Staff

Linda L. Beith, Ph.D.

Director of Instructional Design

(401) 254.3134

Linda became Director of Instructional Design in the Academic Affairs division at Roger Williams University in January 2009. She has spent over 20 years across five different institutions involved with teaching and learning in higher education, specifically in the areas of faculty development and instructional technology.

In addition to supporting faculty initiatives, she has an interest in alternative delivery methods of instruction and has been teaching since 2001 in the graduate program for instructional design at UMass Boston and conducting fully online courses since 2005.

Linda's educational background includes a Ph.D. in Education/Instructional Design from Capella University in Minnesota; M.Ed. in Instructional Design from University of Massachusetts at Boston; and a B.A. in Psychology from Bridgewater State University in Massachusetts. Her doctoral dissertation is on hybrid faculty learning communities.

Areas of interest include  learning communities,  distance education, emerging technologies, interactive learning strategies, instructional design and e-portfolios. Conference presentations have included faculty learning communities, utilizing games to foster interactivity, effective use of course management systems,  globalizing the classroom, e-portfolios as learning and assessment tools, Quality Matters Rubrics for assessing online course quality, rapid prototyping as an instructional design strategy, learning styles of distance students, student response systems, and using a range of instructional technologies.

Shawn Platt

Academic Technology Coordinator

(401) 254.3001

Shawn Platt is the Academic Technology Coordinator in the Department of Instructional Design at Roger Williams University in Bristol, RI.I and has worn many hats over the years at RWU.  Shawn graduated from Roger Williams University with a Bachelors Degree in Electrical Engineering Technology and Computer Engineering in 1986 and has been associated and employed by the University since 1988 involved in information and instructional technologies.

In addition to providing primary support on all enterprise-level academic technologies for faculty and students, Shawn also conducts small group and individual training and consultation sessions.

He has co-presented on mobile applications and has helped facilitate the E-Portfolio Institute and Innovations in Teaching Showcases.