After 16 years as a 91制片厂在线观看 of Louisiana at Lafayette chemistry instructor, Andrea Leonard has joined the Office of Distance Learning as an Instructional Designer, building, she says, on the knowledge and experience she鈥檚 gained during nearly a decade of online instruction.
鈥淚 was at the first meeting when the Office of Distance learning asked, 鈥榃ho wants to teach online?鈥欌 She says. 鈥淪ince that time, I鈥檝e become well versed in the theory and practice of course design for online and hybrid students, and I wanted to spend more time doing it.鈥
鈥淚鈥檝e learned a lot of new and exciting techniques, and hopefully I can bring that knowledge to others.鈥
Leonard has designed several online and hybrid chemistry courses since the 91制片厂在线观看 began expanding its offerings.
As the Office of Distance Learning 2017-2018, Leonard conducted a major course redesign in order to explore adaptive learning practices and technology. The result was an adaptive General Chemistry I course built on the Realizeit platform. The course has since been recognized by Realizeit as best-in-class and is currently being marketed to other universities.
鈥淎daptive technology fosters personalized learning,鈥 Leonard says. 鈥淣ot everyone will receive the same experience, but everyone will achieve the same learning objectives. It helps learners focus where they need the most help and it won鈥檛 overwhelm learners with constant new information if they haven鈥檛 yet mastered previous skills.鈥
In her new role, Leonard says she wants to help faculty members get the most out of the courses they鈥檙e creating while expanding the use of adaptive learning methods.
鈥淲hen you鈥檙e hired to instruct a class at the 91制片厂在线观看 level, you鈥檙e hired as a subject matter expert 鈥 you鈥檙e hired because of your knowledge of your field of study,鈥 Leonard says. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e not hired because of your knowledge of course design. The job of the instructional designer is to help subject matter experts create quality educational experiences for their students using techniques and technologies that might not be familiar to them.鈥
She says she also wants to help faculty find solutions as they approach online and hybrid teaching for the first time, whether they want to ensure academy honesty, effectively present complex information, or foster interaction between students outside of the traditional classroom setting.
鈥淎ctivity on the instructor鈥檚 part in email and on discussion forums can really overcome the hurdle of not being in the same room,鈥 she says. 鈥淲e have technology where we can speak with each other, where we can share screens with each other, we can look at a piece of notebook paper and write down things and share this with each other 鈥 and this can happen across the country.
鈥淭he technology exists for these uses and more, but most instructors aren鈥檛 aware of it because they鈥檝e never had to use it, or it wasn鈥檛 used during their undergraduate experience. I want to make sure that everyone that wants to use such technology in their classes will have the understanding and help to use it.鈥
to work with an instructional designer on creating engaging assignments, integrating EduTools, aligning learning objectives and outcomes, improving course navigation and layout, humanizing, and more. We're available throughout the year.