Hello everyone, my name is Shannon and it’s nice to e-meet you all.
I’m a post-secondary instructor and teach accounting and business courses at BCIT and SFU, in Burnaby, B.C. My background is in accounting; I am a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) but left the public practice accounting world and have been loving my shift to education.
In my classrooms, the use of mobile devices (particularly tablets) has quickly become more prevalent than pen/paper or laptops. I’m excited to learn more about mobile learning and I’m particularly interested in learning more about effective mobile learning design and exploring new mobile technologies, relevant for my classrooms.
This is my last term in the MET program and this summer I will be balancing my coursework, moving at the end of May, and spending time with my pups and enjoying the beautiful weather we typically have in Vancouver!
I look forward to learning with you all.
Hi Shannon,
great to meet you! In my school we are far more focused on Chromebooks and traditional pencil and paper, Hands-On tasks so I’m really interested to hear about your experiences with mobile driven technology approaches. Looking forward to learning lots in this course!
Sam
Hi Shannon,
Great to see you again in this course.
I love your fur babies!! I’m just about to adopt my third puppy, a Caucasian shepherd/st Bernard mix. He is gonna be huge!!
Looking forward to working with amd learning from you this term.
Hi Kirsten,
Nice to run into each other in another course!
Wow – 3 pups? Jealous…enjoy the puppy stage, they grow up so quickly.
Hi Shannon,
It’s great to meet you! Your transition from accounting to education sounds incredibly rewarding—I can relate as an instructional designer. The shift to focusing on the learning aspect is truly fulfilling.
It’s interesting to hear how mobile devices have become so prevalent in your classrooms. I’m also excited to delve into mobile learning design and explore new technologies that can enhance our teaching methods.
Best of luck with your move, and enjoy the summer with your pups! Looking forward to learning with you.
Cheers,
Pankaj
Hi Pankaj,
Absolutely – my clients used to be large corporations / generally wealthy individuals and now my “clients” are my students. It is much more fulfilling to be a guide and mentor to them.
What type of course(s) or program(s) are you an instructional designer for?
Hi Shannon,
That sounds like a fantastic transition! Moving from corporate clients to students must be such a fulfilling change.
I’m currently associated with a manufacturing firm, where I design process trainings, software simulations, compliance trainings, and soft-skills trainings. Instructional Design is a fascinating field, and I love seeing the impact of well-designed instruction on adult learners.
-Pankaj
Hi Pankaj,
Very neat. I appreciate that we both work with adult learners.
Do you also have experience working in manufacturing yourself? I am wondering how important any industry-specific knowledge is and how this may shape you as an Instructional Designer. Or, is your background in education? …in typing this, I will head over to your own introduction to read more.
Hi Shannon,
I don’t have any experience working in manufacturing myself. As an Instructional Designer, I have access to Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) who help me understand a process, procedure, or application better, but I do not need to be an expert in them. I have created training material for the Pharma industry, Logistics, Oil, Gas, and Petroleum, Airlines, Human Resources, etc. I find it incredibly satisfying and end up learning something new every day. My background and experience in adult education always help.
As Instructional Designers, we are not expected to have a grasp of the subject matter, but often it’s more about how to make learning more effective and engaging for learners. I love how we bring method to madness.