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Instructional Technology MS


The Department of Educational Psychology and Counseling wants to congratulate the graduates from seven of our programs who earned their degrees and recipients from two of our graduate certificate programs who completed necessary requirements during the spring 2019 semester.

To see photos of our recent graduates, please go to the “EPC Graduates” album on our EPC Facebook page.

Madeline Birch Auge
MS in Educational Psychology – Applied Educational Psychology

Jillian Mei-Li Blueford
PhD in Counselor Education

Rita Bourbon Gray
MS in Education – Instructional Technology
Graduate Certificate in Online Teaching & Learning

Brenda Katz Murphy
PhD in Education – Learning Environments & Educational Studies

Christine Kay Patti
PhD in Education – Learning, Design & Technology

Ashley Kennedy Scheyder
MS in Counseling – School Counseling

Amanda Carol Sexton
MS in Educational Psychology – Adult Education

Nancy Elaine Thacker
PhD in Counselor Education
Graduate Certificate in Qualitative Research Methods in Education

*If you are one of the graduates listed above and would like to have your photo added to our EPC Graduates Facebook album, then please email your picture to Synthia Clark sclark41@utk.edu.

**If you were an Educational Psychology and Counseling student who graduated during this time frame, yet have unintentionally been omitted from this list, please send your name, degree, and major/concentration to Synthia Clark sclark41@utk.edu. We will add you to the list after receiving this information from you and confirming your graduation status.


The Department of Educational Psychology and Counseling wants to congratulate the graduates from six of our programs who earned their degrees and recipients from two of our graduate certificate programs who completed necessary requirements during the fall 2018 semester.

To see photos of our recent graduates, please go to the “EPC Graduates” album on our EPC Facebook page.

Lezli Suzanne Anderson
MS in Educational Psychology – Applied Educational Psychology

Frank Pancho Aviles
Graduate Certificate in Qualitative Research Methods in Education

Lynn Marie Beeler
PhD in Educational Psychology & Research – Adult Learning

Evan Montgomery Burns
PhD in Counselor Education

Danielle Lee Dillard
MS in Educational Psychology – Applied Educational Psychology

Amber Lane Giffin
MS in Educational Psychology – Applied Educational Psychology

Holly Jean Greene
MS in Education – Instructional Technology

Julie Ann Hall
PhD in Educational Psychology & Research – Adult Learning

Maren Elizabeth Henry
MS in Counseling – Clinical Mental Health Counseling

John James Humphrey
MS in Educational Psychology – Applied Educational Psychology

Kamela Taylor Manuel
MS in Educational Psychology – Adult Education

Laura H. Maples
MS in Educational Psychology – Adult Education

Jessica Abby Nelson
MS in Counseling – Clinical Mental Health Counseling
Graduate Certificate in Grief, Loss & Trauma

Janet Elaine Schwartz-Micheaux
MS in Educational Psychology – Applied Educational Psychology

Abby L. Sherman
MS in Educational Psychology – Applied Educational Psychology

Katelynn Michelle Swafford
MS in Educational Psychology – Applied Educational Psychology

Emily Elisabeth Tester
MS in Counseling – Clinical Mental Health Counseling

*If you are one of the graduates listed above and would like to have your photo added to our EPC Graduates Facebook album, then please email your picture to Synthia Clark sclark41@utk.edu.

**If you were an Educational Psychology and Counseling student who graduated during this time frame, yet have unintentionally been omitted from this list, please send your name, degree, and major/concentration to Synthia Clark sclark41@utk.edu. We will add you to the list after receiving this information from you and confirming your graduation status.


Faculty, students, and staff are invited to attend a free Innovative Educators webinar titled “Dealing with Difficult and Disruptive Students in Online Classes” on Tuesday, October 2 from 1-2:15 p.m. If you are interested in attending the webinar or accessing the recording, please email Ms. Kristen Fowler at kfowle24@vols.utk.edu with the subject line EPC Webinar. Following vendor guidelines, Ms. Fowler will send the link to everyone who has contacted her a week prior to the event, then a week after the event she will send out a link to the recording – which will be accessible for a year.

This webinar is hosted by the Department of Educational Psychology and Counseling’s Instructional Technology (IT Online), EdPsych Online, and Learning, Design, and Technology programs. For more information about the webinar, check out the Innovative Educators website.


The Department of Educational Psychology and Counseling wants to congratulate the graduates from nine of our programs who earned their degrees and recipients from four of our graduate certificate programs who completed necessary requirements during the summer 2018 semester.

To see photos of our recent graduates, please go to the “EPC Graduates” album on our EPC Facebook page.

