Instructional Design

Building opportunities to enable the learner

Exceptional Design

 

I am a senior instructional designer with a background in information technology and education. I believe that courses should be fully immersive and that the learner should be at the center of the educational experience. In technology-related courses, simply reading about a topic is not enough. Rather, the learner needs to experience the topic, with elegantly designed fully immersive hands-on activities. Through the fusion of instructional design and information technology, we can create dynamic and engaging courses for all learning levels. Through my combination of information technology experience and instructional design skills, I can create courses that amaze and educate all levels of adult learner experience.

 Skills

  • Curriculum Design and Development

  • Instructional Design

  • e-learning

  • Competency-based learning

  • Project Management

  • Adult education

  • Process Improvement

  • Strategic Planning

  • Adobe Captivate

  • HTML & CSS

  • Microsoft Office

  • Microsoft Visio

  • Open edX LMS

  • Canvas LMS

  • Blackboard LMS

Accomplishments

 

  • Moved seven (out of eleven) Master of Science in Data Analytics (MSDA) courses to a new learning platform in less than two months saving the college approximately $1,000,000 annually.

  • Managed and implemented the new visual design project for the College of IT creating a unified student experience across IT courses.

  • Created new courses and redeveloped existing courses for the College of IT

  • Built relationships with third-party vendors tasked with course development

  • Promoted to Senior Instructional Design at WGU in January of 2022

Work History

 

  • Lead the development of course content

    Manage the course design and development process

    Design and develop learning materials and learning activities

    Collaborate with subject matter experts to design learning materials

    Seek and implement alternative and innovative student engagement and learning modalities

  • Manage student success through their Degree Plan

    Provide highly engaged student-centered support

    Coach and mentor students to overcome challenges

    Deliver exceptional student obsessions to WGU students

    Continual focus on student needs and success

  • Established customer-focused IT training

    Recommended and implemented IT solutions

    Server and software implementations and migrations

    Project Management

    Troubleshoot and resolve IT problems

  • Designed and developed course curriculum

    Lead classroom instruction

    Installed, configured, and managed Canvas Learning Management System

    Designed and developed online courses

    Provided leadership to Teaching Assistants on instructional skills

  • Established end-user training program

    Managed infrastructure replacement project

    Implemented security systems and policies to safeguard patient data

    Streamlined IT process

    Managed IT interns, IT employees, and IT consultants

  • Designed and developed course curriculum

    Designed and developed learning materials and learning activities

    Developed Blackboard LMS classroom environment

    Developed student outcomes

    Mentored students in the achievement of course objectives

  • Online facilitator for Database Design & Implementation for Business course

    Mentor and assist students in the achievement of course objectives

    Provided student feedback and evaluation

 

Education

Western Governors University - Master of Science in Instructional Design

Boston University - Master of Science in Computer Information Systems

University of Phoenix - Bachelor of Science in Business Administration

 

Testimonials

“Thank you for your ongoing work and persistence on our outsourced products, and thank you for your insights into the process!”

“Thank you so much for always being a leader in working with our platforms, but more importantly for always being willing to help - and doing it with such ease.”

“You were an amazing partner to bring together the ideas for the program, in particular the unique challenges for D209 and D212. Thank you for your continued patience as we worked through the challenges to bring these courses to life.”

“James extends trust and works with vendors, instructors and many other personnel as an Instructional Designer to deliver quality course outcomes to students.”

“James is a role model when it comes to delivering results. When faced with a deadline much earlier than anticipated, he stepped up and got the job done. Realizing potential issues of the shortened deadline, he took great care to document areas for improvement in anticipation of a CQI [Continuous Quality Improvement] project.”

“James has shown me that he can deliver results and he is willing to put in the work to get those results. He holds himself to the same accountability that he expects from others. He can meet deadlines even when he is given shorted timelines and still turn in A quality work.”

 

One of the best things about James is his courage. He asks questions, he pushes back, he gains clarity. He has the courage to voice his concern or support, even if not popular. He is absolutely great to work with.

 

James is not afraid to do what is best for a project even when he might have to ruffle some feathers to do so. He is not overbearing in his approach, but he will not settle for less than the best. I admire his tenacity and his frank and honest manner.