Well, turtles are amazing. I happen to love turtles, but beyond my personal preferences, I think that turtles can provide a powerful analogy for intentional and effective teaching. Just as turtles can easily hide inside their shells, we can’t really know what is happening in the black box of the brain unless students come out of their shells and demonstrate their learning in some way. That means we need to get students moving with the content. I’m committed to creating education that is active and evidence-based. Whether online or face-to-face, students should apply what they are learning in authentic scenarios, and we need to measure what is happening in courses in order to evaluate and refine them. Turtles may not seem to do much, but there’s more going on than we think, and changes in their regular behavior are important indicators of what is happening in their environment. Some would argue that learning can be defined as changes in behavior. Educational contexts may vary in the amount of student output they produce which can be observed and measured, but we can’t claim students are learning unless we find a way to pre-assess learning outcomes and systematically observe and measure the changes that occur as a result of the learning experience.

Turtles are also mobile, carrying their homes with them. In the modern age of ultra-connectivity, students are coming to us from a wide range of settings and locations. That means our education has to be self-contained and portable, able to flourish in a variety of contexts. The structure of a turtle is a fairly simple design, but they withstand the test of time, living much longer than humans in many cases. The best courses are not filled with the latest trends in technology or flashy gimmicks. Instead, they are built on solid principles of learning and utilize the most appropriate technology to accomplish their objectives. They are designed with accessibility in mind from the beginning, and are therefore flexible enough to accommodate students’ needs across time, distance, and device.

Finally, turtles are fun. I’ve not yet met somebody who didn’t like turtles (and I hope I never do!). In order to be truly effective, well-designed teaching has to engage students. It has to connect with their emotions, interests, and goals. I am a firm believer that learning is most powerful when it is fun, and I’m always looking for ways to make content relevant and exciting for students.

So in a nutshell, why Designer Turtle? Because I’m an instructional designer who is committed to creating courses that are sleek, solid, mobile, accessible, evidence-based, and playful. Like turtles, turtle courses withstand the test of time. Check out my portfolio to see some samples of my work. If you would like those kinds of courses in your organization, give me a shout.