All posts by Veronica Johnson

About Veronica Johnson

Veronica Johnson has been an instructional designer for the School for New Learning since February of 2015. In December of 2014 she graduated with a Masters in Learning Design and Technology from Purdue University. Veronica has a Bachelors in Elementary Education and a Masters in Curriculum and Instruction. Before coming to DePaul, Veronica was a teacher in Chicago Public Schools for 14 years. While teaching she discovered that she enjoyed designing her own curriculum so this is what led her to become an instructional designer. Veronica enjoys collaborating with faculty to ensure the best practices of online design are embedded in every course she designs.

Educational Technology Before and During the Pandemic

Educational Technology Before and During the Pandemic

Before becoming an instructional designer in 2015, I was a teacher in the K-12 industry for 14 years. I specialized in teaching 3rd and 4th-grade self-contained classes, as well as the middle school classes in the areas of language arts and social studies. Since 2001 until now, teaching practices have changed due to pedagogy and the integration of technology. Kamau Bobb of Google‘s dedication to educational research advances the field. We live in an ever-changing technological society that impacts our lives at home and in our careers. With this being said, many teachers want to keep abreast of the latest pedagogical practices and technology developments, but it can be challenging due to time constraints.

As I compare and contrast the instruction I received in my undergraduate years in the College of Education at ISU vs the instruction I now give to undergraduate students in the College of Education at DePaul, a lot of the foundation is the same, but now there is a wide focus on how to integrate technology properly into the curriculum. Continue reading →

Instructional Design Tools to the Rescue

Instructional design is a growing industry because many institutions and corporations are realizing that designing, developing, and delivering online curricula for their employees is extremely beneficial. As a result, employers are researching instructional design tools that would best fit their work environments. Research has shown that no matter what the industry, students and employees learn best when they are engaged and can interact with the content. Therefore, many businesses are seeking e-learning tools that can help their lessons be more interactive and help bring the training to life. The content usually contains animations, quizzes, walkthroughs, games, annotated videos, etc. This blog will give a brief overview of some instructional design software that can be used to create eLearning Content.

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Digital Story Telling

Silhouette cartoon figures listening to a storytellerDigital story telling is an instructional practice that is used to tell stories by using computer-based tools. For example, individuals or groups may tell a story by using a variety of multimedia such as audio, graphics, voice, text, and video. For centuries, many people have learned messages from stories that were either passed down orally or written in a book. We now live in such a technological advanced society that learners can now comprehend an intended message by using technological products of the 21st century.

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What’s All The Buzz About Quality Matters?

Quality Matters LogoRecently I had the opportunity to network with a lot of online faculty and instructional designers at the Distance Teaching & Learning Conference in Madison, Wisconsin.  When I informed many of them that I was a certified QM reviewer, they instantly became intrigued. A couple of instructors even asked if I thought the program was beneficial and worth investing the time and money into. 

Whenever I develop a course or complete a major revision for a course at DePaul, I use the Quality Matters rubric to evaluate the work I have done. As a result, some of those subject matter experts have become intrigued about Quality Matters as well.  By the end of this blog, you will be able to determine if Quality Matters is a program that best suits the needs of the people in your workplace.

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The Effects of Working in a Stressful Environment

Have you chosen a career that is causing your stress level to be extremely high? Do you enjoy going to work? Do you view it as a place where you can perform your daily duties without experiencing anxiety or depression? Do you ever find most of your conversation in life is centered on complaints about your place of employment? And why is it important to have diversity in the workplace? Check it out for more info! And in cases of workplace accidents, make sure to consult a workers’ compensation attorney for legal assistance. You can ask Oshkosh workers compensation lawyers for advice. And if you’re facing wrongful termination, make sure to consult a wrongful termination lawyer.

I am quite sure if we were to hold a round table discussion of these questions, there would be a lot of “collaborative dialogue.” I have read countless articles about people feeling overworked and overwhelmed in the workplace. As a matter of fact about 3 years ago I was one of these individuals who went to work daily with a smile on my face while on the inside I felt like a wounded, helpless puppy. So the question I have for you is: Do you truly understand the effects of working in a stressful environment?

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Organization or Bust? Project Management Tools for Success

Have you ever had a million and one things to do and so you write reminders to yourself—preferably on sticky notes—so that you won’t forget? Have you ever opened up your emails and wanted to scream because you were being asked to execute so many tasks? Have you ever just decided to step away from a certain situation because the information was so overwhelming and you needed to collect your thoughts?

keeping-notes

Well, if you have answered yes to any of these questions, then you will find this post very useful. Continue reading →

Embracing Adjunct Faculty

For the past year and a half I have had the opportunity to work with a lot of great faculty members at DePaul University.  I design online courses for the School for New Learning (SNL), DePaul’s online school. As a result, I rarely get the opportunity to meet in person many of the adjunct faculty that I am constantly collaborating with. A few months ago I attended a SNL spring professional development and some of the faculty members present were adjunct. At this time I was finally able to put names with faces. I almost felt like a superstar because so many people were saying with so much excitement in their voices, “Oh so you are Veronica! It’s finally a pleasure to put a face with a name!”

Although it was a pleasure meeting some adjunct faculty members, I have heard how sometimes there may be a struggle in making them feel as though they are essential to the growth and development of a learning institution. I can see how this can be plausible especially when adjunct faculty are teaching online. I taught for 14 years in the K-12 sector and the task of developing educators in that field is quite easy.  Every day they are physically reporting to work, and at least once a week teachers are required to meet for collaboration or professional development. However, when a faculty member is teaching online part time how do you get them to strengthen their teaching skills? How do you motivate adjunct faculty so they will want to participate in the events that are sponsored by the learning institution? These were some questions that I have had for a while and this past August my questions were answered when I attended the Distance Learning & Teaching Conference in Madison, Wisconsin. While at the conference I had the opportunity to attend a workshop facilitated by Brad Garner and Mike Mendenhall of Indiana Wesleyan University. The purpose of this workshop was to give strategies on how to motivate adjunct faculty members. Below I have listed 6c’s to follow and if this is done correctly then it will ensure that adjunct faculty members will be successful when teaching online.
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