To-ji Temple, Kyoto, Japan

January 1, 2024

Instructional Design & Me

I am an instructional designer who has mastered Storyline, Rise and Camtasia. I have also learned to apply my writing skills to design documents and storyboards. In my career, I honed skills such as crafting clear objectives, tailoring lessons to meet the audience's needs, engaging learners, reducing cognitive load, and assessing behavioral changes.

I'm not just an instructional designer; I'm a perpetual student, driven by curiosity about the many tools available for creating effective training materials. I enjoy exploring artificial intelligence, design principles, game theory, storytelling and authoring tools.

For me, the craft of instruction is akin to the art of storytelling. I firmly believe that the future of instructional design lies in the fusion of narrative and gamification. It's a world where we captivate learners with compelling stories and engage them through interactive gaming elements, creating a dynamic learning experience that's both effective and enjoyable.

Prior to becoming an instructional designer I designed instruction in education for more than twenty years. Within the past year, I further developed the skills necessary to work in a corporate capacity.

At Home

I call the Lake Monticello community in beautiful Central Virginia my home. I'm one of the many residents in the Greater Charlottesville area who initially arrived here for the University of Virginia and found it too captivating to leave.

While my neighborhood offers a suburban escape (sans any actual urban area), the rest of the county is rural farmland. In fact, we proudly say that our county only boasts a single stoplight, and even that isn't necessary.

My home is nestled along the lovely cove of a small lake, providing the perfect backdrop for boating, floating, swimming, and kayaking. When it's time to retreat indoors, you'll often find me listening to audiobooks and podcasts, indulging in diamond art, or immersed in the narratives of my current Netflix favorites, particularly in the realm of South Korean dramas.