ADAM GAMMONS
Instructional Designer
Bonjour, y'all!
I'm a certified instructional designer, graphic artist, and francophile. I love to travel, to learn, and help others learn in turn.
On this page, you can read all about my story, my skills, and my work history.
MY STORY
I'm originally from Tennessee, but I relocated to Michigan in 2012 when I accepted an offer to teach French at Michigan State University, where I later obtained a Master of Arts in French language and literature. Before that, I earned a Bachelor of Arts in graphic design from the University of Tennessee at Martin.
For around four years, I was graphic designer, then creative director, at Skyline Outdoor Advertising in East Lansing, Michigan where I learned to tailor my design style to suit my clients' needs. I designed for such diverse clients as the City of Lansing, the Michigan State and Pittsburgh Football programs, Dart Container Corporation, Salt Yoga, and countless more.
In 2019, I came to Michigan Virtual as an administrative assistant, subsequently taking up the role of course development assistant, and finally that of instructional designer.
At Michigan Virtual, I have worked with our team of instructional designers and developers to build course materials for both K-12 and professional learners across Michigan.
I have over a decade of in-person and remote second language classroom leadership experience, including, most recently, three semesters at Olivet College and undertaking the writing and building of four semesters of French course unit review activities for Idaho Digital Learning Alliance. My classes are highly communicative in nature. Even from day one, I speak as little English as possible in the classroom.
That's me in a nutshell! If you'd like more detail, please continue reading or visit my design portfolios in the navigation bar at the top of the page.
MY SKILLS
eLearning
Wrote and built 4 semesters of French language unit review activities in CourseArc for IDLA
Presented Practical Tips, Tools, & Techniques for Online Teaching at MACUL 2022
Google's UX Design Professional Certificate
Completed Oregon State University's eLearning Instructional Design Certificate
CourseArc's Principles of Instructional Design: A Roadmap for Creating Engaging eLearning Content certification
Designed, scripted, & built An Introduction to Phenomenal Science course
Wrote and coded 2 semesters of hybrid French curriculum to accompany Liaisons: An Introduction to French
Trained colleagues on basic HTML & CSS
Graphics
BA in graphic design from the University of Tennessee at Martin
4+ years as creative director at Skyline Outdoor
High proficiency in Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign, Audition, and Premiere Pro
10+ years of experience designing for course development projects, vehicle wraps, digital media, logos, billboards, book covers and layouts, and so much more
Languages
MA in French language and literature from MSU
Superior level proficiency in French on the ACTFL scale
5+ years teaching 1st and 2nd year college level French courses
3+ years as Supplemental Instructor experience at UTM
Novice proficiency in Spanish
Leadership
Led the design and development of new Google Sheets mechanism for course review feedback capturing
3+ years as leader of Skyline Outdoor's art department
Responsible for hiring and training new designers
at Skyline Outdoor
Development of new methods of file and data management at Skyline Outdoor
10+ years of classroom leadership experience
President of annual academic conference TROPOS in 2015
Work Experience
Dec. 2019– Present
March 2022 – Present
Aug. 2018 – Dec. 2020
July 2015 – Dec. 2019
Aug. 2012 – May 2016
Aug 2009 – May 2012
INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGNER
Michigan Virtual
I work with subject matter experts and a team of fellow designers and developers to coordinate the design, building, writing, and implementation of student and professional learning courses for students and teachers across Michigan. I began at Michigan Virtual as an administrative assistant, then rose through the ranks to take up instructional design.
CONTENT DEVELOPER / SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT
Idaho Digital Learning Alliance
I script and build end-of-unit review activities for IDLA's four-semester suite of French courses. Activities align to course objectives and existing lesson content, mimicking activity types that are found on unit exams to whatever extent possible, while also remaining rooted in a communicative language learning theory.
ADJUNCT FRENCH INSTRUCTOR
Olivet College
I taught face-to-face and online beginner French courses. I used SLA theory to inform my communicative teaching practices, carefully crafting lessons to facilitate learners' language acquisition.
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Skyline Outdoor Advertising
Leading the art department of the small agency, I designed for a wide variety of clients and media. Vehicle wraps, logos, signage, wall wraps, billboards, and more. I also supervised a small team of artists.
GRADUATE STUDENT OF FRENCH / INSTRUCTOR
Michigan State University
More than a traditional TA, I took graduate-level courses while planning and teaching beginner French courses informed by SLA theory. I also wrote and built hybrid French materials, which were used for years after I left the program.
FRENCH SUPPLEMENTAL INSTRUCTOR
University of Tennessee at Martin
The SI program offers free tutoring to college students. I attended class with my students, aided the professor in class, and led weekly sessions outside of class to help students better their French skills.