Greetings to all 522 cohorts and to the primary author.
I am new to the MET program and I am excited by the new opportunities to learn and collaborate with others that are passionate about education and technology.
I have worked in the e-learning and synthetic training industry for 15 years and have performed various tasks such as communication design, multimedia design, production management, creative direction, user interface design, business analysis, usability engineering, product engineering and business development. Most recently, I worked as a “Training Solutions Architect” for a training and simulations company until it was purchased by a competitor and restructured.
Since then, I have taken the opportunity to focus on upgrading my credentials and expanding my knowledge base. Recently, I have completed the class components for a Certificate in Adult Education through St. Francis Xavier University as well as two computer science courses at Dalhousie University in Human Computer Interaction and User Interface Design. I have also taken courses in software development and management and have a Bachelor of Fine Art from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design with a studio major in interdisciplinary media.
I live in Halifax Nova Scotia with my wife and two year old son. When I am not entrenched in my work, I spend most of my free time with them camping, hiking and enjoying the outdoors. I also embrace “geek” culture and can often be found at my local comic/toy store discussing items of grand importance and searching for new treasures to add to my collection.
Originally trained in traditional media forms (film, tape, canvas, paper, steel, rock, etc.), I experienced the shift from analog and physical media to the digital realm. As an engineer trapped in an artist’s body, I easily adapted and expanded my expertise and knowledge to not only the tools used for creative content development but also to hardware and software computing systems, programming and software engineering.
Early in my career I took advantage of a government program for young entrepreneurs that guided me through the processes of establishing a new company. This included market analysis, business plan development and financial forecasting. Using the outputs from this program I was able to secure start up financing through an opportunities agency and establish a proprietorship providing multimedia and IT services. Since this time, I have contributed to product road maps, business development and corporate strategies for both established and start-up companies.
Although I am not a formal teacher; education has always played an important role in what I do. At a young age I worked with children, running and co-ordinating recreational programs focused mainly on the arts. When entering my professional career as a developer and entrepreneur, I married my technical skills, creativity and passion for instruction to develop learning content and products that effectively communicate and perform.
I am taking this course so that I can add analysing and evaluating learning technologies, markets, businesses and organizations to my current skills. I want to learn the unique and specific considerations and processes that help validate decisions when producing new learning products or bringing a new learning product or service to the market.
I look forward to the opportunity to network and collaborate with peers and experts whiling scanning the emerging markets and exploring different business models and domains. This will surely provide valuable insights and perspectives on ventures involving learning products and services and may lead to future opportunities.