I thought I was a professor and a coach but those were only my titles. My practice is design.
The "problem" may not be what you think it is. Understanding the way things are experienced guides you to creative learning designs that meet pain points where they actually exist, not where you might have assumed them to be.
Put another way: the problem may be the website - BUT the problem may also be that Larry hired a consultant to build the website without asking the team. Solve the website, sure. Solve the problem? Not-so-much.
I don't think so!
Here's my angle - my primary identity for the past decade has been debate coach. In this role, I have been successful at helping students grow a variety of skill sets and achieve their goals. As I continued to grow my practice, I realized that technology + design offered many avenues to grow my craft as a debate coach and professor. I dedicated myself to better understanding UX because of its dedication to the process and user as a guide to the product.
I am fascinated at the ways Learning Design is situated in the Science of Learning (as someone who teaches about cognition, this was immediately useful). Finally, I found the world of L&D and saw the big picture of how everything I've been doing is connected.
I find meaning in helping people live their lives successfully - I love helping them grow and solve problems. I LOVE the idea that through some intervention, big or small, I've helped someone do their work better, happier, etc. I've found that design thinking is the in that best allows me to achieve those results. Technology offers dynamic engagement potential if situated in these values - it's what allows me to consider Instructional Design as a piece of the larger L&D puzzle.
TLDR: I connect the core values + goals of LxD, UX, and L&D to design meaningful interventions in people's lives.
I am motivated by feeling useful and valued. I respond well to positive feedback and I am energized through collaboration. I am motivated when someone tells me I have a good idea or interesting insight (so, ya know, I try to have those). I work best in a supportive environment where folks do not take themselves too seriously but are serious about creating meaningful work. I am happiest when I feel like the work I am doing helps people.
I am a national champion debater and national champion debate coach. My background tells you that I'm an analytical thinker, a skilled note-taker (haha, but really), an effective researcher, and able to send and receive feedback. My work puts me in contact with almost every aspect of higher-ed bureaucracies and constituencies. I wear many hats and I'm proud to say I wear 'em all well.