About Me - Mr. Neil Blake Hokanson!



AUTOBIOGRAPHY

I am Neil Hokanson, educational technology director for the North Platte Public School District in North Platte, Nebraska.

I was born in Afton, Wyoming in 1965, and my home town is Thayne, Wyoming. I was raised on a ranch that was homesteaded by my Great-Grandfather Hokanson in 1887. The ranch is still in the family today.

I attended Kindergarten at Metcalf Elementary in Etna, Wyoming; grades 1 - 6 at Holdaway Elementary in Thayne, Wyoming; grades 7 - 8 at Star Valley Junior High in Afton, Wyoming; and grades 9 - 12 at Star Valley High School in Afton, Wyoming. While at Star Valley High School I was involved in FFA (I received my State Farmer degree as a junior in 1983) and served as the Student Body President my senior year. I am a life member of the FFA Alumni Association.

After high school I attended the University of Wyoming and served an 18 month mission for my church in the Colorado Denver Mission serving in the Northwest Kansas area, in the mission office as the financial secretary in Littleton, CO, in Grand Junction, CO as a zone leader, and finally in Cheyenne, WY as a zone leader. After meeting my wife at UW in Laramie, I moved to South Dakota and finished my Bachelor of Science in Education degree in 1993 at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion. I served as a Senator representing the College of Education in the USD Student Association my senior year.

I spent one year substitute teaching in the Lincoln County School District #2 after graduating from USD; then, I taught Humanities, World History, World Geography, and American History at Dakota Valley High School in Jefferson/North Sioux City, South Dakota from 1994 - 1997.

In 1997 I began teaching at Star Valley Middle School in Afton, Wyoming. I taught American Studies, United States History, and World Geography at SVMS.

Starting in July 2007 I begin my new duties as educational technology director for the school district in North Platte, Nebraska

I was accepted in September 2004 into the Graduate School at the University of Wyoming. I earned a Masters of Science in Education Instructional Technology degree in May 2006. See my e-Portfolio.

I am a member of Phi Alpha Theta a history honor society; a member of the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS); the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT); the Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE); International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE); member of the National Middle School Association (NMSA); life member of the National FFA Alumni Association; and life member of the American Hereford Association.

As an educator I have been honored to receive the following awards: Marquis Who's Who in the World 2007-2008, Marquis Who's Who in America 2006-2007, Who's Who Among America's Teachers 2004-2005, 2005-2006, and 2006-2007; USA Today Best Bet educational website in September 2003; was the Wyoming Department of Education Wyoming Education Gateway Lesson Plan Contest middle school division winner 2002-2003; Wyoming School - University Partnership Instructional Excellence Award winner 2000-2001; and 2 time Dakota Valley High School Teacher of the Year 1995-1996 and 1996-1997. I have also been nominated for the VFW National Citizenship Education Teacher Award 2000-2001 and 2004-2005, and the Disney American Teacher Award 2001 -2002.

I am married to the former Dianna Hoffman (an awesome speech-language pathologist) and have 5 children: 2 girls, Hannah (age 15) and Heather (age 4), and 3 boys, Charles, Ronan, and Nicholas (ages 11, 9, and 6). We are moving to North Platte, Nebraska in June 2007.

My hobbies include computers, fly-fishing, NASCAR Dale Earnhardt "The Intimidator" was my favorite driver when he was alive and now I follow Tony Stewart in the Home Depot #20 car, and travel. My favorite sports teams include all University of Wyoming teams; the NFL Detroit Lions; and the MLB Chicago Cubs. I was one of the first skateboarders and purchased my first board in the mid 1970s (ask to see my first skateboard)! I also was one of the first snow boarders in the early 1980s riding the "new" Burton boards at Teton Village! My favorite movies of all time are A Boy and His Dog, Rocky (I), and Star War 2 Episode 5 (Although Star Wars 5 Episode 2 was pretty good - I think Boba Fett is awesome, and we meet him as a child in this episode!). My favorite band is Van Halen. My favorite computer is a PowerBook G4. My favorite President was Richard Nixon (I was young). My favorite food is spaghetti. My favorite book is the dictionary;). My new favorite computer is the new Mac Pro with the 23 inch Cinema Display from Apple (see picts below); however, I will use any computer that can help myself, teachers, and students learn (Windows Vista and Ubuntu Linux are favorite operating systems)!!! I love the Parallels software!!! That is all!

Hokanson's Social Studies

1999-2007 © Hokanson's Social Studies