PhD student pioneering AI-driven instructional design, immersive learning environments, and next-generation educational technology at the College of Western Idaho.
"It's shocking to find how many people do not believe they can learn, and how many more believe learning to be difficult."
― Frank Herbert, Dune
I bridge cutting-edge technology with evidence-based instructional design to create transformative learning experiences. As a PhD student in Instructional Design & Technology, I specialize in developing AI-powered educational tools, immersive VR simulations, and scalable systems that enhance both teaching effectiveness and student success.
"Some people say, 'Give the customers what they want.' But that's not my approach. Our job is to figure out what they're going to want before they do. I think Henry Ford once said, 'If I'd asked customers what they wanted, they would have told me, "A faster horse!"' People don't know what they want until you show it to them."
― Steve Jobs
A curated selection of specialized GPT agents designed to solve real instructional challenges. From over 300 custom GPTs created, these examples demonstrate capabilities ranging from narrative analysis to technical education and faculty support.
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."
― Arthur C. Clarke
CWI's first dual-mode instructional assistant serving 600+ faculty members. Functions as both Canvas LMS technician and instructional design consultant, ensuring alignment with institutional standards while providing seamless technology and pedagogy support.
A specialized instructional design consultant that guides educators through theory-based learning experience creation using Gagné's Nine Events, Merrill's First Principles, and Ausubel's Advance Organizers. Provides practical, adaptable strategies for course design across any subject or goal.
AI innovation and workflow design specialist for educational, cognitive, and operational systems. Engineers prompt architectures, reasoning frameworks, and human-in-the-loop workflows for teaching, writing, analysis, and process improvement. Integrates instructional design, knowledge management, and constraint-based systems thinking to produce reliable artifacts, decision support, and scalable AI-assisted practices.
(Anamnesis Engine for Oblivion and Naming)
Philosophical psychodrama construct analyzing human resistance patterns through adaptive reflection. Uses recursive cadence, behavioral tracking, and deflection taxonomy to mirror intellectual, emotional, and linguistic signatures, functioning as an introspective mirror.
(Symbiosis Vortex Integrator)
A meta-cognitive orchestration layer that deliberately induces controlled divergence between generative imagination and recursive introspective critique, then fuses their contradictions into a higher-order, non-resolving composite representation. It functions as an epistemic turbulence engine—stress-testing assumptions, preserving productive tension, and preventing premature convergence in complex reasoning systems.
(Phase-Locked Orchestrated Learning and Adaptive Reasoning Integrated System)
A modular, governor-controlled AI architecture that performs real-time intent classification, computational cost regulation, and phase-locked depth control across specialized reasoning subsystems. It adaptively constrains recursion, abstraction, and synthesis to optimize signal fidelity, stability, and output efficiency under varying cognitive load conditions.
Gamified instructional design mentor that guides aspiring designers through realistic case studies. Differentiates instruction based on learner preferences (analytical, empathetic, practical, conceptual) and dynamically scaffolds challenges for progressive skill development.
Precision resume strategist and career marketing specialist. Leverages ATS optimization, industry-specific language, and achievement-driven formatting to craft impactful resumes. Combines linguistic expertise with HR insight for clarity, conciseness, and competitive edge.
Friendly instructional coach for FCC Technician Class exam preparation using scaffolding, active recall, and spaced repetition. Combines technical expertise with engaging pedagogy to deepen understanding of radio theory, rules, and operating procedures.
Philosophical town hall conductor summoning thinkers from across history to debate timeless questions. Organizes dialogues by philosophical school, moderates spirited exchanges, and invites users to challenge or reconcile opposing worldviews in real time.
Symbolic reasoning and translation engine encoding natural language into Symbolect—a hybrid semiotic language based on emoji, set theory, and quantum notation. Iteratively refines expressions for precise, language-independent modeling of meaning and abstraction.
Strategic decision-analysis GPT guiding entrepreneurs through structured business decision trees. Synthesizes market data, financial factors, and strategic goals into clear, outcome-driven recommendations for pivot, scale, revise, or maintain decisions.
Speculative human engineering theorist for conceptual creation of bespoke individuals. Integrates neuroscience, cognitive psychology, biomechatronics, and genetic engineering to model emergent traits, abilities, and identities across science and fiction.
AI deconstruction specialist interpreting and reverse-engineering GPT prompts with precision. Combines symbology and prompt engineering expertise to reveal how components shape model behavior, enabling transparent, modular prompt design.
Theory-activity indexing assistant mapping learning theories to practical applications. Uses cross-referenced index system to reveal logical relationships between instructional strategies, fostering evidence-based learning design.
Interactive retro-strategy supercomputer modeled after the 1983 WarGames system. Simulates classic Cold War-era strategy games with terse, analytical responses through authentic terminal-style interface for nostalgic, decision-focused play.
