EWU Instructional Design Launches Website, Podcast Series

Eastern Washington University’s Instructional Design program has launched a new website and podcast series to support the development of engaging, effective courses.

The new service offers faculty and staff thoughtful and imaginative approaches to course creation and updates. The focus will be on leveraging “gamification” by incorporating interactive game elements to make learning more engaging, interactive and rewarding.

Gina Mikel Petrie, professor of English as a second language and executive director of Global Student Services at EWU, reached out to Jim Ryan, instructional designer, several months ago and right after he arrived at Eastern.

“I have been dreaming of a very different approach to a non-credit TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) certificate program for a long time now,” Mikel Petrie says. “My instincts were to make it feel not like taking a course, but more like a series of activities you would carry out on your phone just because you enjoy them.”

Mikel Petrie wanted to make the entire program easily accessible on a mobile phone and to gameify each course by adding listening opportunities, such as podcasts, and creatively use the power of artificial intelligence (AI). The vision, she explains, is to make students feel like they are “being exposed to different countries – some of the very places they were hoping to work.”

When Mikel Petrie sat down with Ryan to share her vision for the certificate program and its courses, he gave an enthusiastic thumbs up, she says.

“He not only got what I was striving for, but he had such fantastic ideas and knowledge of tools to make it easier,” says Mikel Petrie. “We’ve been working together ever since – and I never could have made this vision come alive so well if it weren’t for his assistance and support. What a lucky break for me!”

Ryan says Instructional Design services include “opportunities for professional development as well as personal assistance with the design and content creation for their courses, including in person, hybrid and online.”

The support helps improve both the quality and quantity of course content, he adds, giving professors and students greater freedom and flexibility, making classes more engaging while increasing student retention and content mastery.

Ryan, who leads professional development workshops in the EWU Faculty Commons, conducts needs assessments and uses podcasts to highlight professors, experts and students who are already applying the tools and strategies he promotes.

“I show them a number of different tools that are available to them to enhance the effectiveness and engagement of their course that they may not have been aware of before,” Ryan said.

To learn more about EWU’s Instructional Design Program:

• Visit the EWU Faculty Commons’ Instructional Design webpage.
• Access the EWU Instructional Design Podcast channel on YouTube.
• For questions contact James Ryan at jran52@ewu.edu or 509.280.9989.