My Professional Life
My professional life has been defined by two passions: understanding how learning works and creating digital media. It is no surprise, then, that I evoloved into an instructional designer. Here's how it happened.
I began my career as the only English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher in a small school district. Not only did I teach students, but I also trained teachers and staff in how to best serve the needs of their English Language Learner students. I conducted workshops and created guides for subject area teachers and administrators.
ESL and Bilingual education require a great deal of documentation. I saw an opportunity to automate the documentation process so I started a company to do it. The company also created compliance manuals, a resource website to assist program administrators, and held workshops.
The company needed outside funding in order to keep growing and my role became that of Chief Fund Raiser, which I did not embrace. Instead, I became a ministry director at a church. In addition to running programs and managing my staff, I was also responsible for training staff and the legion of volunteers that make any church work. I designed and managed an updated training landscape that included an LMS-based online component as well as ILT. It was in this role that I discovered my passion for creating digital media.
I realized I wanted to deepen my knowledge of learning science and better understand the ways in which computer technology can enhance learning so I got a Master's degree in Instructional Technology. I thrived in the University's 100% online program and developed a solid appreciation for the student experience of distance learning.
Master's degree in hand, I went off to Massachusettes to become a district-level Instructional Technologist. In this role, I managed the acquisition and implementation of all instructional-related technology. I managed the technology budget and conducted technology needs assessments. I also helped teachers, principals and staff understand how to leverage the powerful computer-based technology they had at their fingertips by hosting workshops, producing a weekly technology vlog, and presenting at conferences.
Fast foward three years and I am in my current role as a the Learning Experience Manager at a top company for aviation distance learning. Here, I manage the developement, implementation and communication of learning standards and strategies across all product lines. I act as the instructional liason between the content production teams, software development teams and sales teams. I also manage the cabin crew training product line and pilot system trainings. And I still get to storyboard sometimes, too.
I'm not sure what is next on my horizon but I know it will entail synthesizing the many perspectives and parameters that come with highly effective, media-rich learning environments. And, hopefully, I will still be making videos and graphics and creating great e-learning.