Hello, I’m Gary Bartanus. I am an educational technologist who has taught a wide diversity of learners from all over the world and who is now using that experience to inform my current contract position as an instructional designer.
When I began my education career nearly 20 years ago, I soon became immersed in the constantly evolving field of special education, where technology and the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework were often used to facilitate the inclusion of special needs students with mainstream learners.
Today, with a Master of Educational Technology degree from one of the world’s leading universities, I love integrating educational technology with modern learning theory and socio-constructivist principles. This is vital, exciting work that enables learners to take ownership of their transformative learning experiences and empowers them for success in the 21st century.
Recent Workshops (2017 to present)
- Instructional Skills Workshop (ISW)
- Facilitating Learning Online (FLO)
- Facilitator Development Online (FDO)
- Facilitator Development Workshop (FDW)
- Getting Started with Collaborate Ultra
- Teaching with Collaborate Ultra
- Moodle: Getting Around
- Moodle: Editing and Enhancing (MEEO)
Core Competencies
- Project Management 88%
- Leadership 90%
- Critical Thinking and Evaluating 95%
- Communication and Interpersonal Relations 95%
- E-learning and Instructional Design 98%
Technical Skills (partial list)
- TechSmith Camtasia
- TechSmith Snagit
- Articulate Storyline
- Adobe Photoshop Elements
- Adobe Premier Elements
- Adobe Dreamweaver
- Canvas LMS
- Moodle LMS
- Flipgrid
- Padlet
- Google Suite
- WordPress
- Screencast-O-Matic
- Techsmith Snagit
- Collaborate Ultra
- Microsoft Office Suite
- Zoom Video Conferencing
- Zotero Reference Manager
- Twitter, Hootsuite, Dlvr.it, LinkedIn
Experience
- Instructional Designer (ID) at the Centre for Teaching & Educational Technologies (CTET). I manage a portfolio of course design projects by collaborating in a team environment with Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), faculty, and staff to design, develop, and deliver all components of blended, online, and face-to-face courses. Our ID team also provides training to faculty and staff on the effective and pedagogical use of current and emerging technologies and, as the CTET liaison for the School of Communications and Culture, I consult with and advise program associates, coordinators, and faculty to facilitate clear communication channels and program consistency.
Royal Roads University | 03/2017 to present (contract position) - Asst. Professor | Educational Technologist | Committee Chair As a professor, I instructed EFL learners in presentation skills and digital literacy. As an educational technologist, I developed websites for program initiatives and designed constructivism-based learning environments for students. I also prepared and delivered Professional Development (PD) and student workshops on topics ranging from social constructivism to useful technologies to digital and media literacy. Furthermore, I served as chair for HYU’s English Film Festival committee to promote and advance digital literacy, co-chaired the Basic Academic English (BAE) Blended Course committee, and advised the Teaching with Technology committee
Hanyang University, Seoul, South Korea | 03/2010 to 03/2017 - Foreign Language Lecturer. I planned, prepared, and implemented a variety of communicative learning activities that maximized student talking time with pair/group work and task-based learning (TBL). I also initiated the use of Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL), to better address the various learning styles and needs of EFL learners.
Gyeongsang National University, Jinju, South Korea | 03/2009 to 03/2010
- Educational Consultant and Trainer. Working from my home office, I delivered interactive presentations, conducted workshops, and offered training on numerous Universal Design for Learning (UDL) resources at conferences, conventions, seminars, symposiums, in-services, schools and district offices across Canada. To provide ongoing training and support, I developed a website that hosted training videos and up-to-date information about UDL resources.
Insight Media Centre, Surrey, BC | 07/2007 to 02/2009 - Publisher’s Representative. In addition to my regular duties of consulting with educators at schools, book displays, and conferences across BC, I researched, developed, and implemented a major initiative that resulted in the addition of more than 150 Saunders book titles to the province’s Educational Resource Acquisition Consortium (ERAC) recommended resources list
Saunders Book Company, Collingwood, ON | 08/2006 to 06/2007
Formal Education
- Master of Educational Technology (MET). Interest areas: eLearning, mobile learning, constructivist pedagogy, Open Education; earned an A+ average with a GPA of 92.9%
University of British Columbia | 2015
- Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults (CELTA). Coursework was completed at Cambridge University’s approved centre, Global Village in Vancouver, BC; 135 total hours
University of Cambridge | 2008
- Bachelor of Education (Honours). Major: Secondary Education; Specialization: English; courses were completed at Union College’s satellite campus, Canadian University College (now Burman University) in Lacombe, AB
Union College / Canadian University College | 1994
Awards
- Louise McKinney Post-Secondary Scholarship. Awarded for ranking as top student, with a Grade Point Average (GPA) of 4.000, in the first year Education class
Union College / Canadian University College | 1992 - English Department Award. Awarded for excellence in language & literature studies
Union College / Canadian University College | 1993
Alternative Credentials
Examples of Staying Current
Portfolio of Empowerment
EdTech artifacts selected from a wide body of work
My Expertise
Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
As a consultant, I provided support for educators and health care practitioners on resources for this framework
Open Educational Resources (OER)
As a grad student, I led the development of an OER for assessing technologies for mobile collaboration
Speaking, Presenting, and Facilitating
With nearly 20 years of experience, I engage, entertain, and inform with creativity, humour, and energy
Online Learning Tools and Practices
Adept at applying modern learning theory to synchronous and asynchronous learning and collaboration activities
Advocacy of Digital and Media Literacies
Developed multimedia writing classes that provided learners with new literacies for success in the 21st century
Intercultural Relations and Multiculturalism
Years of living and working overseas have provided me with valuable insight into cultural diversity and multiculturalism
UBC Grad School Testimonials
Feedback on Augmented Reality Project
My congrats once again for your inquisitive, original approach to scholarship and learning more broadly. Your students are fortunate. …Your facility with digital tools is admirable, and your narrative is skillfully designed, extensively-researched, and very professionally communicated. You have achieved an even, high quality of delivery, including for mobile devices. Very well done.
DAVID VOGT, PHD
MET Program Professor
University of British Columbia
Vancouver, BC
MET Program ePortfolio Feedback
Congratulations you excelled! Your work is in a class of its own, outstanding! (09-01-15) Thanks for your well-designed, and systematically laid out, eP! I value your attention to detail in designing your eP. Your professional work exemplifies your approach to learning…. Overall, an exemplary eP, attesting to the competencies you have mastered, that has in turn, transformed your practice and thinking. (11-26-15)
FRANCIS FENG, PHD
Department of Curriculum and Pedagogy
Faculty of Education, University of British Columbia
Vancouver, BC
Testimonial on Scholarly Achievements
Gary is an outstanding scholar in the fields of inclusive education, teacher education, instructional design and distance learning! For more specific information about his abilities and contributions as a team player, learning technology expert, etc. please do not hesitate to contact me.
Matiul Alam, PhD
Educator, e-Learning Specialist
NGO Leader and Speaker
University of British Columbia
Vancouver, BC
Feedback on Learning Theory Thought Papers
Fantastic. You did a fantastic job. I’m giving out one of my very elusive 5’s to you. I don’t give that grade out very often. Congratulations!… (from 1:49 sec. audio)
JENNIFER SHAPKA, PHD
Associate Professor
MET Program, University of British Columbia
Vancouver, BC