EDUCATION

Degrees Earned
Ph.D., Technology and Education, Mississippi State University, 1999.
Ed.S., Technology and Education, Mississippi State University, 1997.
Master of Science, Curriculum and Instruction, Mississippi State University, 199
6.
Bachelor of Science, English, Mississippi University for Women, 1991.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
November 2009-Present. Principal Instructional Designer: eLearning. University o
f Missouri Kansas City.
Lead online program revision and expansion
Worked with individual departments to create quality, scalable online programs
Insured effective design of online courses through ongoing assessment
Worked with individual faculty (50+) to improve or create quality online course
s for mass consumption
Conducted numerous faculty and system workshops concerning assessment in online
courses, collaboration in online courses, and numerous other best-practices bas
ed topics
Increased number of faculty certified in online teaching and learning from zero
to 20
Increased number of courses certified for quality delivery from zero to approxi
mately 40
November, 2008 November 2009. Executive Director of Academic Institutional Asse
ssment. Saint Lukes College.
Spearheaded reporting and self-study creation for successful visits from HLC, C
CNE and MOSBN.
Supervised faculty improvement efforts according to the BSN Essentials in align
ment with CCNE standards.
August, 2006 December, 2008. Graceland University. Director of Assessment, Coor
dinator of University Technology Committee, Assistant/Associate Professor/Direct
or of Collaborative Learning and Teaching, Graceland University. (Associate Prof
essor Rank and Tenure awarded November, 2007).
Instructed students in numerous online courses
Fall, 2006. Assisted School of Education in creating data reports for the NCATE
visit. Aggregated numerous data files, and generated reports to provide to comm
ittees and or individuals so that they might interpret data and make recommendat
ions.

