My name is Eli Collins-Brown. I am a web and instructional designer and I specialize in online courses.

Before moving from Fort Worth, TX to Peoria, IL in 2002, I worked at the Center for Distance Education at the University of Texas at Arlington as an instructional designer and project manager. My project was to help the School of Engineering at UTA put a Masters of Electrical and Computer Science Engineering online. I have also designed courses for the University of North Texas’ Center for Distributed Learning; three courses on Volunteerism, part of a certificate program, and an Astronomy 101 course. All of these courses are taught fully online. I also have designed, developed, and taught a number of professional development courses and workshops to help faculty learn how to put their courses online and how to teach online.

I received my B.A. in Management from Northwood University and my M.Ed. in Ed Research from TCU in Fort Worth. Now I am pursuing my doctorate at Illinois State University in Curriculum and Instruction, focusing on, what else, but, instructional technology and online education! My research interests are interactivity and online communication and interactive multimedia. My dissertation will be on finding out what we can do better online than we can in the classroom. I am currently working in the newly formed Center for Teaching, Learning, and Technology at ISU helping to redesign their professional development curriculum to include courses in web-based and online instruction.

I have taught for the University of Phoenix online for 2 yrs. I teach EDTC560 - Applications of Multimedia and Web Page Design, and EDTC590 - e-Capstone Course.

My husband George is the chair of the theatre department at Bradley University in Peoria and is a freelance director and fight choreographer. We have a daughter. Callista, who is in second grade and enjoying learning how to read. She loves to sing, dance, drawing, and create stories. I also have three ‘adult’ children who have made their homes in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Additionally, we have a very fat furry kid that dominate the house, Sunshine.

My outside interests include computers, reading, writing, drawing, sewing, yoga and walking, and traveling.

You can view samples of my work at my online portfolio – www.connectedcreativity.com

I’m looking forward to working with you over the next six weeks. It’s going to be a lot of fun.