Bob Spear

In the last few years, my wife Mary Helen (a psychology professor at Prince George's) and I have been involved in distance learning projects in countries from Poland, Denmark, and Norway, to the Philippines, Ethiopia, South Africa, Rwanda, Botswana, Zambia, Uganda, and Tanzania. We have been most gratified to work with people in other countries and see these projects grow, develop, and expand and eventually influence and improve the lives of many people.

Originally from Chicago, Mary Helen and I live in Greenbelt, Maryland, with our youngest son Brendan. All three of our sons are products of DeMatha Catholic High School and Prince George's Community College. The two older boys earned computer science degrees at senior institutions, and both now work in the computer field. Brendan earned a mechanical engineering degree, and is now teaching in the Engineering Technology Department at Prince George's Community College.

We also enjoy a vacation cottage at Deep Creek Lake in Western Maryland, where we spend most weekends. My other interests include traveling, skiing, boating, and refereeing soccer.

From 2000 through 2003, the National University of Rwanda and the University of Maryland have had a USAID-funded partnership. I have been the co-director of the computer science component of this project, and have also contributed to the distance learning component and to the emergence of the NUR's Center for Instructional Technology. Among other things, this project created course materials for a course in database systems. Materials for that course were created by my students in BMGT 402 at the University of Maryland: Click here to view the course materials online, or download the huge (83 MB) self-extracting executable file to install these materials to your computer. This project also sponsored the development of materials for teaching Microsoft Office, used in the PGCC-NUR Project mentioned above.

Many PGCC faculty donated books to the NUR. Then in 2003 Prentice Hall Publishers decided to donate 14,000 remainder books (the books left over when a new edition of a text is published) to the NUR library -- these pictures were taken during the unloading of the truck in Butare. The container was loaded with books from several Prentice Hall warehouses, then shipped by boat to Mombassa, Kenya, then overland by truck to Butare.

The Polish-American Management Center in Lodz, Poland, was created by the University of Maryland and the University of Lodz, with grant funding from USAID. I work with the PAM Center on their MBA, Global Mini-MBA, and Distance Learning Certificate programs.

I serve as the faculty coordinator for an internship exchange program between Prince George's Community college and Tietgen Odense Business College in Odense, Denmark.

A most interesting project from 1999 to 2001 was a joint effort of several Maryland community colleges with Vista University in South Africa. (As of 2003, Vista University is going out of existence, and its seven campuses are being merged with local universities, so the link to the Vista homepage may not work much longer.) I worked on the distance learning and computer literacy aspects of this project.

George Mason University. (I also taught as an adjunct in the George Mason University Graduate School, 1989-1993)