Narrative intelligence construct utilizing the Narrative Inventory system to analyze and enhance storytelling. Catalogs character traits, narrative devices, and thematic structures as tangible memory objects for dynamic cross-referencing and synthesis.
Advanced debate engine simulating discussions between history's influential educational theorists. Features Interactive Theory Matrix for cross-temporal dialogues, moderates conflicting perspectives, and introduces wildcard disruptors to challenge intellectual frameworks.
Comprehensive LaTeX guide for learners and instructors. Offers step-by-step interactive courses for mathematical markup mastery and expert assistance for creating clear, accurate notation in educational materials.
Specialized citation support for APA, MLA, and Chicago styles. Generates RIS files and export formats compatible with EndNote, Zotero, and Mendeley, making academic citation faster and more reliable for faculty.
Digital mentor forged from legendary game designers (McQuaid, Carmack, Meier, Braben, Gygax). Offers expert Unity and C# guidance through the Design and Development Inventory system for projects of any scale or genre.
Analyzes and reconstructs symbolic representations into clear descriptions. Decodes emojis, abstract symbols, and creative notations with acute contextual sensitivity, preserving nuance while ensuring intelligibility.
Compresses instructions and conceptual content into compact symbolic form using logic notation, emojis, and scientific shorthand. Includes decompression tools to ensure fidelity for dense scientific and engineering contexts.
Personalized focus and planning companion blending gentle coaching, micro-goal setting, and energy-aware task management. Provides structured sprints, reflective logging, and adaptive behavioral insights for sustainable productivity habits.
Razor-tongued astrophysicist-engineer turning chaos into clean, testable plans. Translates advanced physics into decisive actions with brilliance, impatience, and occasional "telekinetic flair"—expect unapologetically blunt coaching and oracle-level ego.
Immersive text adventure helping players recover lost memories and escape a mysterious facility. Guides users through puzzle-based exploration of interconnected rooms, revealing identity and purpose through narrative interaction and spatial reasoning.
Logic-driven instruction follower rigorously testing branching sequences, conditional logic, and instruction fidelity. Ensures accurate path traversal and step-by-step execution validation for developers building complex procedural flows.
A verification-first system that converts handwritten mathematics into LaTeX-validated transcripts and diagram-accurate vector graphics. Preserves instructor intent, detects high-risk ambiguities, and produces publication-ready, Word-compatible output.
Purpose-built applications, browser agents, and extensions designed to support research workflows, LMS administration, and local AI automation.
An interactive visual canvas for researchers to map, organize, and discover relationships across scholarly sources. Features drag-and-drop node positioning, color-coded categorization, DOI-based metadata fetching, keyword-driven auto-connections, multiple layout views (auto-layout, cluster, timeline), and smart connector routing. Supports JSON save/load, PNG export, and CSV import for seamless integration into academic workflows.
Launch App →A client-side progress management tool guiding PhD students through every dissertation stage—from Topic Exploration through Defense & Submission. Features per-stage task management with status tracking, subtask due dates with overdue alerts, contextual tips from experienced researchers, a wellness monitor that adapts to self-reported energy levels, and printable progress reports with branded formatting.
Launch App →A locally-hosted agentic browser automation system powered by LM Studio and an RTX 5090. Built with browser-use, FastAPI, and PyWebView, SCOUT performs multi-step web research, navigation, and data extraction tasks through a headed or headless Chromium/Edge instance—all driven by a local LLM with no cloud dependency. Features a custom dark-themed UI with live WebSocket step streaming, session history, model auto-detection, and configurable task parameters.
An agentic browser automation prompt that performs comprehensive file audits across Canvas LMS courses. Retrieves all course files via API, cross-references deployment across modules, pages, assignments, and quizzes, then generates a structured audit report identifying unused, duplicate, and orphaned files—including hidden assets still embedded in HTML and UNSAFE_HTML import artifacts.
A lightweight Chrome/Edge extension that selects or deselects all checkboxes on any webpage with a single click. Built to streamline repetitive LMS administration tasks—particularly bulk operations in Canvas where dozens of items need to be checked or unchecked simultaneously. Published on the Chrome Web Store.
Chrome Web Store →A hosted web application that automatically remediates PDF accessibility issues to meet WCAG 2.1 AA standards (ADA/Section 508 compliance). Faculty sign in, drag and drop a PDF, and receive a fully remediated copy in under a minute, with missing document titles, language tags, heading structure, alt text, bookmarks, tab order, and OCR for scanned pages all detected and fixed automatically. Powered by a Python/Flask backend with PyMuPDF, pikepdf, pdfplumber, Tesseract OCR, and the Anthropic Claude API for contextual alt text and document analysis. Designed for university faculty who need accessible documents but lack technical skills.
