Theory and the Cutting Edge I am committed to evidence based, inclusive theories of teaching and learning, continually finding improvements within my own practice. My teaching experience has been varied, with classroom instruction for youth and adults in a variety of settings and the great leap forward into purely digital delivery that 2020 has forced. The tenets of good teaching remain the same. My best practices center around relationship building, participation, and designing for universal use (UDL).
Accessible by Default I ascribe to the Universal Design for Learning, or UDL which gives multiple means of engaging with material. This has the overall effect of increasing accessibility, for those that may access materials through a reader program or those who connect with material they can visualize. In our incredibly diverse learning environments, there needs to be some way of creating personalized learning experiences, but ensuring that we are all moving the same direction and all covering the material adequately. UDL provides the tools to do this, avoiding the rut of just doing what you the teacher are comfortable with. It forces me to always think critically about the ways the material is introduced, interacted with and ultimately assessed with an eye to the ever growing technology available.
Digital Delivery Design Technology has an amplification effect on course design - the good and bad - so good instructional design is an essential component of any eLearning solution. In the adult learning environment, technology promises to provide more value, stretching one instructor across wide audiences in an on-demand format. Now, everyone hosts online versions of the training or education but not everyone does it well.
Digital Experience I am always looking for the cutting edge of educational research and design - But I am a pragmatist at heart, who knows how to deliver a working product. My experience in course design includes a long history with academia, (University and college level,) and industry specific materials, (energy sector and related safety materials.)