My future professional development will continue to focus on the relationship between educational technology, inclusive learning design and the changing needs of educators and learners. As an Associate Professor at the University of Wollongong, I aim to bring together my experience in learning design, educational research and professional learning to contribute to more equitable, critically informed and effective uses of digital technologies.
An important priority will be extending my work on inclusive learning design, particularly in relation to artificial intelligence, accessibility and the design of authentic assessment. The growing availability of generative AI presents new opportunities for educational design, but also raises questions about equity, student agency, authorship and the appropriate relationship between human expertise and automated systems.
I intend to investigate these questions through research, collaborative educational design and continued experimentation with emerging technologies. In doing so, I want to develop a better understanding of how technologies can support learning without diminishing the importance of critical thinking, professional judgement and meaningful human interaction.
A second priority is my continuing research into critical media literacy, misinformation and young people’s participation in digital environments. Through this work, I aim to develop and evaluate educational experiences that help learners understand digital information systems and participate critically and responsibly in online environments.
I also intend to build on my work in online professional learning and coaching for early-career teachers. This provides opportunities to investigate how digital technologies can support professional relationships, reflective practice and teacher development, particularly in regional and remote settings.
Alongside these research interests, I remain committed to the professional development of learning designers. Through professional networks, research and mentoring, I hope to contribute to a clearer understanding of learning design as a profession and to support collaboration between learning designers, educators and other specialists.
Maintaining my own technical and pedagogical expertise will remain an important responsibility. I intend to continue developing capabilities in areas such as AI, learning analytics and data visualisation, while critically examining their educational and ethical implications.
My longer-term ambition is to contribute to a field of learning technology practice that is both innovative and critically reflective: one in which technologies are selected and developed according to their educational value, the experiences of learners are central, and professional knowledge is advanced through research, collaboration and the sharing of effective practice.