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Sue is an instructional designer with the Center for Distributed Learning at the University of Central Florida. Sue collaborates with faculty to deliver professional development opportunities, apply best practices in course development, and offer consultations and instructional design guidance.  Sue’s special interest areas are project management for instructional designers in higher education, mobile teaching/learning, and MOOCs.

Education has always been my passion, and after years in the corporate world I joined the Center for Distributed Learning in July 2011 with a diverse background in both corporate training and higher education. In addition to my Doctor of Education degree in Instructional Design & Technology from UCF, I also earned a BA in Mathematics and Secondary Education and an MA in Corporate Communication & Technology from Rollins College. My current research is focused on faculty development, digital learning in STEM disciplines, collaborative online learning and internationalizing the curriculum through technology. I also provide a practitioner’s perspective based on over twenty years of experience in both design and instruction. As the program director of UCF’s iLab, my primary focus is to strategically align, promote, and provide project management support for initiatives that contribute to the lab’s mission to serve as an incubator for the next generation of digital learning by supporting faculty and staff in piloting, refining, and evaluating innovations that positively impact student success at scale. Together with Dr. Tom Cavanagh, I also had the honor of serving as the Co-Principal Investigator on the design, development, and implementation of TOPkit. As you can see on the About Us page this was a huge team effort, and I personally welcome any feedback you may have on ways to improve your experience with this site and community.

Ashley worked with the Instructional Design team at the Center for Distributed Learning (CDL) as an intern during the summer semester of 2016 while completing her M.A. in Instructional Design and Technology. After successfully completing her internship and M.A. program, Ashley was offered a faculty position as an Instructional Designer. Prior to joining the CDL team, Ashley taught in the K-12 environment in both Orange and Seminole County Public Schools. There, Ashley learned how to advance and apply effective teaching practices. Her research interests include professional development for teaching online, application of emerging technologies, and the use of OER materials.

I joined the Center for Distributed Learning at UCF as a full-time instructional designer in November 2016.  Before joining CDL, I spent more than 15 years teaching courses in the humanities at several colleges, including DeVry University, Valencia College, and Seminole State College.  I earned a bachelor’s degree in humanities at New College of Florida in 1991 and, four years later, a master’s of liberal studies degree at Rollins College.  In 2013, I received her PhD in Education (Instructional System Design) from UCF.  My research interests include social media and online learning, second language acquisition and immersion through technology, and mobile learning.