Carly Ann Chwat
PhD in School Psychology

Synthia Ann Alene Clark
MS in Education – Instructional Technology
Graduate Certificate in Online Teaching & Learning

Deepa Rajiv Deshpande
PhD in Education – Learning Environments & Educational Studies

Jaewoo Do
PhD in Education – Learning Environments & Educational Studies

Sheryse Noelle Grant Dubose
PhD in Education – Learning Environments & Educational Studies

Katherine Ellen Fleming
MS in Counseling – Clinical Mental Health Counseling

Ashlee Nicole Fugate
MS in Educational Psychology – Applied Educational Psychology

Holly Jean Greene
Graduate Certificate in Online Teaching & Learning

Caroline Marie Jaquett
PhD in School Psychology

Frederick Joseph Kelly
MS in Education – Instructional Technology
Graduate Certificate in Online Teaching & Learning

Jonathan Edward Kelly
MS in Education – Instructional Technology
Graduate Certificate in Online Teaching & Learning

Raymond Rodney Kimmitt
MS in Educational Psychology – Adult Education

Lauren Brooke Leonard
MS in Counseling – School Counseling

Rachael Camille Marshall
PhD in Counselor Education
Graduate Certificate in Grief, Loss & Trauma
Graduate Certificate in Qualitative Research Methods in Education

Anthony C. Miller
MS in Counseling – School Counseling

Charles Branton Mitchell
MS in Counseling – Clinical Mental Health Counseling

Desiree P. Nicholas
MS in Counseling – Clinical Mental Health Counseling

Leslie Renee Owle
MS in Education – Instructional Technology
Graduate Certificate in Online Teaching & Learning

Kelley Nicole Rieder
MS in Counseling – Clinical Mental Health Counseling

Jonah Lee Ruddy
PhD in School Psychology

Gwendolyn Sue Ruttencutter
PhD in Educational Psychology & Research – Adult Learning

Yacob Tewolde Tekie
Graduate Certificate in Evaluation, Statistics & Measurement

Taralyn Page Tibbits
MS in Counseling – School Counseling

Kathryn Claire Ward
MS in Counseling – Clinical Mental Health Counseling

Nathan Bobby West
PhD in Counselor Education

Samantha Ellen Williams
MS in Counseling – School Counseling

Rebecca Leigh Witowski
MS in Counseling – Clinical Mental Health Counseling

*If you are one of the graduates listed above and would like to have your photo added to our EPC Graduates Facebook album, then please email your picture to Synthia Clark sclark41@utk.edu.

**If you were an Educational Psychology and Counseling student who graduated during this time frame, yet have unintentionally been omitted from this list, please send your name, degree, and major/concentration to Synthia Clark sclark41@utk.edu. We will add you to the list after receiving this information from you and confirming your graduation status.



Instructional Technology

Lindsey earned an MS with the Instructional Technology program in 2016 and currently lives in Littleton, CO. We asked her to reflect on past experiences with EPC and discuss where she’s at now. Read her responses below.

Current Occupation

Instructional Design Coordinator
Child Care Quality Initiatives
Office of Early Childhood
Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS)

I work in a team of two (hopefully four by the end of the year) to design self-paced online learning for the Colorado Shines Professional Development Information System (PDIS). These courses are targeted at early care and learning professionals, with the goal of increasing the quality of care and education provided in child care programs across the state.

Accomplishments since Graduating

In my first nine months at CDHS, I led development on the first hybrid course to exist in the PDIS: Medication Administration Training, a four hour, licensing required course for child care providers across the state of Colorado. Also, at the end of December 2017, my husband and I bought our first house.

Personal Interests

I’m a fiction writer in all my waking hours. A baker, an amateur painter, a paddle boarder, an always-losing-my-callouses guitarist, a gamer, a yoga aficionado, and a literature/media nerd. I also like to travel with my husband and spend time with our four cats.

Accomplishments Earned as a Student

I received invitations from several honors societies (Gamma Beta Phi, Phi Kappa Phi, Kappa Delti Pi), so I suppose that means I made it to a top tier of my class.

On a personal level, I maintained my grade level, kept interest in my classes, and didn’t crumble under pressure – even when I was finalizing my portfolio while packing our place and preparing for a cross country move – so I’d consider that an accomplishment.

Did you end up where you thought you would?

Yes. I’d been in the eLearning world prior to entering the IT Online program and that’s where I wanted to be once I got my degree. Though instead of working for a vendor, I ended up on an in-house design team (of two and soon to be growing), so this let me drastically expand my skills with project management, authoring software, and the creation of graphics and audio, in addition to writing content.

How did your experiences as a student help you in your professional life after graduation?

When I came to the program, I didn’t really speak the lingo of instructional design and technology (“dual coding, what’s that?”), so the foundational knowledge was helpful when talking about the work I’d done in the past, as well as in the first few months of being on the job.

Additionally, as a student, you deal with a lot of different personalities from a variety of backgrounds and not all of those personalities have technology backgrounds. Getting experience navigating the waters of instructional design with people outside my specific area was good practice for the job I’m doing now. While many people are happy to listen to and go with what a designer has to say, others do want additional information on why you’re making the design choices you are. Having had to explain or clarify design concepts in my classes gave me a leg up on doing so out in the working world.

What would you tell incoming/current students?

If you’re new to the world of instructional design and technology, start thinking about what you want to do within the field. You’ll learn a lot of foundational knowledge about education and how people learn in the program, and you’ll get familiar with the technical jargon, but there are a variety of ways to apply that knowledge out in the world and a varying set of skills for each area. Having an idea of where you want to be so you can direct your individual studies in that direction is immensely helpful for your future career.