User:Scott Symonds

A Brief Bio
Kia ora. I moved to New Zealend in spring 2008 from Britain and haven't looked back! I work for Massey University (New Zealand's largest provider of distance education) in the Centre for Academic Development and eLearning. I spent my first year as an eLearning and multimedia developer, but have recently been appointed to the position of Flexible Teaching and Learning Consultant (FLAT C) and given the task of supporting staff with the design and production of online courses in the University's new virtual learning environment 'Stream', a series of online applications based around a Moodle core.

I have a varied background in design and education and have worked as a graphic designer, secondary school Design & Technology teacher and a lecturer in digital imaging. I've also been lucky enough to travel around the north of England delivering art workshops to primary school pupils.

I have experience in the production of a variety of digital resources for staff including: audio (RSS feeds/podcasts), video (filming, editing, titling and preparation for web publication), photography, graphic design, illustration, online presentations, web design and animation. I am now combining these skills with my knowledge of Moodle and course design to assist staff in producing a quality blended/online learning experience for our students. This often involves training staff in the use of new applications and technology.

My interest in WikiEducator stems largely from my role producing digital teaching and learning artefacts. There is a massive investment in many of the objects I have produced not only in terms of time, but also with regard to the hardware and applications that are used in production. It seems to me that there are a wealth of benefits to making resources freely available under CC SASA, and very few drawbacks. It is an area of interest I would like to push further within our institution and it would seem to me to be a logical extension of Massey's pioneering in distance education.

Multimedia portfolio here: http://myportfolio.ac.nz/view/view.php?t=Sen6RjXuosBTgyr1p3MG

CADeL portfolio: http://myportfolio.ac.nz/view/view.php?id=2750

Outside of work I'm a fanatical photographer:

http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/profilewidget/randomint/000000/ffffff/25501510@N07.jpg Some CC licensed photo textures here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/spacemunkie/sets/72157615515014931/