77. Jim Sherlock | The Iowa Idea

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The Iowa Idea: Jim Sherlock

In this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I’m joined by Jim Sherlock. Jim is Director of Information Security & Technology Implementation at Pearson. Jim’s teams are responsible for protecting more than 250 million sensitive records that are processed and maintained by Pearson’s global Assessment platforms. Jim is one of the inventors on the US patent on automated testing error assessment systems. Jim continues to push the bounds of Ed Tech and is exploring virtual reality.

Jim grew up in Williamsburg, Iowa and earned his Bachelor of Arts and Masters degrees at The University of Iowa. At Iowa Jim, played trombone in marching band and jazz ensembles, hosted a jazz show on KRUI.

Jim shares his journey from education, to cybersecurity, to Ed Tech and we explore the through-line that holds it all together. We explore early World Wide Web tech and the move from server farms to cloud computing, with a deep dive on Amazon’s customer-centric approach to innovation. We also dig into the “last mile” issues faced by schools and districts, when it comes to internet-enabled technology, as well as the potential of tech to enhance future learning environments.

It was an honor having Jim join me on the show. I’d like to thank him for his time and perspective. I hope you enjoy the episode.

About Jim

While never a straight path, and certainly not a progression that ones’ high school guidance counselor would have mapped out, Jim’s passion for education and technology over the past 20 years has taken him from the brick streets of small-town Iowa, to the classroom, to the war room, and to the board room. Most recently, Jim has been involved in research related to virtual reality in education as well as the potential to leverage virtual reality as an instrument for assessment.

Jim grew up in Williamsburg, Iowa and graduated from the University of Iowa with a degree in Communication Studies (BA 98) and a Masters in Social Studies Education (MA 2000). After a three-year stint supporting the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) in network forensics and encryption, Jim made his way back to Iowa and joined Pearson to build out engineering teams in the areas of application monitoring, capacity planning, application performance tuning, and performance testing as the adoption of computer-based testing gained momentum across the United States. In his current role as Director of Information Security & Technology Implementation at Pearson, Jim’s teams are responsible for protecting more than 250 million sensitive records that are processed and maintained by Pearson’s global Assessment platforms.

While at the University of Iowa, Jim played trombone in the Hawkeye Marching Band, Johnson County Landmark Jazz band, and was a DJ for six years at the University of Iowa’s award-winning radio station (89.7 KRUI). During his free time, Jim teaches weightlifting and indoor cycling group fitness classes at two gyms in the Iowa City area.

Credits

Episode produced by Spark Consulting Group (www.inspiredbyspark.com) in Iowa City, with support from Executive Podcast Solutions (https://www.executivepodcastsolutions.com/).

The Iowa Idea Podcast theme music written and performed by Paisley Bible (https://paisleybible.bandcamp.com/).