Learning Designer, Teacher, Gamer, Maker
I am currently a Learning Consultant for a large consulting firm. In a former life, I was a teacher for 25 years – both at the college and high school levels. My training is in English and Learning Design, but I also taught a variety of technology and digital arts courses. I served as the Chair of the English Department at a private school in Ohio, and held the honorary position of Humanities Chair.
I taught a variety of courses at the High School level, including: Children’s Literature and Social Development, Speculative Fiction Literature, Fiction writing, Video Production, Audio Production, 3D Computer Modeling (I and II), Game Design, Java Programming, Creative Nonfiction, and AP Language and Composition. In my current position, I’ve designed eLearning, workbooks, training course and in-person workshops for companies around the US and around the world.
As a high school teacher, I designed and taught intensive (3-week experiential) courses in Travel Writing and Photography via Amtrak, Backyard Engineering, Stage Combat, Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse, Multimedia Production, The Modern Graphic Novel, Heroes Myths and Legends, Independent Publishing, Novel Writing, Worldbuilding and Narrative, and Narrative and Media Adaptations.
Personally, I have a passion for gaming and gameful design, and my learning design work has centered around bringing game mechanics and motivational affordances into the work I do – in teaching or consulting. I also spend as much time as I can reading, writing, 3D designing and printing, and renovating our turn of the century farm house with my wife and eleven cats (the cats don’t pull their own weight, FYI).