Tom Worthington (computer programmer)

{{short description|Australian computer programmer (born 1957)}}

{{EngvarB|date=September 2014}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2014}}

{{BLP sources|date=December 2012}}

{{Infobox person |

|name=Tom Worthington

|birth_date={{birth date and age|df=yes|1957|02|03}}

|occupation=Computer professional

|known_for=Maguire v SOCOG 2000, Green computing

|nationality=Australian

|employer=Tomw Communications Pty Ltd

|other_names=Thomas

}}

Thomas Worthington (born 3 February 1957) is an Australian computer programmer best known as an expert witness in the Maguire v SOCOG 2000 Olympic web accessibility case[http://www.tomw.net.au/2000/bat.html], Olympic Failure: A Case for Making the Web Accessible, 2000, Tom Worthington, last visited on Sunday 14 September 2008, 11:06am, "http://www.tomw.net.au/2000/bat.html". and teacher of Green computing.

He is known for his ICT policy work and on-line teaching.

Projects

Worthington was President of the Australian Computer Society (ACS). He gave evidence opposing Internet censorship on behalf of the ACS to an Australian Senate committee hearing in the mid 1990s.Senate Select Committee on Community Standards Relevant to the Supply of Services Utilising Electronic Technologies

Worthington appeared as an expert witness in the case Maguire v SOCOG 2000 in the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, providing an analysis of the accessibility for the disabled of the Sydney 2000 Olympics web site

He is the author of [http://www.tomw.net.au/ict_sustainability/ ICT Sustainability: Assessment and Strategies for a Low Carbon Future], a free open access book of course notes for Green computing courses run by the Australian National UniversityCOMP7310: ICT Sustainability, Online Masters Course, College of Engineering & Computer Science, The Australian National University, 2009 and Australian Computer Society.Green Technology Strategies, Australian Computer Society, 2012

In July 2013 Worthington established a new business and website "[http://highereducationwhisperer.com/ Higher Education Whisperer]", to provide advice on vocational and university course design, learning, teaching and research.[http://blog.tomw.net.au/2013/07/course-whisperer-helping-improve.html Higher Education Whisperer Helping Improve University Course Design], Net Traveller, Tom Worthington, 9 July 2013, URL: http://blog.tomw.net.au/2013/07/course-whisperer-helping-improve.html

Academic achievements

Worthington undertook his computer programmer training in the Australian Public Service. He also completed a Certificate in Audio-Visual Video, Audio-Visual Video Production at the Canberra Institute of Technology in 1990. He was awarded a Graduate Certificate in Higher Education by The Australian National University and Certificate IV in Training and Assessment (TAE40110) from Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT) in 2013.Graduate Certificate in Higher Education Awarded to Thomas Worthington (Digitally Certified), Australian National University, 19 July 2013, URL: https://certifieddocs.anu.edu.au/verifier/servlet/DocumentVerifierApp/template/VerifyDAT.vm?datid=uabywlqxl1 He was awarded a Masters of Education in Distance Education by Athabasca University in February 2017.

Worthington has had research papers published on topics including e-learning for ICT sustainabilityWorthington, T., "[https://digitalcollections.anu.edu.au/bitstream/1885/9013/1/Worthington_Green2012.pdf A Green computing professional education course online: Designing and delivering a course in ICT sustainability using Internet and eBooks]," Computer Science & Education (ICCSE), 2012 7th International Conference on, vol., no., pp.263,266, 14–17 July 2012 {{doi|10.1109/ICCSE.2012.6295070}} and a proposal to combine the features of synchronous and asynchronous learning in one software package.Worthington, T. (2013). [https://digitalcollections.anu.edu.au/bitstream/1885/9556/1/Worthington_Synchronizing%202013.pdf Synchronizing Asynchronous Learning: Combining Synchronous and Asynchronous Techniques]. In Proceedings of 2013 8th International Conference on Computer Science & Education (ICCSE), 26 – 28 Apr 2013, Sri Lanka. {{doi|10.1109/ICCSE.2013.6553983}}

Employment

Worthington is an Adjunct Lecturer[https://cecs.anu.edu.au/user/3890 People: ANU College of Engineering & Computer Science], The Australian National University, 2012 in the Research School of Computer Science, College of Engineering and Computer Science at the Australian National University, where he teaches ICT Sustainability, the design of web sites and use of e-commerce systems. He is also a member of the ANU Energy Change Institute[http://energy.anu.edu.au/person/mr-tom-worthington Participants: ANU Energy Change Institute], The Australian National University, 2012 and the ANU Climate Change Institute.ANU Climate Change Research, Climate Change Institute, Australian National University, 2013 Previously he worked as a civilian public servantDefence and Government on the Web: Balancing public information provision with security, Tom Worthington, Special Adviser Defence Internet/Intranet Policy, Department of Defence, Paper for Optimising Open Source Information, Canberra, 7–8 October 1998 employed by the Australian Department of Defence in the Australian Defence Force Headquarters, writing InternetUse of the Internet By Defence Personnel, Australian Department of Defence, Departmental Circular Memorandum No 32/96, 9 April 1996. and web policy.[https://web.archive.org/web/19980221073717/http://www.adfa.oz.au/DOD/aboutgd1.html Interim Guidelines for Establishing a WEB Information Service], Australian Department of Defence, 13 November 1995

Awards and honours

In May 1998, Computerworld magazine named Worthington as one of the most influential individuals in the Australian IT industry.[http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/57692/it_bunch/ The IT Bunch], Jeremy Bass (Computerworld), 01 May, 1998 12:01 In 1999 the Australian Computer Society elected Worthington a Fellow of the society for his contribution to public policy on the use of the Internet. He was later made an Honorary Life Member and Certified Professional. In 2010 Worthington was presented with the ACT ICT Educator of the Year 2010 Award for his work on sustainable computing education.ACS Professional Development Program, Tutors & Mentors, Australian Computer Society, 2013

References