Speaker: David Demers

David Demers is the Chief Information Officer at SUNY Buffalo State since July, 2015. As CIO, he oversees the Information Systems and Services division which serves the entire campus community and is comprised of Computing and Technology Services, Instructional Resources, E.H. Butler Library and the Project Management Office. Prior to his appointment at SUNY Buffalo State, Dr. Demers served as Chief Operating Officer for The American Women's College Online at Bay Path University where he managed the development of the innovative S.O.U.L. (Social Online Universal Learning) learning environment. Prior to this, he was Vice President for Academic and Administrative Technology at Bay Path College from 2009-2013 where he provided strategic vision and oversight of technology resources to support teaching and learning, student information systems, telecommunications and business systems. Demers has focused his career on the effective use of technology to enhance teaching and learning as a research topic and helped develop and deliver online programs at the University of Hartford (1999-2001), the University of Connecticut (2001-2005) and Sacred Heart University where he served as Director of Instructional Technology and Online Learning (2005-2009).

Demers completed his B.S. and Ph.D. at the University of California at Riverside where he pursued research interests in the field of Cell and Molecular Biology.


Speaker: Amanda Gould

Amanda is the Chief of Operational Efficiency and Student Success at The American Women’s College and One-Day-A-Week College at Bay Path University in Springfield, MA. In this role, she oversees the online student experience from first student impressions through graduation, and is one of the six-member Executive Committee reporting to the President of the University.

Ms. Gould was involved in a 2014 grant application that culminated in a $3.4 million grant to The American Women’s College under the Fund for Improvement of Postsecondary Education to study the efficacy of adaptive learning on adult education. She oversees that four-year grant now.

Ms. Gould joined Bay Path University in 2011 as the Director of Institutional Research and Data and has held the positions of Director of Analytics and Data and Deputy Chief of Operational Efficiency and Student Success prior to her current role. Previously, Ms. Gould held a number of increasingly responsible positions at Mt Holyoke College, culminating as Assistant Dean of Faculty. She also worked for Boston College Dean’s Office and Admissions earlier in her career.

Ms. Gould received her Master of Arts degree from Boston College


Speaker: Colm Howlin

Colm is the Principal Researcher at Realizeit and leads the research and analytics team. He is responsible for the development of both the Adaptive Learning Engine within Realizeit and the Learning and Academic Analytics derived from learner data. Colm has a background in Applied Mathematics and has carried out research at several Universities worldwide. He has several years of experience in Teaching & Research at University level, has spent time as a Consultant Statistician and is a specialist in the areas of modeling and data mining. Colm holds a B.Sc. in Applied Mathematics & Computing, a Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics from the University of Limerick and was a Research Fellow at Loughborough University. He is the receiver of an Advance Scholar Award (University of Limerick) and was awarded a Scholarship by the


Speaker: Sandeep Jayaprakash

Sandeep is a Lead Data Scientist at Marist College. Marist College is a 4 year private liberal arts college on the banks of Hudson river, NY. They are very active in the field of Learning Analytics.

Sandeep in his role works on applying big data and data mining techniques in higher education to identify trends and patterns among learners in a variety of academic settings and their learning methodologies. The insights gained are used to further enrich the learning experience of students, faculty etc. through building practical and innovative applications to supplement their learning efforts.

Sandeep has a Master's degree in Software Development and a strong background in machine learning. His current research focusses on predictive modeling and building large scale academic early alert and retention systems to identify at-risk student population. Sandeep is also an active member of the open-source Apereo Learning Analytics Initiative.


Speaker: Peter Shea

Peter Shea is an instructional designer, teacher, editor, and writer. Currently, he is Director of the Office of Professional Development at Middlesex Community College in Massachusetts. He is an advocate for the use of games and simulations for learning and assessment.

He has worked as a book reviewer for eLearn magazine and co-authored a chapter in the book, Transforming Virtual World Learning: Thinking in 3D (Cutting-Edge Technologies in Higher Education). Currently, he is co-writing a chapter on using games/simulations as assessment tools. He has served as a educational game judge for the Serious Play conference and has worked as a co-editor of the journal, Future Learning.