Across the top of the page are tabs that link to various projects I work on as an instructional designer. These projects reflect my interests and current pursuits.
Creating online courses that are effective for student learning, yet efficient to facilitate, has been my focus in online learning for more than a dozen years. Active teaching informs instructional design.
Beyond instructional design, what is needed is the development of 21st Century Faculty. These are individuals equiped to teach their subject matter in different modalities and using current technology. But most importantly they recognize that effective instruction is at the core of what they do. They know what effective instruction is and evaluate any technology, "best practice," and claims of "quality" from that perspective. So there is a guiding principle, or a "set point" on establishes as a basis for making decisions in this arena much like established natural laws guide (or should guide) scientific research, speculations, hypotheses, and theories.
There is much urban legend surrounding the subject of learning. Many good sounding things are done in its name or in the name of those "best practices" or the overused and catch-all term "quality." What we need to do in today's environment is "keep the main thing the main thing." The central aim of my presentations is about helping others acheive this very thing: How students learn. Lost in it all is the fact that some good sounding ideas and practices actually detract from student learning. For example, the use of synchronous technologies have moved us away from anytime/anywhere and back toward "Here/Now" time-based learning. So we are only a step from "Back to the Classroom" You teach in your region, I'll teach in mine.
