About KristenKristen is the Senior Instructional Technologist at Fordham University, where she leads transformative initiatives that enhance teaching, learning, and technology integration. Through major events such as Faculty Technology Day, Faculty Technology Orientation, and the EdTech Bootcamp, she helps faculty refine their skills in educational technology, fosters collaboration, and empowers them to use cutting-edge tools. Kristen is deeply invested in creating and maintaining resources that support educators in adopting technology-based teaching methods, ensuring that classrooms become dynamic environments that foster engagement and improve learning outcomes. Her work goes beyond providing tools—she empowers educators to transform their classrooms into interactive spaces where technology is seamlessly integrated to support diverse learning styles.
Since joining the Educational Technologies team at Fordham in 2008, Kristen has developed and implemented training curricula on a wide range of topics, including digital identity management, working with multimedia, unlocking AI’s potential, creating data visualizations, and exploring curation tools. Kristen’s broad expertise helps faculty create interactive lessons and activities, both in face-to-face and online formats. As an experienced Blackboard administrator, she has guided the development of online courses and programs since the inception of online learning at Fordham. Kristen is dedicated to staying at the forefront of emerging technologies in education. Through her presentations and resources, she keeps faculty up-to-date on emerging technologies, offering insights into how tools like AI, cloud-based applications, and multimedia platforms are transforming teaching and learning. Her workshops focus on practical applications of these technologies, empowering educators to integrate innovative tools that enhance student engagement, foster collaboration, and streamline course management. Kristen also provides valuable resources to help faculty navigate the fast-changing tech landscape, ensuring they are equipped to make the most of new opportunities in educational technology. Kristen's career highlights include her key role in the Instructional Design e-Learning project (IDEL), a transformative initiative that took her to Amman, Jordan, in late 2019 impacting the lives of both students and refugees. As part of a team of international experts, Kristen helped train Jordanian educators in blended learning, digital tools, and course design. Sponsored by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and supported by the Jordan Ministry of Higher Education, the project aimed to create scalable, high-quality online education for Jordanian students and refugees. Kristen's participation in this program, driven by the Jesuit mission of cura personalis, was a career high point, combining her passion for education with the opportunity to make a lasting impact on students in need. Additionally, Kristen founded Wikipedia for Educators at Fordham in 2016, creating a collaborative community focused on supporting the use of Wikipedia in classrooms through workshops and edit-a-thons. She is also a dedicated, long-standing member of the Fordham Institute for Women and Girls, promoting gender equality and social justice initiatives locally and globally. Before joining Fordham, Kristen taught high school math for eight years, where she developed a deep understanding of the educational needs of students and the importance of effective teaching tools. This experience shaped her current role, where she combines her classroom expertise with her technological skills to support faculty in creating more dynamic, engaging learning environments. Kristen’s work has not only impacted individual faculty members but has also shaped the direction of Fordham’s educational technology strategy. Through her leadership in faculty development, curriculum innovation, and technology integration, Kristen has helped cultivate a culture of continuous learning and technological adaptation that is central to Fordham’s academic success. |