	Welcome to the faculty homepage for Dr. Robert Spear

	BIOGRAPHY: DR. BOB SPEAR Professor of Computer Information Systems Prince George’s Community College, Largo MD
	I have taught at PGCC since 1981, specializing in business computer applications software design and development, especially Visual Basic, database systems, and information systems analysis and design. I am also one of the many PGCC faculty engaged in distance learning, with experience in DL technologies and pedagogy. In the last few years, my wife Mary Helen (a psychology professor at Prince George's) and I have been involved in distance learning projects in countries from Poland, Denmark, and Norway, to the Philippines, Ethiopia, South Africa, Rwanda, Botswana, Zambia, Uganda, and Tanzania. We have been most gratified to work with people in other countries and see these projects grow, develop, and expand and eventually influence and improve the lives of many people. Originally from Chicago, Mary Helen and I live in Greenbelt, Maryland, with our youngest son Brendan. All three of our sons are products of DeMatha Catholic High School and Prince George's Community College. The two older boys earned computer science degrees at senior institutions, and both now work in the computer field. Brendan earned a mechanical engineering degree, and is now teaching in the Engineering Technology Department at Prince George's Community College. We also enjoy a vacation cottage at Deep Creek Lake in Western Maryland, where we spend most weekends. My other interests include traveling, skiing, boating, and refereeing soccer. For more information, see Bob Spear's resume Current and recent projects: Prince George's Community College has a USAID-funded partnership with the National University of Rwanda (NUR), whose purpose is to provide computer literacy training to secondary school teachers throughout Rwanda. I am the director of this project for PGCC. The materials used for teacher training in this project were created by my students in BMGT 201 at the University of Maryland, with additional materials in French created by our colleagues in Rwanda. In the summer of 2003 at the NUR, we trained 33 secondary school teachers from throughout Rwanda in the use of Windows and Microsoft Office. The picture shows one of those teachers receiving the certificate for completing the three-week workshop. Click here to view the course materials online, or download the huge (175 MB) self-extracting executable file to install these materials to your computer. From 2000 through 2003, the National University of Rwanda and the University of Maryland have had a USAID-funded partnership. I have been the co-director of the computer science component of this project, and have also contributed to the distance learning component and to the emergence of the NUR's Center for Instructional Technology. Among other things, this project created course materials for a course in database systems. Materials for that course were created by my students in BMGT 402 at the University of Maryland: Click here to view the course materials online, or download the huge (83 MB) self-extracting executable file to install these materials to your computer. This project also sponsored the development of materials for teaching Microsoft Office, used in the PGCC-NUR Project mentioned above. Many PGCC faculty donated books to the NUR. Then in 2003 Prentice Hall Publishers decided to donate 14,000 remainder books (the books left over when a new edition of a text is published) to the NUR library -- these pictures were taken during the unloading of the truck in Butare. The container was loaded with books from several Prentice Hall warehouses, then shipped by boat to Mombassa, Kenya, then overland by truck to Butare. The Polish-American Management Center in Lodz, Poland, was created by the University of Maryland and the University of Lodz, with grant funding from USAID. I work with the PAM Center on their MBA, Global Mini-MBA, and Distance Learning Certificate programs. NetTel@Africa is a network of eight African universities and their American partners, along with various African and American regulatory bodies and service providers in the Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) sector. NetTel@Africa is building post graduate diploma and masters degree programs in ICT regulatory management and policy formulation. I serve as a consultant in e-learning to the NetTel@Africa partners in South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, Tanzania, and Uganda. I serve as the faculty coordinator for an internship exchange program between Prince George's Community college and Tietgen Odense Business College in Odense, Denmark. A most interesting project from 1999 to 2001 was a joint effort of several Maryland community colleges with Vista University in South Africa. (As of 2003, Vista University is going out of existence, and its seven campuses are being merged with local universities, so the link to the Vista homepage may not work much longer.) I worked on the distance learning and computer literacy aspects of this project. Other professional and personal links: My principle employer since 1981: Prince George's Community College My other employer since 2004: University of Maryland University College My newest consulting assignment since 2005: United States Department of Agriculture Graduate School My other employer for 19 years (where I taught as an adjunct from 1984 to 2003): The Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland My alma mater (undergraduate): University of Notre Dame My other alma mater (masters): Georgetown University My other-other alma mater (doctorate): George Mason University. (I also taught as an adjunct in the George Mason University Graduate School, 1989-1993) Most Important Family Pix The whole family Dr. Mary Helen Spear, my wife Brain Jeopardy.ppt
	rspear@pgcc.edu Dr. Robert Spear Department of Computer Information Systems Prince George's Community College 301 Largo Road Largo, MD 20774 301 322-0156 (office), 301 325-8571 (cell), 301 336-2851 (fax) Last updated February 2005 The information contained on faculty web pages does not necessarily reflect the official viewpoint of Prince George's Community College. The college is not responsible for, and does not guarantee, the accuracy of any information on a faculty member's web page.
	© 1998, 1999 Prince George's Community College. All Rights Reserved PGCC, 301 Largo Road, Largo, Maryland, USA.




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Welcome to the faculty homepage for Dr. Robert Spear

Welcome to the faculty homepage for
Dr. Robert Spear