David A. Sheftman

David A. Sheftman was born and raised in New York, and graduated with his baccalaureate degree from Marist College in upstate New York in 1985. Coming to California in 1986, he began work in the College Readiness Program at De Anza Community College as an instructional assistant.

David earned his Master's Degree from San Francisco State University in English Composition in 1995. He taught English at De Anza Community College from 1989 to 2000, and began teaching English full time at Cabrillo College starting in Fall 2000. In Spring 2005, he became the Program Chair of Cabrillo's Journalism Department, instructor for the newspaper production courses (JOURN 50 and 53), and faculty adviser to The Voice, Cabrillo's newspaper.

David began using the World Wide Web to provide supplemental instruction to his students in 1995; in 1998, he became the first part-time instructor at De Anza to teach English as a Distance Learning course over the Internet, and is a member of the California Virtual University.

Concurrently while teaching English at Deanza, David was also employed full time in the Assistive Technology Training Center at De Anza.  As an assistive technologies trainer for students with  disabilities, he trained students to use  computer technologies adapted to their needs. 

In December 1998, David was presented withthe "Disability Champion of the Year" award from the Bay Area Coalition for the Employment of People with Disabilities (BACED) and the Santa Clara County Commission on the Employment with People with Disabilities (SCCCED) for "... demonstrating exceptional contributions in educating the community on disabilities-related issues in order to provide employment opportunities for people with disabilities" . David, along with his wife, was honored for his professional work in the De Anza Special Education Division, his volunteer work with non-profit organizations such as the Digital Clubhouse Network , as well as his one-on-one individuals with a wide variety of disabilities and disability issues.

In 1999, David trained a paralyzed, respirator-dependent young man, Son Nguyen, in the use of voice-activated computer technology, in order to enable Son to access the World Wide Web to pursue courses through the Virtual University, and to meet in cyberspace young people his age. David's work with Son was featured in articles in the San Jose Mercury-News .

Dedicated to working with people with disabilities and on behalf of disability rights, David has presented at the annual California Association of Postsecondary Educators of People with Disabilities (CAPED) and the Silicon Valley Independent Living Center conferences on topics including accessible Web design for Distance Learning courses, and in assistive technology products and policies for academic accommodations..

Besides volunteering in his spare time, David enjoys travelling, reading, writing, music, Internet web design, and spending time with his wife and daughter, Rayna.

Mr. Sheftman's FALL 05 Course Websites

Please click on the Course Portal link below:

Fall 05 Course Portal