Developer of one of the first online interactive courses at Humber College for Microsoft Access using WebCT, Cassel created a significant tool for developing and delivering distance learning for the college.
Cassel joined IBM Canada in 1961 and remained there until 1968, his career spanning a variety of positions from Computer Programmer to Systems Analyst. This was during a period of tremendous growth in the computer industry, as all major corporations were moving into the computer era. The first computer he worked with was the IBM 1401. The processor had an amazing 4K of memory, and most data was read from punched cards; later a tape drive was utilized. The next computer he worked with was the 1410 model, which had 80K of memory and took up considerable space, requiring a minimum of 4 tape drives.
His last job at IBM was to install a system for engineering support for a new line of computers called System/360, a system that varied in size. In May of 1968, he left IBM to take a position as Professor of Information Systems at Humber College of Applied Arts and Technology (later called Humber Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning) in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where he has been responsible for developing the college's first Computer Programming program and curriculum, which is still part of the curriculum. During this time Cassel specialized in computer programming and application software courses. He has also served as a founding member of the Information Systems department, serving as the department head for 10 years.
In 1975 he received an undergraduate degree in Computer Science from York University and was accepted into the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto for a Master of Education program, completing the first year of the two-year program. At that point, writing college textbooks began to require his full attention. During his tenure at Humber, Cassel developed numerous courses and was active in curriculum development for the School of Business and later for the School of Information Technology. He developed one of the first online interactive courses at Humber for Microsoft Access using WebCT, which became a significant tool for developing and delivering distance learning for the college.
Cassel is the author/coauthor of 60 US/Canadian college textbooks. In 1972 his first book, Programming Language One, was published by Reston Publishing Company of Reston, Virginia, a subsidiary of Prentice Hall Inc., thus beginning a long period of textbook writing for college programs across North America. His most recent works include: Canadian Internet Handbook—Educational Edition, Prentice Hall Canada, 1999, coauthored with Jim Carroll and Rick Broadhead; Surfing for Success in Business and Economics, Prentice Hall Canada, 1999, coauthored with Andrew T. Stull; Canadian Internet Handbook—Educational Edition, Prentice Hall Canada, 1998, coauthored with Jim Carroll and Rick Broadhead; Internet Handbook—U.S. Edition, Prentice Hall Canada, 1997, coauthored with Jim Carroll and Rick Broadhead; Computing Essentials—Introducing Visual Basic 4 for Windows 95, Prentice Hall, Inc., 1996; and Computing Essentials—Introducing Windows 95, Prentice Hall, Inc., 1996.
In 1998 he retired from Humber College, after which his time, among other pursuits, has been spent developing websites.
