About

Four side by side images. Bixler face, Bixler lecturing, and Bixler wearing a hard hat.

Welcome!

This is my professional portfolio and personal blog space at PSU. Enjoy!

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I’m an Instructional Designer with the e-Learning Design Innovation Group (eLDIG) , part of the Smeal College of Business at Penn State. I am also the Penn State Educational Gaming Commons Evangelist.

In my current position I lead and participate in online course development, university-wide committees to identify and develop opportunities for cross-unit collaboration to support teaching and learning, and assist faculty in discovering and implementing the best uses of education technology. I am responsible for a variety of other tasks, including:

  • instructional design;
  • project coordination and management;
  • faculty and staff development;
  • curriculum development;
  • educational technology training and assistance; and
  • formative and summative evaluation of projects.

I work with curriculum design teams throughout the Penn State environment, and I provide pedagogy and technology-related workshops for instructors throughout Penn State and the United States. I also serve on a variety of University-wide committees whose common theme is improving teaching and learning via uses of education technologies.

I actively investigate the use of games and virtual worlds for educational purposes. I created the Educational Gaming Commons (EGC) to support collaboration and initiatives in these areas throughout Penn State.

Previously, I was the Lead Instructional Designer at Education Technology Services, part of Information Technology Services at Penn State. While in that position, I supervised nearly a dozen individuals, including several e-Learning Support Specialists (eLSS) in various PSU locations. The e-Learning Support Specialist’s job was to support PSU faculty in developing their ANGEL skills and integrate the use of educational technology into their courses. The position was designed to assist faculty to become experts in management and delivery of learning in online environments.

I was instrumental in developing services and training for ANGEL, Penn State’s Course Management System, the Bachelor of Science in Business Degree for Penn State’s Commonwealth Campuses, and the Information Sciences and Technology Associate Degree.

Before my work at ETS, I was the Senior Instructional Designer with the Jack P. Royer Center for Learning and Academic Technologies at Penn State University. I supervised several designers and developers, led the needs assessment, design, development, and evaluation of the General Education Modules (GEMS) that later became the iStudy modules (see http://istudy.psu.edu), print and Web-based instructional modules designed to provide new college students with college-level academic skills.

Prior to the Royer Center, I was the Senior Instructional Designer for the Institute for the Study of Adult Literacy at Penn State and was responsible for designing computer courseware for adult literacy. I supervised a design team, led development of the Penn State Adult Literacy Courseware, the Penn State Adult Literacy Word Processor, Introduction to Computers for the Adult Literacy Educator, Job Trails, R.O.A.D. to Success, A Day in the Life… Assessment and Instruction, Sales and Customer Service Occupational Readiness Education (SCORE), and the Pennsylvania Blue Shield Job Linked Skills Program (JSEP).