Background in Faculty Development

• Linda recently retired from her position as Technology Director for the Division of Strategic Business, Education and Regional Partnerships at Minnesota State University, Mankato in Minnesota, where she also served as Coordinator of Online Learning in the College of Extended Learning, and Instructional Designer with the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning. In these roles and positions Linda worked directly with MSU departments, programs and faculty
  • Designing, developing and marketing new, high quality online academic and continuing education courses and programs
  • Facilitating learning communities in Online and Hybrid Course Design, Teaching Online, Virtual Reality
  • Providing individual faculty assistance with course design and development
• Linda also served (and recently retired from service as) one of two Statewide Co-Coordinators for Quality Matters in Minnesota. In this role/position Linda worked not only with faculty at MSU, Mankato but with faculty and staff at 33 other state colleges and universities interested in implementing the Quality Matters program at their institutions. Linda, in collaboration with the other statewide co-coordinator, developed and implemented and managed the Minnesota Online Quality Initiative which, with funding from the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System office, provided training, financial support, implementation assistance, and a statewide peer reviewer program for Quality Matters certification of online courses to faculty in every State institution of higher education in Minnesota.
• Linda also taught English Composition courses over the course of 25 years in public and private post-secondary institutions, in face-to-face, blended and online delivery formats.
• In addition to her work in Higher Ed Linda served as a
  • Research and Development Specialist for K-12 online learning, technology integration and business training and development.
  • Technology Coordinator for K-12 (alternative education) Area Learning Center

Workshop Experience

• Linda has made presentations and facilitated numerous collaborative groups and workshops for academic, business, non-profit and community groups for over 20 years on topics including:
  • course design and development
  • quality assurance for online and hybrid courses
  • teaching and training
  • curriculum development
  • technology integration
  • new program development
  • strategic planning and implementation
  • personal and professional development
• Linda currently...
  • Is the CEO of Optimize Learning which delivers Dee Fink's two-week "Designing Courses for Significant Learning" course as well as other short, online professional development courses on teaching and learning and course design developed by faculty and staff in K-12 and Higher Education.
  • Serves as a certified Quality Matters facilitator, facilitating f2f and online Applying the Quality Matters Rubric workshops, Peer Reviewer Certification Courses, and other f2f and online QM workshops and courses and serves as Quality Matters Peer Reviewer.
  • Co-facilitates f2f workshops for Dee Fink & Associates - helping faculty and staff design courses that better utilize technology and Dee Fink's principles of Integrated Course Design.

Other General Information

• Linda holds an M.S. in English with additional graduate work in Teaching English as a Second Language and Curriculum Development for K12 and Secondary Programs.
• Has also completed additional training through the Institute of Cultural Affairs in Group Facilitation Methods, Participatory Strategic Planning, Facilitating Conciliation, Implementation, and Tools for Creative Facilitation as well as co-active coaching courses through the Coaches Training Institute designed to help others set and complete goals and become more personally and professionally effective.