Writer Biography

Florence McGinn is a published poet, writer, and photographer. She is a former English literature and writing teacher and recipient of awards including US National Tech&Learning Teacher of the Year and Princeton University Distinguished Secondary School Educator. She is the retired Vice President of GKE. She was a US Commissioner of Web-based Education in the Clinton administration and served on the NJ State Board of Education in the Corzine administration. She has a Masters degree in Humanities from California State University.

Florence McGinn has published on technology-assisted learning policy and strategies in publications including Singapore’s Association of School Curriculum Journal, Technology and Learning, Media and Methods, and for associations including AT&T, The Milken Foundation, the Asia Media Information and Communication Center, PBS OnLine, SchoolCity.com, Amnesty International, National Teacher Training Institute, and ClassroomConnect. CD-ROMs on “Educational Digital Velocity” featuring McGinn’s innovative educational methodologies, her essays, articles, photography, and poetry, as well as educational support materials are published and distributed in China by Shanghai-based Centrix Technology, Nankai University, and GKE USA and GKE China. Her travel writing and photographs are published in print and online by agencies including Frommer's and Birds and Blooms. Her photographs are available through The Scenic Store, have been integrated into quilting materials by The Quilt Store, and are in portfolios with agencies including Getty’s istockphoto, Corbis’ Veer, Ingram’s isignstock, Alamy, Shutterstock, Dreamstime, Canstock, Bigstock, and Fotolia.

Florence McGinn has published over 400 pieces including free verse poetry, essays, articles, haiku, children’s poetry, and stories. She has a full-length collection of poetry, Blood Trail, published by Pennywhistle Press in 2000 that reflects her Asian American heritage. She has presented on poetry, innovative learning, and the creative process, throughout the United States and internationally in China, Australia, Italy, Singapore, Japan, and Korea. She has published free verse poetry widely in journals that include Midwest Poetry Review, Modern Haiku, Voices International, New Jersey Review of Literature, Paterson Literary Review, Eclectic Literary Forum, Writing for Our Lives, and Parnassus. Her English language haiku have been published in journals including Modern Haiku, Cicada, Frogpond, Voices International, and Piedmont Literary Review. She has published children’s poetry in Cricket, Clubhouse, and her poetry is utilized by McGraw-Hill in national and state standardized tests.