Ryan is at the forefront of innovative education as the leader of Penn State's Creative Learning Initiatives (CLI) group within the Teaching and Learning with Technology unit. Ryan oversees the strategic direction and operational execution of CLI, guiding a team of diverse technologists, designers, developers, and artists. Ryan has spent over 15 years connecting Penn State faculty and students to new creative innovations to empower personal and academic storytelling through meaningful technology-driven learning experiences. Some of these innovations include the Media Commons which supports traditional media and Adobe Creative Cloud, One Button Studio, the Maker Commons 3D printing service, the Immersive Experiences Lab for virtual and augmented reality, the Dreamery co-learning laboratory, the empathy-based critical thinking card game IMPACT, the Student Technology Advisory Representatives (STAR) group, generative AI initiatives including the AI Arcade, and more. Under his leadership, these initiatives have revolutionized learning experiences for over 250,000 students and faculty, fostering creativity and innovation across 21 campuses. Ryan remains dedicated to exploring emerging technologies and their potential to transform education, continuing to push the boundaries of what's possible in creative learning.
The pandemic accelerated an evolution in preferences among students, faculty, and staff for the ways in which they engage with the institution and each other. Novel technologies and models for interaction create opportunities for colleges and universities to develop individualized approaches to meeting students’ needs for expansive, engaging educational experiences.
Emerging technologies allow users to connect to classroom projection systems from mobile devices, including tablets and some smartphones.
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