November, 2004 July, 2006. Dean of the Global Campus, Graceland University.
Created a system for data-driven decision making in order to provide evidence t
o IHL of university-wide management of distance learning systems which resulted
in permissions to offer both the nursing undergraduate and graduate programs as
well as the education graduate program and general education offerings 100% onli
ne in 2004
Led transition of nursing courses from paper-based to online delivery. Assisted
in training faculty in quality online course delivery
Created numerous reports for system review resulting in streamlining services f
or distance learners and transitioning paper-based programs to online
Served on the University Program Assessment Committee which prepared the self-s
tudy for the IHL visit in 2006, resulting in 10 year accreditation by IHL
 Supervised coordination of marketing efforts and enrollment goals to increase o
nline seats from 1600 in 2004 to 2300 in 2005, with an increase to 4400 seats i
n 2006
Collaborated with academic units to ensure academic integrity of online courses
and programs
Supervised Director of Student Support, Director of Marketing and Director of I
nstructional Design, along with their teams of 25 staff, faculty, and adjuncts.
Worked with corporate partners to develop online courses and programs
Insured compliance with partner contracts and course management system contract
s
Provided leadership to the University Executive Council for the direction of th
e distance learning programs
Screened, processed and supervised online General Education faculty
July, 2001 November, 2004. Director of Technology/Assistant Professor, Gracelan
d University/Associate Dean of Graduate Studies, School of Education.
Led creation of the Strategic Plan for the Delivery of a 100% online degree: M.
ED. in Collaborative Teaching and Learning with an Emphasis in Quality Schools
Led the creation of the policy statements related to the Tenets for Online Teac
hing and Learning, from which emerged the Graduate Course Evaluation for School
of Education Online Graduate faculty
Created a handbook to assist School of Education faculty in developing syllabus
grids aligned with NCATE standards, and rubrics designed to assist in program a
ssessment
Underwent and successfully completed the University of Phoenix Faculty Certific
ation Training for Online Instructors
Created and continue to instruct (2002-Present) a Certification Course for all
faculty associates who teach online, first with Graceland University and now wit
h the University of Missouri at Kansas City.
Led creation of the Master of Education in Collaborative Teaching and Learning,
Emphasis in Technology Integration program
Made progress in building consensus within the School of Education as concerns
the generative curriculum within the program, the reliability of the program fro
m site to site, and common elements within all SOE graduate programs.
Established procedures for admission and progression of students within the SOE
online master programs including transfer of credit, withdrawal from the progra
m, and satisfactory progress within the program.
Worked to create a scope and sequence for technology to meet criteria set by NC
ATE.
Winter, 2004. Led an online faculty retreat to create a standardized grading sy
stem, to discuss reliability in assessment, and to set reasonable expectations f
or faculty associates in the future. Led the creation of the tenets for online t
eaching and learning, as well as the School of Education Faculty Associate Handb
ook.
Created initial assessment system for both Graduate and Undergraduate program e
valuation which resulted in a successful visit from the Iowa State Department in
2001, and from NCATE in 2002.
Nominated for the Alumni Excellence in Teaching Award
August, 1999 July, 2001. Assistant Professor for Instructional Management, Miss
issippi University for Women.
Created and instructed six courses aligned with the National Board for Professi
onal Teaching Standards for the Master of Education in Instructional Management
degree. Courses resulted in higher awareness of student difference and the need
to accommodate that difference in the classroom. In addition, teachers enrolled
in the program successfully integrated authentic assessment, conflict resolution
techniques, and collaboration with parents, community leaders, and colleagues i
nto their classrooms. Projects required in the program were submitted and assist
ed one teacher in acquiring National Board Certification.
o ED538 Understanding Individual Learning Differences
o ED548 Methods and Materials for Teaching Diverse Learners
o ED549 Instructional Assessment Practices and Procedures
o ED551 Managing the Instructional Environment
o ED554 Collaboration
o ED592 Capstone in Differentiated Instruction
Developed a and piloted new course: Differentiating Instruction through Technol
ogy
Identified by students at graduation as a faculty member who makes a real diffe
rence in the lives of students.
August, 1998 May, 1999. Continuing Education. Visiting Program Coordinator of W
eb-based Courses. Mississippi State University.
Worked with units to transition paper and video-based courses, including ITV Co
urses to an online format
Coordinated offerings of online courses for advertisement purposes
Led efforts to increase online course offerings
Conducted extended faculty training sessions to assist in developing online cou
rses which were pedagogically sound and technologically accessable.
Created and instructed four high-enrollment technology-based courses for online
instruction.
o Telecommunications
o Electronic Presentation
o Hypermedia for Education
o Microcomputers in Education
August, 1997 August, 1998. Lecturer. Department of Technology and Education. Mi
ssissippi State University.
Taught courses in Telecommunications and Hypermedia for Education to in-service
teachers. As a result of these courses, many teachers developed confidence in w
eb-based technologies, and some actually enrolled in further technology courses
or pursued a Master of Technology in Education. One graduating senior, whose maj
or was business, and who was taking the course as an elective, stated that the T
elecommunications course was the best course I have ever taken. Several students
went on to become webmasters and to create web pages commercially.
Developed online courses and time and space independent courses for non-traditi
onal students that resulted in in-service teachers from remote areas of the stat
e being able to pursue their computer certification, or to simply work to increa
se their understanding of the integration of technology into the classroom.
August, 1996 August 1997. Graduate Teaching Assistant. Department of Curriculum
and Instruction. Mississippi State University.
Taught courses in teaching reading to elementary and secondary students. The in
tegration of a previously non-existent web-based component assisted students in
becoming proficient with technology and in understanding the manner in which tec
hnology may be integrated into a non-technology course.
Coordinated and supervised field experiences for students participating in Stra
tegies for Teaching Content Area Reading. Worked closely with Starkville City Sc
hools to place and supervise 90+ students in a middle school environment for a s
emester-long reading practicum.
August, 1994 August, 1996. Teacher. Lowndes County School District.
Taught 6th and 7th grade language arts courses.
August, 1992 August, 1994. Substitute Teacher. Columbus City School District.

