Awesometoast.com

The multipurpose website of Aaron W. Herd

About Aaron W. Herd

Instructional Technologist, Web Developer/Designer

Aaron has been developing media for education since 1998. He started as an assistant for Salt Lake Community College’sE-Business Technology program. After spending some time as a freelance developer and consultant, he spent three years as a professional short-film and DVD producer with the LDS Audiovisual dept., where he produced instructional videos and materials. (He was also responsible for IT management.)

Aaron has been with the University of Utah College of Lawsince 2007, where he has both designed and developed numerous websites, software tools, and promotional materials. With a background in mass communication and new media, he is often involved with social media, digital marketing campaigns, and online events.Aaron is interested in the psychology behind effective technology-based or technology-assisted instruction. He is also interested in the social impacts of the Internet, and how the Web integrates into daily life.

He is currently in the process of completing an M.Ed. in Instructional Design and Educational Technology at the University of Utah.

Selected Talks and Presentations

Herd, A. (2009, June). Polishing Your Digital Identity. Talk presented at the CALI Conference for Law School Computing (CALI 2009), Boulder, CO.

Herd, A., Christiansen, W. (2008, June). The Proactive Front-Line Help Desk: Management & Multimedia. Session presented at the CALI Conference for Law School Computing (CALI 2008), Baltimore, MA.

Special Projects

Life: Lost & Found, Fiction, (October 2009). Written as part of an exploratory creative exercise. Specific goal was to create a work entirely outside the professional’s normal sphere of expertise.
ISBN (Print): 978-1-4495-4137-8
ISBN (Digital): 978-1-4524-9112-7

Instuctional collaboration project with the Utah Museum of Natural History: providing a online virtual museum for K-12 students.