney joined the Florida Center for Instructional Technology at the University of South Florida. He has been doing instructional technology training for over 12 years for K-12 school districts and higher education institutions. Currently, he is leading teams of trainers around the state of Florida doing four-day Teaching and Learning Summer Institutes on the integration of technology into classroom curriculum. He has a Bachelor's degree in Behavior Disorder Education and a Master's degree in Instructional Technology and Design.
During his tenure at the Florida Center for Instructional Technology, Sweeney has provided training to Florida school districts on a range of Adobe software: Web Design with Dreamweaver®, Flash®, and Fireworks®; Digital Images in the Classroom with Photoshop® and Photoshop Elements; and Digital Video in the Classroom with Adobe Premiere® and Final Cut Pro. He also helps to develop dynamic websites using PHP, mySQL, and Filemaker Pro that provide digital assets for all teachers at no cost.
Working in conjunction with the Florida Department of Education, Sweeney has helped develop the Florida Digital Educator and Master Digital Educator Programs. With the use of Adobe Captivate®, Adobe Connect™, and Moodle, the center has gone beyond face-to-face training. He initiated online learning communities that would allow teachers from all over the state to work with national trainers on software, classroom management, and the integration of technology into their curriculum.
In his spare time at work, Sweeney is also the server administrator for the center's eight Mac OS X servers that include web servers, file servers, database servers, and the Adobe Connect server.
Sweeney enjoys photography and videography. If he has free time during daylight hours, he can be found rollerblading or biking one of the many trails in the St. Petersburg area.