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Brent Wilson, Ph.D.
Dear Dr. Wilson, These past two years have flown by, and I can hardly believe that I will be finishing up my Master's Degree in Information and Learning Technologies. I would like to take this opportunity to share with you how this program has helped me grow professionally and as a life-long learner. Before starting the program I was employed as an instructional designer with a software company. I had a couple of years of real-world experience with instructional design, along with the all the challenges that a lone instructional designer faces; little to no budget, limited SME resources, never enough time. I felt that I needed more theory, credibility to the profession, and contact with a group of colleagues that were facing the same challenges as myself. Being fairly new to the instructional design role, along with the fact that I had a burning desire to obtain a graduate degree, the Corporate Cohort was the perfect choice. In these two short, but very intense years, I feel that this program has provided me with the foundation needed to springboard my career and given me the credibility needed to support and validate my work in instructional design. I couldn't have hoped for a better balance of theory and practice. Having a Corporate Cohort focus on corporate training and adult learning is fantastic, each class presents a new theory or technique that I can readily apply at work the next day. My professional focus and interest has narrowed in on eLearning and distance education. I am fascinated by the technology and am constantly challenged by trying to make my courses as learner centered as possible. I am also intrigued when designing for each different audience and figuring out how to make the course work when you don't have the face-to-face visual indicators that you do with traditional instructor-led training. I have also been fortunate enough to experience first hand two different Learning Management Systems and learn how to administer, track and report on the learners and courses. It is very rare when one can experience and apply what we learn in a school setting. I know that providing focused, real-world examples and instruction was one of the goals of the Corporate Cohort, and I think that it exceeded everyones expectations. I am now currently self employed as an Independent Instructional Design Consultant, and I strongly feel that I could not have survived without this program in Information and Learning Technologies. I now have a solid platform on which to continue learning. Thank you. Best Regards,
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