I have been an instructional designer at Skidmore College since the spring of 2016. Before coming to Skidmore I was a PhD candidate in anthropology at the Graduate Center of The City University of New York, where I also obtained a certificate in Interactive Technology & Pedagogy. I received a BS in mechanical engineering from Wichita State University and MA in anthropology from Hunter College. Prior to becoming an instructional designer, I worked as an Instructional Technology Fellow at City College and taught archaeology courses in the Anthropology Department at Queens College.
As you can likely tell, my career trajectory has been a circuitous one. After obtaining a degree in mechanical engineering I embarked on a career in engineering as an airframe designer at an aircraft manufacturing company. It didn’t take long for me to become fed up with the corporate grind, so I went back to graduate school to study anthropology and spent the next 15 years studying and working as an archaeologist. My research was focused on Viking Age trade across the North Atlantic and included fieldwork primarily in Iceland, Greenland, and the Faroe Islands. While I didn’t feel entirely cutout for academia, I did discover a love for teaching and learning. My pursuit of archaeology slowly evolved into a career in instructional design and technology.
When I’m not working, I enjoy hiking, biking, and camping in the Adirondacks with my wife and daughter, digital photography, and watching basketball and soccer. A bit ironically, I’m a sucker for analog technology, including writing things down the old fashioned way, on paper and often with a fountain pen, listening to vinyl records, and trying to get to places in my car while juggling a paper map.
Contact Information:
Email: akendall@skidmore.edu
Twitter: @aaronyc
Skidmore College – Scribner Library
815 N. Broadway
Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
Statement on Teaching & Learning
My philosophy of teaching is informed by my experiences as a university lecturer, archaeology field school instructor, and instructional technologist and designer. These experiences have taught me a number of critical lessons, among them the importance of tailoring the teaching method to the context, finding unique ways to engage students, and appreciating diversity in how students learn and perform and the range of experiences they bring to the classroom. I feel it important to utilize all available tools that might enhance the learning experience for students, while at the same time not deferring to technological solutions to problems that don’t exist. I believe that digital technology should be used to promulgate an approach to education that will allow for greater collaboration amongst students with diverse learning styles, and make them active participants in the learning process.
As an adjunct lecturer I implemented a multimodal approach that combined traditional reading assignments and lectures accessible through various modes, along with classroom and online discussions, as well as individual and group assignments and projects. I feel it is important to facilitate an environment where students can engage and learn at their own pace, contributing where they are most comfortable and conveying understanding in ways that empower and excite. Over the course of a semester, topics are introduced and revisited throughout, allowing time for the students to grasp complex topics and discover how far ranging ideas can intertwine, along with time for reflection and metacognitive development. This approach is enhanced through valuation strategies such as scaffolding course projects through low-stakes assignments and by grading students on their participation and effort via portfolio assessment. The more flexibility designed into assessments allows students to take ownership of their learning and engage in ways that feel authentic. I try to integrate group work whenever possible and introduce new tools into assignments because I believe that this will prepare them to succeed both inside and outside the classroom. Understanding the range of experiences students bring to the classroom and the resulting disparity in how they learn has taught me to adapt my strategies to meet the needs of each individual, and led me to encourage my students to learn from one another. I continue to implement this focus on student-centered learning in my teaching, while developing innovative methods to strengthen critical thinking, digital literacy, and metacognition.
I believe that an effective learning environment is necessitated on contrasting perspectives forged by students with diverse backgrounds and differing levels of experience. This involves a certain democratizing of the classroom, whereby student-teacher roles are less uneven and we learn from our students and peers. My syllabi are a collection of ideas tailored from fieldwork experience, conference presentations, graduate level coursework, and anthropology and instructional technology colleagues. My interests in improved approaches to teaching and learning will continue to be cultivated by the experiences I have working with students in face-to-face and virtual classrooms, labs, and in the field, and by collaborating with like-minded educators across disciplines to effectively integrate technology and pedagogy.
Skills
At a small liberal arts college the roles of instructional designer and educational technologist often get combined. As such my skill set includes both pedagogical applications as well as technologies that apply to teaching and learning.
