Amy Nicholson

Current

• Instructional Designer III at Kaplan

Past

• Learning Technologies Project Coordinator at Federation of American Scientists
• Senior Instructional Designer at Pacific Resources for Eduction and Learning
• Producer/Instructional Designer at Pacific Resources for Education and Learning

• Senior Instructional Designer at RealAge, Inc.
• Producer at The Lightspan Partnership, Inc.
• Senior Content Designer at The Lightspan Partnership, Inc.
• Assistant Instructional Designer at Jostens Learning

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Education

• San Diego State University
• Humboldt State University

Recommended

4 people have recommended Amy

Connections

57 connections

Industry

E-Learning

Amy Nicholson’s Summary

Instructional designer, producer, and interactive multimedia designer of educational software and e-learning since 1994.

Quick and creative problem solver of technical, functional and visual issues; great attention to detail; excellent writer, producing clear functional specifications, storyboards, production lists, dialog scripts and screen mock-ups. Solid understanding of the production process, from concept through product launch. Team leader, team player.

Amy Nicholson’s Specialties:

multimedia design, K-12, instructional design, educational game design, producer, interactive design

Amy Nicholson’s Experience

• Instructional Designer III

  Kaplan

  (Public Company; WPO; Education Management industry)

  January 2009 — Present (7 months)

  Educational multimedia designer, instructional designer of e-learning for adult learners.

• Learning Technologies Project Coordinator

  Federation of American Scientists

  (Non-Profit; 11-50 employees; Think Tanks industry)

  May 2007 — December 2007 (8 months)

  Learning Technologies Project Coordinator for Immune Attack, an educational video game aimed at teaching basic concepts of immunology to high school and first year college students. Responsible for redesign of instructional mechanisms of game play, HUD interfaces, and game website; coordination of product evaluation and product dissemination. FAS is a non-profit organization conducting research into games and learning.

• Senior Instructional Designer

  Pacific Resources for Eduction and Learning

  (Research industry)

  October 2005 — July 2006 (10 months)

  Senior instructional designer of JUMP into Reading for Meaning, a game-based educational program, to be delivered on a handheld platform. JUMP targets struggling fourth grade readers, delivering strategies for vocabulary acquisition within the science and math content areas. Key accomplishments include writing the initial game concept, designing the main mechanisms for instruction within a role player/action game, writing branching dialogue (that carries the story, sets up game puzzles, and provides instructional context clues), designing the specification system for branching dialogue (with hooks for XML), designing practice and assessment games that play within the context of the larger adventure, and designing global functionalities. Funded by a STAR Schools grant. Project advisors include Dr. James Paul Gee.

• Producer/Instructional Designer

  Pacific Resources for Education and Learning

  (Non-Profit; 51-200 employees; Research industry)

  June 2000 — June 2005 (5 years 1 month)

  Producer and instructional designer of NEARStar, a multiple award-winning, $10 million, online early reading program for ELL students comprised of interactive activities, games and story books, animated songs and instructional vignettes, soon to be released as Zip Zoom Reading by Scholastic, Inc.
  
  • Designed, specified, and oversaw production of all activities and games, animations, online help, and navigational scenes.
  
  • Led the creation of all story elements, scripted all animations and dialogs, oversaw design of all storyboards and production of all final animations.
  
  • Directed recording sessions; reviewed and quality assured all final dialogs.
  
  • Guided musical direction of 30 songs and numerous instrumentals.
  
  • Coordinated work flow for team of animators, illustrators, and programmers.
  
  • Designed and oversaw production of teacher website, including systems for reporting student assessment results and maintenance of student records.

• Senior Instructional Designer

  RealAge, Inc.

  (Privately Held; 11-50 employees; E-Learning industry)

  August 1999 — April 2000 (9 months)

  Designed interactive home health modules for self-diagnosis. Modules included questionnaires with medical recommendations, personalized to each user’s responses. Worked closely with medical doctors and science writers to shape content and ensure accuracy for each user. Specified facts for database, wrote and flowcharted logic and specifications for programmers, mocked-up web page layouts, created a system for follow-up e-mails, and specified system for user customization of personal page. Documents created in Word, Excel, and Visio.

• Producer

  The Lightspan Partnership, Inc.

  (Public Company; 201-500 employees; E-Learning industry)

  January 1999 — August 1999 (8 months)

  Planned internet portal site for the K-6 classroom. Was responsible for building online community: chat and message board systems, online polls, and e-cards. Duties included recommendations on purchase of chat and board software, establishing moderation and online safety system, design of usage model that encourages and supports online community. Designed and wrote content for e-cards. Worked closely with in-house team and third party vendors.

• Senior Content Designer

  The Lightspan Partnership, Inc.

  (Public Company; 201-500 employees; E-Learning industry)

  January 1995 — January 1999 (4 years 1 month)

  Designed interactive, multimedia, story-based, educational games and tools for K–6 school curriculum. Led design of product from concept through quality assurance. Led brainstorming and approval meetings. Worked closely with team: programmers, artists, animators, curriculum specialists, and quality assurance analysts to ensure that product met its objectives and schedule. Wrote detailed game specifications and production lists for programmers and artists. Design credit on over a dozen CD titles, including a 1997 Silver Cindy winner. Titles designed for Sony PlayStation, PC, and Macintosh platforms.

• Assistant Instructional Designer

  Jostens Learning

  (Public Company; 201-500 employees; E-Learning industry)

  January 1994 — September 1994 (9 months)

  Designed and coordinated production of multimedia, video-based math curriculum software for grades K–3. Designed lesson flow and screen functionality. Wrote design specifications. Collaborated with lead designer and artist on animations, video scripts, and song lyrics. Worked closely with SME to ensure math content integrity throughout lessons. Incorporated NCTM standards for math education. Organized and led brainstorming and review meetings.

Amy Nicholson’s Education

• San Diego State University

  MA , Eductional Technology , September 1993 — May 1995

• Humboldt State University

  BA , Graphic Design and Music , 1986 — 1990

Additional Information

Amy Nicholson’s Interests:

Photography, music, travel, interface design, law, politics.

Amy Nicholson’s Groups:

•    BinaryLabs Freelancer Community

Amy Nicholson’s Contact Settings

Interested In:

• career opportunities
• consulting offers
• new ventures
• expertise requests
• reference requests
• getting back in touch