A broad experience of learning

I’ve spent my entire career in education, but not just in one part of it. My experience covers everything from 1-1 tutoring to e-learning at scale.

I’ve taught young people in tears how to climb a cliff face. I’ve taught international CEOs how to negotiate in English. I’ve taught students of all age ranges and demographics, including those with ADHD, Autism, partial sight, and deafness.

I’ve been a key driver in large scale projects with audiences of hundreds of thousands of people, and been part of the entire process from acquisition to release,

I have First and Masters degrees in educational theory, covering everything from early years literacy to augmented reality vocational learning apps.

I have extensive experience with Lectora and Vyond authoring tools, LMS back ends, and easily become proficient with other digital tools and systems within days.

An open mind

My travels and time spent teaching students of all ages, nationalities, abilities and backgrounds has taught me one thing - it’s far better to seek an understanding of where the learner is coming from, and teach accordingly, rather than impose your vision of the “right” way of doing things onto them.

Find out what the student needs, what motivates them, and what their fears or barriers are. Create learning for them accordingly. Check that they’re satisfied and that the learning has been effective. Tailor the learning to the audience, rather than creating learning that appeals to yourself.

Wielding the cutting edge

There’s a lot of interest these days in ArtificiaI Intelligence (AI), and how it affects teaching and learning both now and in the future. That’s why I spend as much time as I can keeping up to date on advancements in the field of e-learning technology and the features being implemented by providers both large and small.

My approach to AI in my personal and professional lives is simple. Use it to automate processes that would otherwise be tedious or repetitive, and then take the result and apply my skills and experience to critically review and improve it. We should be using technology the same way we always have - to minimise mindless labour and free up our time and efforts for the things that matter. Whether we’re thinking about the wheel, clockwork, or AI, the principle is the same.

Exactly what this looks like in practice during day-to-day tasks will depend on the tools I’m using, the requirements of the project, and the wishes of the people who will use the learning being created.