Thank you for stopping by!
My name is Michael Wilder, and here’s my short bio:
“Destiny has led me on a dual career path following both academic and technological objectives. The result is a hybrid scholar with skills and perspective from both fields. I have worked as an educator and technologist in a variety of environments, serving as an Assistant Director, university professor, Instructional Design Coordinator, Learning Technologies Specialist, and Blackboard Administrator. My current research focuses on the pedagogical usability of online course curriculum through the lens of cognitive load theory.”
I’m the Assistant Director of Western Washington University’s Academic Technology & User Services (ATUS). I supervise five offices in ATUS under the umbrella of Teaching, Learning, and Technology. These offices are the Center for Instructional Innovation and Assessment, Classroom Services, Learning Systems, Video Services, and the Digital Media Center.
I moved to Bellingham from Las Vegas, where I worked at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. In my previous position I was the Instructional Design Coordinator for the Office of Online Education. Previous to Las Vegas, I’ve lived and worked in Spokane, Washington, and Los Angeles, California. If you’re interested, my curriculum vita is available here, and my LinkedIn account is available here.
I recently completed my dissertation toward a doctoral degree in Learning & Technology from the UNLV Educational Psychology department. The title of my dissertation is “Effects of curricular organization on cognitive load and student performance in online learning environments.” My study investigated patterns of online course content organization and identified how these patterns impact cognitive load, student performance and time on task. My hypothesis was that poorly organized course curriculum results in needless non-educational mental effort.
My major areas of study include educational psychology (cognitive load theory, multimedia learning theory, human-computer interaction) and statistical and research methods (learning analytics, usability testing, and both qualitative and quantitative methods).
I hold a Master Reviewer certificate from Quality Matters as well as a User Experience certificate from the Nielsen Norman Group. I received the Sloan-C (now the Online Learning Consortium) Effective Practices Award in 2013 for “Multiuser blogging as an educational innovation.”
Sara and I moved to Bellingham in October 2016. I have three grown children: Brandon, Lauren, and Alex. I enjoy photography, videography, playing guitar, running, and kayaking.
I invite you to contact me! I would love to meet you!
My contact information:
Phone: 360-650-3361
Email: michael.wilder@wwu.edu