Bio:
š« One of my earliest memories is going to school with a shiny new lunchbox and a back-to-school outfit. Returning to school each fall became a routine that I looked forward to and over the years I realized that I loved learning and the process of acquiring knowledge. Fast-forward to today and my career reflects my early childhood experiences: I put my love of learning to use as an instructional designer in higher education, a PhD Candidate, and an online educator.
š©āš« Instructional designers in higher education are commonly found working one-on-one with instructors or facilitating instructional development sessions. I value these components of my work and welcome the broad set of experiences that my role also provides, such as:
⣠Collaboratively developed the inaugural set of non-credit and non-degree badge standards at the University of Minnesota
⣠Becoming proficient in the seven core skills of digital accessibility practices
⣠Mentoring instructional designers through the ID2ID Ignite program
⣠Unlearning racist practices and understanding my biases
⣠Serving as a panelist for the 2024 Educause Horizon Teaching and Learning Report
š Alongside my instructional design work, the University of Minnesotaās Learning Technology program has been my home base as a doctoral student and online educator since 2015. As a PhD Candidate, my mixed-methods study explores the range of awareness, knowledge, and use of open educational practices by instructional designers. I have taught online undergraduate and graduate courses such as Social Media & Connected Learning, Technology Tools for Educators, and Designing & Developing Online Distance Learning as a community faculty member. As an online educator, I use inclusive teaching practices to create learner-centered spaces that reflect studentsā lived experiences and future goals.
š®My specialties include process improvement, digital accessibility in course design, and creating learner-centered online asynchronous courses and my strength is building authentic relationships to collaboratively solve complex problems.
šI step away from my professional life to enjoy time with family and friends, try new restaurants and recipes with my partner, and cultivate our budding array of plant babies.
š Reach out if you want to talk about creating accessible online experiences, current topics in teaching and learning, or creating a houseplant jungle. Letās connect!