Speaker: Nikki Boots

Nikki Boots' main interest lies in introducing people to a harmonious relationship with instructional design and technology. Currently, she serves as an Instructional Technologist at Harvard University for the Faculty of Arts & Sciences. Nikki has worked in various fields of instructional design, such as faculty development, corporate training, and online learning. Nikki earned an MA in Digital Teaching & Learning from Azusa Pacific University, and PhD in Learning, Design, & Technology from Purdue University.


Speaker: Abigail Cahill

Abby is the former Director of Assessment at Emmanuel College. She teaches assessment design and Instrument development for the online Higher Education Assessment Specialist Certificate at James Madison University. She has a doctorate in Assessment and Measurement from James Madison University, as well as an M.A. in Psychological Sciences, and a B.A. in Education from Bucknell University. She currently works as an independent evaluation and assessment consultant.


Speaker: Brad Kay.Goodman

In my current position of Manager of Digital Learning, I work with faculty and their course teams as a project manager and advisor for MOOC development. In my advisory role, I rely on my 10 years of experience as a Senior Instructional Designer with Boston University and my 12-year career in the film industry.

I have been directly involved in online education since 2004 and am continually exploring new pedagogies and technologies to take education far beyond the classroom paradigm to be more effective in today’s growing educational realm. One of the most rewarding aspects of online course development is working collaboratively with faculty and other designers.


Speaker: Wayne LaMorte

Dr. LaMorte received his MD from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and received a PhD in biochemistry and an MPH from Boston University. He has been a faculty member at Boston University for more than 20 years and currently teaches two courses in the School of Public Health: PH709 “The Biology of Public Health,” and EP713 “Introduction to Public Health”. He also teaches an online course, HC751 “Introduction to Epidemiology for the Health Communicator” for the Master of Science in Health Communication at Boston University’s College of Communications. He is currently the Assistant Dean of Education at Boston University School of Public Health, and he is the director of the Teaching and Digital Learning Office. Dr. LaMorte is also a contributor to the Local Public Health Institute of Massachusetts, which provides online training to the public health work force in Massachusetts.


Speaker: Sharon McKechnie

Sharon P. McKechnie is the Dean of the School of Business at Mount Ida College in Newton. She received her Ph.D. in management with a concentration in organization studies from Boston College, and an M.Sc. in organizational psychology from UMIST in Manchester. Her research interests lie in understanding the factors that affect both individual and group level communication, with a particular focus on the effects of communication technology on these processes. As a faculty member Dr. McKechnie had significant experience developing both fully online courses and using an LMS to support the traditional classroom experience. As a Dean she has been supporting and mentoring faculty through the adoption of a new LMS system and the development of rigorous online courses