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Joshua ParkinsonInstructional design & digital accessibility

Make the next step possible.

I turn complicated systems into learning experiences, accessibility practices, and useful technology that people can actually move through.

See the work Get in touch

Currently Director of Instructional Design · Herkimer College

The practice

People at the center

  1. Learning design

    Give people a reason to explore, a safe place to practice, and feedback they can use.

    Course design · Faculty development · Game-based learning

  2. Accessibility

    Find the barrier, offer a useful path, and make accessibility part of the everyday work.

    Governance · Remediation · Course review

  3. Useful technology

    Prototype, test, and turn the idea into something people can actually use.

    Prototypes · Local-first tools · Practical AI

20+years across human services and education
100+faculty supported through an LMS migration
M.S.Information Design & Technology
THE THROUGHLINE

Clear choices.
Useful feedback.
Human judgment.

01 / Selected work

Strategy you can
see working.

Institution-wide systems, research made tangible, and software built to remove friction. Each case study shows the question, the decisions, and the artifact.

Showing all 4 projects

Institutional leadership

Accessibility as an
everyday practice.

Connecting policy, inventory, remediation, faculty support, and evidence so accessibility becomes part of how work gets done.

Role
Program lead & developer
Artifacts
AccessRemediate + Access Hub
Open case study

The system

I co-chair the campus Accessibility Committee and connect standards, procurement, faculty development, document remediation, course review, and technical tooling. AccessRemediate explores repeatable document workflows; Access Hub makes owners, deadlines, review status, vendor records, and evidence visible.

Automated results support the review. They do not establish conformance without context and human judgment.

Download the presentation

Game-based learning

Learning as
an adventure.

A master’s thesis, a story-driven prototype, and a continuing design practice built from choice, feedback, flow, and reflection.

Role
Researcher, designer & builder
Artifact
MyQuest → gamED
Open case study

The question

How can game-based learning shape hybrid and online instruction from the beginning? My 2018 thesis paired the design argument with MyQuest, a narrative prototype where dialogue choices build a tabletop role-playing character and introduce mechanics through play.

Read the thesis Download the presentation

Research archive · with Anne McDonough

The Long Tail needs
an open road.

A 2014 project connecting Chris Anderson’s Long Tail theory with the question of who controls online discovery and access.

Format
Paper + 13:35 video
Lens
Culture · commerce · learning
Open case study

A useful time capsule

The original argument asks what happens to niche creators, small markets, and online learners when the network between them and their audience can favor some destinations over others. Policy details change; the design question about power and discovery remains.

Explore the project Watch on YouTube

Independent software

Less searching.
Better signals.

JobHunt turns résumé information into a local-first workflow for finding, deduplicating, scoring, and reviewing opportunities.

Stack
Kotlin · Android
Output
Obsidian-ready daily digest
Open case study

The build

The app extracts skills, duties, and certifications; compares them with listings; removes duplicates; and creates a focused daily digest. Local processing and inspectable rules keep the matching loop understandable.

Explore the repository

02 / Presentation library

Ideas built to
travel.

Three redesigned decks lead the library. The full archive holds every presentation since 2012, shared as delivered.

01
Aa
ACCESSIBILITY / SYSTEMS PRACTICE

Accessibility as an
Everyday Practice

From isolated fixes to a durable system.

8 slides · editable PowerPointDownload .pptx
02
✦
GAME-BASED LEARNING / RESEARCH

Learning as
an Adventure

Choice, feedback, flow, and reflection.

8 slides · editable PowerPointDownload .pptx
03
↝
LONG TAIL / MEDIA STUDIES

The Long Tail Needs
an Open Road

A 2014 research project, revisited.

8 slides · editable PowerPointDownload .pptx

18 presentations, 2012–2026.
AI literacy, prevention education, college teaching, accessibility, and graduate coursework.

Browse the full archive
2014 · 13:35 · PUBLIC VIDEOLong Tail and
Net NeutralityJoshua Parkinson with Anne McDonough

Artifact spotlight

Old work.
Living questions.

This project asked how network gatekeeping could reshape access to niche culture, small markets, and online learning.

