Hi! I’m Stasia Weston, though a lot of people may know me as Aevalle Galicia through my work in Second Life. This site is meant to be a professional area to house my vita, research and other pursuits.
Currently, I am part of the instructional design team at Sears Holdings Member Services Organization, working remotely out of Round Rock, TX. Previously, while working on my Ph.D. in Instructional Design at the University of South Alabama, I was employed in the campus’ Innovation in Learning Center. I found the experience tremendously valuable–working closely with faculty members, training in technology that I probably wouldn’t have been exposed to otherwise, and discovering multiple ways in which to integrate my previous creative experience with instructional design and educational technology. I consider myself a “low-tech ed techer,” meaning that I adore finding easy-to-use free or low cost technologies that offer educators (and trainers) big rewards–that’s really why I do what I do. Since my internship with the Virtual Worlds Best Practices in Education Conference in 2012, I’ve found myself veering more towards integrating gaming and simulations (through MMORPGs and VWs) into training and teaching. The bottom line, however, remains the same–giving more “oomph” to the learning and making the process seem more like fun than work.
My research interests include edugaming, social media in the learning process, emerging technologies, university redesign, virtual education, accessibility in online instruction, positive psychology, motivation, creativity and problem solving, distance education, open education, the usage of open source software in education, Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), guided imagery as a learning strategy, technophobia, test anxiety, immersive learning, and building both living and online learning communities (using technologies such as Second Life and OpenSim).
More is certainly to come because learning never stops (even after the schooling ends!).
Virtually Educated 