Karen Caldwell is an education developer and adult learning specialist as well as an instructional designer with a background in professional development and digital literacy. She earned her doctor of education in Mind, Brain, and Teaching at Johns Hopkins University and is based in the Thousand Islands in Ontario, Canada where she is an Assistant Professor in the School of Education & Professional Studies at SUNY Potsdam in Upstate NY. Karen is also a training & development consultant specializing in employment readiness, including the design of virtual reality training experiences.
Prior to moving back home in 2018, Karen lived and worked overseas for over 2 decades (Dominican Republic, South Korea, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain) in roles such as English as a Foreign Language teacher, Trade Commissioner for Education & Training for Canada in the Arabian Gulf, college instructor, professional development supervisor, director of student services, and
curriculum & assessment developer.
At SUNY Potsdam, Karen teaches in 3 fully online programs: the advanced certificate in college teaching, MS in Instructional Design & Educational Technology (IDET), and MS Management and does faculty training in online pedagogy with an interdisciplinary team of instructional designers and faculty.
As a non-traditional student and lifelong learner herself, Karen places special emphasis in her courses on applied learning, authentic assessment, mastery learning, and career readiness. In her recent TEDx Talk, Learning out Loud (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XV6hClxfeeM), Karen shared her teaching & learning approach to achieve learning goals and empower us all to harness & make sense of the information flood we face within and beyond our classes.