The original work is presented as a 2014 research artifact. The companion page preserves its argument, credits the collaboration, and makes the paper available alongside the public presentation.

Explore the full project Original paper

03 / Career timeline

A career with
receipts.

From direct support and domestic violence advocacy to prevention, teaching, and instructional design: two decades of helping people take the next step.

2005–2008

Human services & advocacy

Where the work started: direct support, crisis advocacy, and mediation.

  1. Herkimer Area Resource Center

    Residential support for people with developmental disabilities

    Began in direct support, became a residential floater, and in 2007 served as assistant manager of a supportive apartments program for more than 10 residents.

  2. Catholic Charities of Herkimer County

    Domestic Violence Advocate

    Individual counseling, Family Court advocacy, education programs, shelter placement, and Social Services liaison for the Herkimer County Domestic Violence Program.

  3. Award

    Sister Karen Klimczak Memorial “Spirit of the Academy” AwardAward

    Recognized at the New York State Victim Assistance Academy, five days of training alongside law enforcement and state officials.

  4. Community Dispute Resolution Center

    Mediator and prevention specialist

    Coordinated and mediated disputes, including custody matters, while delivering prevention programs in Herkimer County schools.

2009–2015

Prevention & policy

Building prevention programs for a county and a college campus.

  1. Herkimer County Prevention Council

    Problem Gambling Prevention Coordinator

    Led county-wide problem gambling prevention under a New York State grant, ran a sign-placement survey, and served on the Glens Falls Problem Gambling Coalition until statewide funding ended in 2011.

  2. Education

    A.S., Community & Human Services

    SUNY Empire State College.

  3. Prevention Council at Herkimer College

    Substance and alcohol prevention educator

    Created the Drugs 101: Prevention Ed. series, ran first-offense education (SAAP), adapted Teen Intervene for second offenses, and advised the SADD student club.

    See the prevention decks
  4. Education

    B.S., Community & Human Services

    SUNY Empire State College, December 2011.

  5. Herkimer College

    Adjunct instructor, First Year Seminar

    Began teaching FS100, the seminar required of new full-time students, and still teach it today.

  6. Credential

    CASAC-T

    Credentialed Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Counselor Trainee, New York State.

  7. Alcohol and Other Drugs Advisory Board

    Appointed co-chair

    A board member since 2010, appointed co-chair of Herkimer College’s AOD Advisory Board, a seat not usually held by someone from outside the college.

  8. Campus policy

    Good Samaritan Policy and Social Host provisionStill in effect

    Wrote the policy brief and built medical amnesty into Herkimer College’s Alcohol and Other Drugs Policy, so students who call for help in an alcohol or drug emergency are not disciplined for it. The policy remains part of the college’s AOD policy today.

  9. Media studies

    Long Tail + Net Neutrality

    Collaborative paper and public video about discovery, network access, and niche markets.

    Open artifact
  10. Herkimer College

    Academic Advisor

    Joined the college staff in November 2015, advising more than 100 students and later managing the Starfish student-success platform.

2016–2019

Teaching & advising

Designing courses, mentoring students, and finishing a master’s degree.

  1. Service

    Board of Directors, Catholic Charities of Herkimer County

    Joined the board of the agency where my work in advocacy and prevention began.

  2. FS100 First Year Seminar

    Gamified First Year Seminar

    Rebuilt a section of the seminar around game mechanics, an early classroom application of game-based learning.

  3. HE130 Wellness

    Taught Wellness at Mohawk Correctional Facility

    Adapted the college’s wellness course for incarcerated students in Fall 2017.

  4. Honors Program

    Honors project mentor

    Began mentoring students through independent HP303 Honors projects.

  5. Master’s research

    M.S., Information Design & Technology

    Completed at SUNY Polytechnic Institute with a thesis on game-based learning in hybrid and online instruction, including the MyQuest prototype.

    Read the thesis
  6. HS201 Chemical Dependency

    Developed and taught Chemical Dependency

    Built the course and its lecture materials on screening, assessment, treatment, and prevention for Fall 2019.

