Teaching

Creativity and critical thinking are core values that are central to my teaching practice. Technology is constantly evolving and students need to adapt to current trends in order to adjust to the changing artistic, cultural, and social climates. While my creative research revolves around merging contemporary art with interactive design, I’ve also been teaching for more than 20 years in the areas of UX/UI, web, graphics, motion, and XR experience Design. Teaching everything from basic to advanced skills and techniques, while drawing upon historical and theoretical examples, provides students with a strong foundation for developing their own ideas. As an educator, the main challenge for me is to teach technical mastery while encouraging and nurturing a creative and critical mind. Empowering students to not only produce, but apply their original ideas in real-world settings. This page help showcase this dedication and highlights the breadth of my academic career, by reflecting both teaching and the recognition my students have received through outstanding projects and Awards. It serves as a testament to the impact of hands-on learning and real-world application in education.

Courses taught   2014 – 2024

Research & Thesis

“Creative XR Lab focused in Life Science, Health &   Humanities”
– Co-Founder, Principle Investigator – Sherman Finch – (2020 – 2024)

Created in 2020 this lab has had over 15 students developing Immersive XR Experiences using Unreal and Oculus 2. Research was presented IDMAa 2024 Conference as well as AECT International Conference in 2023. The Lab has recieved over 400k in Grants. Students include Jacobi Green, Cris Rocha, Cassandra Tudwell, Sarah Mace, Sam Devora, Kaylee Dodds.

“Game Based Learning and Teaching Children  Mindfulness”
– MS Thesis Chair – Lexi Mitchel – (2019 Fall)

This excellent Thesis help to land this student a lead position as a UX Researcher & Design Thinking Expert at Hewlett-Packard.

“Use of Non-Speech Audio to Enhance Online Learning”
– co-author – Edu Psych PhD Co-Chair – Yun  Li – (2019 Spring) 

This project included 2 undergraduate teams as part of a Vertical Studio involving development in Audio Web API. The research was presented AREA Conference April 2019 and published with Journal for Allied Instructional Design.

Awards, Student Awards, & Publications

2024 National Student Show Conference 19th
Parker Marley wins a National Award for best Use of Technology for a project as part of the Motion Design Studio illustrating Design of an Augmented Reality Artist Gallery App.

2024 AIGA Flux – UI/UX Finalist, AIGA Flux 2024 – Identity Finalist, Quan Chung wins two National Awards for a project as part of the Motion Design Studio illustrating Language Learning App.

2023 National Student Show Conference 18th
Eliot Castanon wins a National Award Motion Design for a project as part of the Motion Design Studio featuring an independent record label and Best overall portfolio during his Senior Capstone,

2023 Creative Quarterly 73 – Quan Chung , Graphic Design, wins a National Award for a project as part of the Motion Design Studio illustrating Language Learning App.
2023 Creative XR LAB – Interdisciplinary Collab Grant (17k) for Forensic XR project, ORSP, SHSU, TX

2022 Creative XR LAB & Nemours Children’s Health – Sickle Cell XR Research project along with Nemour’s Children’s Health team receives funding 300k from the Donaghue Foundation. Virtual Reality Sickle Cell patient’s experience focuses on 3 more treatments including Voxelotor and Crizanlizumab.
2022 Creative XR LAB – Interdisciplinary Collab Grant (16k) for Sickle Cell XR project, ORSP, SHSU, TX

2021 Using Sound to Enhance Interactions in an Online Learning Environment I co-authored a chapter in the book with Yun Li, a PhD in online Education Technologies Titled “Learning Technologies and User Interaction” which is coming out on Routledge. Edited by Kay K. Seo and Scott Gibbons.

2021 VR / UX Research Sickle cell anemia with Nemours Children’s Health.
Continued Preliminary research with a dedicated Team and 2nd prototype design for a Virtual Reality Sickle Cell experience help patients focused on Hydroxyurea treatment for ages 12-21. These efforts have helped the project move to clinical trials and as a result, received further funding from Nemours.
2021 Academic Community Engagement – Center for Community Engagement (CCE), SHSU, TX
Class is considered for ACE award for community engagement with Local and National Companies.

2020    Vertical Studio, UX / UI Research Sickle cell anemia project with Jefferson University Hospital.
Students worked on preliminary research for 1st prototype design for a Virtual Reality Sickle Cell experience focused on Hydroxyurea treatment for patients 12-21. These efforts helped contribute to the project later receiving a grant for further investigation.

2019    Vertical Studio, UX / UI Research project with the Texas Central Bullet Train featured online.
Students’ studio project was selected to be included in an online article by Launch DFW, a forward-thinking media company with a focus on tech innovation, Industry, and connectivity.

2017    Transformative Teaching Award, Sherman Finch, Texas A&M University, TX
Recognizing Transformational Learning Award, a student-nominated honor with $1,500 stipend for each of only six recipients. Click link here

2017    Vertical Studio, Texas Bullet Train Short Film Competition
Three student teams were finalists out of 50 submissions and two teams won awards in the area of Live Action and Creativity, amounting to $14000.00 in awards. The work was judged on adherence to the topic and technical use of video design and creativity. See videos here

2017     Senior Interactive Design Project, featured in campus news
As part of a collaborative project with Lee Taekyeom and Appalachian State University, student’s work in Vertical Studio featured on the College of Architecture’s news feed. See Images of installation her

2016    Eman Al-Zubeidi & Amy Self, Diversity Award, College of Architecture, Texas A&M University
The Diversity Council for the College of Architecture awarded a film that was developed in my first graphic focused Vertical Studio course. The contest recognizes excellence in diversity across campus. This project was also a finalist for a mural in the 2018 SXSW outstanding thought, leadership, research, and innovations exhibition. See animated short here

2013     Gerard McGarity, Philadelphia Magazine featured videos, Philadelphia University
Kinetic Type Diversity project which features Harvey Bernard Milk, an American politician who became the first openly gay person elected to public office. This class project was selected to be featured in an online magazine which has received over 77,410 views.