Web Design by Peggy Ryan Designs

Art by Meg McKenzie Ryan and Irving Flores Jazz are two examples of websites I’ve designed and continue to manage through Wordpress.com.

Graphic Design by Peggy Ryan Designs

I began designing graphics in the 1990s in order to promote the performing arts projects I was involved in. Since then I’ve utilized my skills to support the work of my clients and the organizations I’ve served, including mission-driven organizations, real estate agents, magazine publishers, theatres, and universities.

Promoting Lifelong Learning in Higher Education

Lifelong learning is critical in any profession.  The world changes around us whether we like it or not, and we must educate ourselves constantly to ensure a more fluid experience within the context of where we live and work.  In higher education especially there is a strong need for professional development.  Professors and lecturers are…

Benefits and Risks of Social Media in a Higher Education Setting

Social media has become a part of our everyday life.  It is something that we take for granted and subsequently, we often don’t consider its risks and benefits as a component of our communication and self-representation.  When social media is incorporated into higher-learning, its challenges and benefits have the potential to affect the way students…

Assessment of Student Learning in Higher Ed

Assessment is an instrumental component of the learning process.  If done effectively, it has the ability to engage learners in the learning process, which helps learners to become accountable and gives them the ability to become more independent in their learning process.  Being mindful of the principles of assessment help balance environments that are common…

Teaching Multilingual Higher-Ed Classrooms

Our classroom methods haven’t changed much over time, based upon European education systems developed hundreds of years ago.  On the other hand, the world has changed so much in this time, and the needs of our learners are different than when these learning systems were developed.  Of the many changes in our learners, a major…

Video Use in Higher Education

Video is a tool that can be integrated into the classroom, just as a chalkboard, a sound system, a pen, or even a desk are tools.  What sets video apart from the other tools I just mentioned are a significant amount of challenges and potential payoffs in its incorporation into higher education.  The major pros…

Visual Literacy For Better Learning

With “about two-thirds of adults showing visual preferences for learning,” (Hamilton, Boni. Integrating Technology in the Classroom: Tools to Meet the Need of Every Student. International Society for Technology in Education) and media in all its forms playing a larger role in our daily lives, our need for visual literacy is ever increasing.  This need naturally…

VLE and LMS Design and Implementation Issues

Selecting a VLE/LMS is an enormous decision for a university to undertake.  Due to the many stakeholders that will be affected by the choice including students, staff, administrators, and professors, the decision can’t be taken lightly.  This means that it will take a very long time to select a system, from the initial review phase…