Education Leaders / Deborah Whittington
Deborah Whittington
Perth, Australia
School affiliations
"Never tell a child a thing is impossible – the Universe may have been waiting all this time for someone ignorant enough of the impossibility to do just that thing"
— Author Unknown
Deborah (Deb) Whittington teaches Electronic Publishing courses in Central Institute’s Printing and Graphic Technologies department. She also actively participates in building strong industry relationships, speaks at industry events, writes and contributes to white papers, and plans staff development. She recently developed a Unit of Competence for the Printing and Graphic Arts National Training Package that guides instruction across all Australian technical institutes teaching this subject. She also shapes and documents assessment procedures for her institution. Last year she was one of Central's nominees for the State Training Awards' Trainer of the Year.
Deb comes to the position with a strong technical background, having earned designation as an Apple Developer in the 1980’s. She has used Adobe Illustrator since its first beta in1987 and designed libraries of black-and-white clipart suitable to the Australian market. She also worked as a designer, marketing manager, and trainer in industry before joining Central Institute.
Deb has developed a passionate interest in aptitude, talent, and their apparent relationship to AD/HD and Dyslexia. Over the past two years she has worked with colleague Chris Schnell to develop online learning resources that help students transcend rote learning. Their training tools explain the rationale and consequences of procedures students are taught in simple language and clear visuals.
Her favorite compliment was given her when an ex-student returned to visit two years after he had completed his course and said, "Thank you for believing in me when I didn't believe in myself!"