Pedagogy
Situated Cognition Theory
Understanding by Design (Backwards Design)
Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
Flipped Classroom
Design Thinking
ADDIE Model
Plagiarism prevention
Educational Technology
Learning Management Systems (LMS) – Brightspace, Blackboard
Social Reading – Perusall, Hypothesis
Screencast recording – Ensemble Anthem, Panopto
Video Production & Editing – Adobe Premiere Pro, iMovie
Podcast Creation & Audio Editing – Adobe Audition, Audacity
Classroom Polling
Zoom administration and training
Qualtrics
WordPress and Domain of One’s Own
Plagiarism detection – Turnitin
Office 365
File Sharing – Box, Google applications, OneDrive
Technology Accessibility
Recent Projects
I have a deep interest not only in instructional design and technology but also in digital humanities, the philosophy of technology, and science and technology studies. This commitment to exploring the educational impact of technology in the classroom, both practically and theoretically, as well as a continuing commitment to innovative course design and classroom support has allowed to thrive in my current role as an instructional designer at a small liberal arts college.
Since beginning work at Skidmore College in the spring of 2016, I have worked as system administrator for our LMS, spearheaded an LMS migration, worked with numerous faculty and students on a variety of technology-rich classroom and research projects, as well as organized and led training for students, faculty, and staff on a wide range of educational technologies and pedagogical approaches.
ITAP Vice-Chair – The NY6 Instructional Technology Apprenticeship Program (ITAP) is a consortial, minds-on, hands-on program, in which we approach the disciplines of instructional design and education technology through an exploration of how desired understandings (as well as addressing misunderstandings and gaps in understanding) should influence and drive learning design and application of technology within learning experiences.
By the end of the program, our goal is for student apprentices to be able to: – Use a design thinking approach to develop, implement and evaluate a learning experience. – Apply knowledge of learning theories and best practices of learner-centered design. – Skillfully create a learning product that appropriately leverages at least one learning technology. – Demonstrate the ability to collaborate and partner with members of the ITAP community to help improve their ideas. – Deliver a presentation of their work at the annual NY6 Ed Tech Meeting
LMS migration – In 2019 we began the process of migrating our LMS from Blackboard to Brightspace. The timing was unfortunate, as little did we know that a global pandemic would set in just as the ink was drying on our new contract. Nonetheless, we forged ahead, balancing the sudden need to equip 350+ faculty to teach remotely as well as implement a new LMS.
Switching to a new LMS is not an endeavor to be taken lightly, regardless of public health disasters, and our small team of designers/technologists thoughtfully and carefully addressed this change over a two-year time frame, through conversations with the Office of the Dean of Faculty, participation from early adopters, focus groups, and surveys. Over a dozen information sessions were conducted for faculty to demonstrate the various LMS candidates and receive feedback. We chose Brightspace because it provides us with ample opportunities for growth and provides a robust and intuitive interface that allows faculty and students the flexibility they need without being overwhelming.
Pivot to Remote Teaching and Learning – Like many institutions all over the globe, March of 2019 saw a rapid shift in the way we work and teach and learn. At a small liberal arts college that prides itself on high-touch face-to-face learning experiences, the shift was especially jarring. Over the course of a few weeks we shifted over 350 faculty and 2500 students from fully face-to-face teaching and learning to fully online. This was a heavy lift for a Learning Technology (LEDS) group made up of three people, but also for all of IT, and of course the faculty and students themselves.
The shift went relatively smoothly and led to a summer of intensive training for faculty as they prepared to develop a range of teaching modalities based on an uncertain fall semester. This training was a combination of LEDS staff, librarians, outside courses and seminars, and paid consultants. All in the midst of an LMS migration! Overall, I could not be more proud of the work we all accomplished, including the faculty and students who through all these changes still managed to teach and learn at the highest levels, amid a myriad of distractions.
Development of EIT accessibility and UDL resources – I have recently participated in a number of workshops, meetings, and conferences related to Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and electronic and information technology (EIT) accessibility, with the goal of creating resources for faculty and students as they create and access information related to teaching and learning. The current resources available are available on the Skidmore LEDS website.
I truly believe that many critical pedagogical practices can and do benefit from the innovations created by technological tools. Said tools also allow us to expand the reach of the traditional classroom such that students and faculty can be contributors to and practitioners of knowledge producing activities from outside of the campus walls. I think this is an exciting move forward for post-secondary education and I hope to continue to be a part of it.