    See the class slides
2020–now

Instructional design & technology

Leading course design, accessibility, and AI strategy across the college.

  1. Herkimer College

    Director of Instructional Design

    Appointed in May 2020 to lead course design support and quality review for faculty.

  2. EN171 Technical Writing

    Introduction to Technical Writing

    Began teaching EN171, redesigned it around current tools, and later reworked its assessments for generative AI.

  3. Program development

    Wrote the Esports Management program and curriculum

    Authored the program and its course curriculum for SUNY approval.

  4. AI strategy

    Campus lead on AI integration

    Authored the college’s AI ethics and digital assessment policies, lead AI literacy sessions for students, and am designing an asynchronous Introduction to Artificial Intelligence course.

    See the AI decks
  5. Systems change

    LMS migration + faculty enablement

    Supported more than 100 faculty through the move from Blackboard to D2L Brightspace.

  6. Service

    Elected to the Fort Plain Board of Education

    Serving on the Fort Plain Central School District Board of Education.

  7. Community

    AI for Herkimer County

    Presented a practical AI lunch-and-learn for local small business owners in November 2025.

    See the deck
  8. Accessibility leadership

    Governance, remediation, and review

    Co-chairing the Accessibility Committee and connecting institutional planning, practical faculty support, and purpose-built tools.

    Open deck

04 / Try the principle

Give people
options.

Build a learning path without dragging. Use the buttons, keyboard, touch, or mouse.

Why this matters in WCAG 2.2
LEARNING PATH LABNo timer. Your pace.

Reorder the steps. The interface keeps a second input method available.

  1. 01Explore
  2. 02Practice
  3. 03Reflect

Explore → Practice → Reflect

05 / Creative practice

Serious curiosity.
Room to play.

Games, music tools, and world-building projects are where I test interaction, feedback, discovery, and delight.

A / 01

8bit Beatbox

Console-era sound and a chiptune tracker in the browser.

Explore on itch.io ↗A / 02

Mutagenic Survivors

A biology-inspired roguelite with an in-game Bio-Codex.

Explore on itch.io ↗A / 03

RPG-DungeonDesk

Tools for maps, worlds, and the stories that connect them.

Explore on GitHub ↗

06 / About

An educator’s instinct.
A builder’s mindset.

My work starts with a simple question: what would help this person take the next step?

Across two decades in human services and education, I have been a domestic violence advocate, mediator, prevention specialist, academic advisor, adjunct instructor, and now Director of Instructional Design. Building software makes those ideas tangible.

I care about useful defaults, visible reasoning, and technology that respects the people using it. The work is strongest when strategy reaches all the way down to the interaction someone actually experiences.

M.S.Information Design & TechnologySUNY Polytechnic Institute
B.S.Community & Human ServicesSUNY Empire State College

Service & leadership.

Boards

  • Board of Directors, Catholic Charities of Herkimer County2016 to present
  • Fort Plain Central School District Board of EducationElected 2024
  • Alcohol and Other Drugs Advisory Board, Herkimer CollegeMember from 2010, co-chair from 2013; author of the Good Samaritan Policy, still in effect

Campus leadership

  • Co-chair, Accessibility CommitteeHerkimer College
  • Middle States working committeeStandard IV: Design and Delivery of the Student Learning Experience
  • Campus committeesDiversity, Equity and Inclusion Council; Strategic Planning and Institutional Effectiveness Committee; Judicial Review Board (from 2017)
  • Club advisorStudents Against Destructive Decisions, Outdoor Adventure/Green Club, and Anime Club

Recognition & training

  • Sister Karen Klimczak Memorial “Spirit of the Academy” AwardNew York State Victim Assistance Academy, 2008
  • CASAC-TCredentialed Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Counselor Trainee, 2013
  • Crisis and mental health trainingMental Health First Aid (2014), ASIST suicide intervention (2015), basic mediation (2008)
  • CoalitionsGlens Falls Problem Gambling Coalition and a statewide problem gambling provider coalition

Let’s build the useful thing.

Have a challenge
worth solving?

Start a conversation

Learning design · accessibility · online learning · practical AI