SCHOLARLY AND CREATIVE ACTIVITIES

Awards:
For the School of Education Graduate Faculty: United States Distance Learning As
sociation, Best Practices in Online Programming, Platinum Level, 2007.
Publications:
Graham, L., Armstrong, B. & Ballou, K. (2008). Expectation versus Reality: The i
mpact of student expectation of didactic approach to learning on the participati
on of students in blended courses. In Proceedings of World Conference on Educati
onal Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecommunications 2008 (pp. 2368-2383). Chesape
ake, VA: AACE.
Graham, L., Thomas, L. & Armstrong, B. (2007). Impact of the Semantic Structure
of Initial Postings on the Quality of Online Course Discussion. In Proceedings o
f World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecommunications
2007 (pp. 2526-2530). Chesapeake, VA: AACE.
Whats New in Distance Learning. E-School News. December, 1998.
Reading Strategies: Authentic Learning through Technology. The Well-Connected Ed
ucator. November, 1997.
Presentations External to Work Expectations:
Using Second Life in Business: Midwest Association of Management. October, 2010.
Expectations vs. Reality: The impact of student expectation of the didactic on p
articipation in the online aspect of a blended course, ED MEDIA, AACE, July 5, 2
008, Vienna, Austria (International: peer reviewed)
Impact of the Semantic Structure of Initial Postings on the Quality of Online Co
urse Discussion. ED MEDIA, AACE, June 30, 2007, Vancouver, Canada (International
: peer reviewed)
Creating a Master of Education Program Aligned with NBPTS Standards; Implication
s for program assessment. NCATE/NBPTS Partnership Conference, 2003. (National: i
nvited)
Creating a Master of Education Program Aligned with NBPTS Standards; NCATE/NBPTS
Partnership Conference, 2002. (National: invited)
Action Research: Developing the Teacher, Developing the Self; Graceland Universi
ty, 2002. (Regional: Invited)
Mixing the Potion: Building Community and Meeting Individual Needs with Reading
and Writing Workshops; National Council of the Teachers of English, 2001.
Facilitating Learning in an Online Course. Creating Futures through Technology,
Iuka, MS. 2000.
Online Professional Development: Naturally Extending Learning for the Teacher; T
el Ed, 1998.
Students Create Instruction for their Online Peers; Tel Ed, 1998.
Web Page Design for Instructional Environments; Mississippi Vocational-Technical
Conference, 1997.
Interactive World Wide Web; The Teachers Active Learning Tool. Mississippi Educa
tional Computing Association, Annual Conference, 1997.
Using Technology to Increase ITBS Test Scores. Mississippi Association of School
Superintendents, Biannual Conference, 1996.
Other Leadership Activities
Fall, 2002. Spring, 2007. Led the School of Education Graduate Committee in esta
blishing reliability among the rubrics in use in the Graduate Program Evaluation
system.
2002-2004, 2006-2008. Served as a member of the program evaluation committee wit
hin the School of Education. Assisted faculty in understanding the assessment pl
an as articulated by the committee, created twice yearly reports of all benchmar
ks for program review and evaluation.
2001-2004, 2006-2008. Served as a member of the School of Education Leadership t
eam.
2006-2008. Served as a member of the Committee for Virtual Teaching and Learning
. Assisted faculty in creating standards for online teaching and learning, and i
n exploration of strategies for inclusion of distance faculty in university acti
vities.
2004-2006. Led the Program Support Council in coordinating efforts campus wide f
or support of students at a distance.
2004-2006. Served on the University Leadership Team.
2003-2004. Served as a member of the university online task force, to research a
nd make recommendations concerning a centralized administrative area for the man
agement of distance learning programs.
Summer, 2003. Chaired the Graduate Retreat, and organized committees for the ac
complishment of administrative tasks for the Graduate program in the School of E
ducation.

PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS
United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA)
Association for Supervision, Curriculum and Development (ASCD)
Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE)
EDUCAUSE
SALARY HISTORY
Available upon Request.

Associate Professor
Graceland University
662-615-0513
662-418-4320
lthomas@graceland.edu
Kam Mahi
Director of Information Technology
Graceland University
641-784-5142
mahi@graceland.edu
Deborah Leialoha, IPh.D.
Associate Dean, Graduate Programs
School of Education
Graceland University
816-833-0524 ext 4210
816-554-2675
leialoha@graceland.edu
Zac March
Dir Distance Educ & E-Learning
University of Missouri System
(573) 882-1159
marchz@umsystem.edu
Linda Kurz, Ph.D.
Assistant Teaching Professor
Communication Studies
University of Missouri, Kansas City
(816) 235-5846
kurzl@umkc.edu