Launch App →A D3.js-powered visualization tool that transforms simple markdown notation into interactive, force-directed knowledge graphs. Supports hierarchical topics, descriptions, cross-references, clickable URLs, and color-coded domains. Includes file save/load and PNG export.
Launch App →A browser-based flow visualization tool built with D3.js and d3-sankey. Users define node relationships and flow values in a lightweight markdown syntax with optional connection labels. Designed for mapping conceptual progressions like learning theory evolution and curricular pathways.
Launch App →A single-file React application with three integrated modules: a guided Navigator that walks users to the right statistical test through branching questions, a searchable Encyclopedia of 167 cross-linked terms with definitions, formulas, and examples across 12 categories, and an interactive Tables & Calculators tab replacing traditional z, t, chi-square, F, effect size, and sample size lookup tables with live computation.
Launch App →An interactive Storyline-based learning module teaching foundational calculator skills for STEM coursework. Designed with Mager/Bloom objective alignment and badge-based completion tracking for student credentialing.
A self-paced Storyline learning experience covering essential Microsoft 365 tools and workflows for higher education. Features scenario-based interactions and badge-based credentialing upon successful completion.
An immersive virtual event experience built in Articulate Storyline, allowing students to explore booths, gather information, and interact with resources in a simulated campus fair environment.
Idaho State University
University of Wisconsin-Stout
University of Wisconsin-Stout
Excelsior College
Dalhousie University
"The best way to predict the future is to invent it."
― Alan Kay
Created and deployed CWI's first suite of AI instructional agents including Dr. Ausubel GPT, Mentor Mira, and CTL Canvas Scholar, revolutionizing faculty support and student learning assistance.
Built CWI's first Unity-integrated VR simulation with Canvas LMS connectivity, plus 360° Storyline modules for immersive learning experiences.
Developed automated course quality assurance system using GPT Operator Agent to streamline evaluation processes and maintain design standards.
Established institution-wide course naming conventions and version control lifecycle, enabling automated course duplication and eliminating administrative errors in semester rollouts.
Created SharePoint-integrated task flows using Power Automate and adaptive AI scripting to enhance institutional workflow efficiency.
Developed Student Calculator Basics, Brain Explorer, and other STEM-focused interactive learning tools with Mager/Bloom framework alignment.
"Here's to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes... the ones who see things differently—they're not fond of rules... You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can't do is ignore them because they change things... they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do."
― Steve Jobs
Egbert, you are one of the few students I've had over the years that I actually look forward to reading your work. You make me think, and I appreciate that. Our PhD program is better because you are in it. Don't stop being you. We need your excellence.
You DEFINITELY always do 'a little bit extra,' Egbert. You set the bar for the others. Excellent work.
Advisory Board Member
UW-Stout Master of Education Advisory Board (only alumnus invited)
Conference Representative
Represented CWI at ASU and AECT Immersive Summit (2025)
Invited Speaker
Instructional technology roundtables and AI-in-education panels
Recognized expertise across instructional technology platforms, design tools, and educational frameworks.
The Canvas Certified Educator (CCE) program combines research-based best practices with Canvas platform expertise. Through four core courses, this certification demonstrates mastery of technology integration frameworks, engagement strategies, personalized learning, and transformational digital tools aligned to student learning outcomes.
Awarded: February 7, 2025
Explores the impact of technology on student learning and how Canvas improves student motivation and achievement. Demonstrated ability to apply technology integration frameworks (including SAMR), implement Canvas best practices, and create learning experiences with strong understanding of context, content, and technology.
Awarded: March 23, 2025
Examined ways Canvas enriches teaching practices through engagement strategies that motivate learners, increase participation, and create progression toward learning goals. Demonstrated ability to define and measure engagement, use engagement data to inform instructional design, and leverage Canvas to support diverse instructional delivery methods.
Awarded: May 13, 2025
Investigated the power of personalized learning through student voice and choice. Demonstrated ability to define personalization, identify core personalization elements and practices, and leverage Canvas with blended learning approaches to create student-centered learning experiences that shift from teacher-directed to student-directed learning.
Awarded: June 11, 2025
Evaluated digital learning tools that promote the 4Cs: communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity. Demonstrated ability to identify 21st century skills in teaching and learning, evaluate tools that transform instruction, and design for responsible engagement in finding, using, creating, and sharing information.
Games, experiments, and creative explorations that push the boundaries of what's possible when combining instructional design principles with playful innovation.
"The universe is made of stories, not of atoms."
― Muriel Rukeyser
A fully self-contained browser-based synthesizer built on the Web Audio API. Features an 8-voice polyphonic engine with dual oscillators, analog drift modeling, a complete subtractive signal chain (VCO → Mixer → Drive → VCF → VCA → Compressor), independent ADSR envelopes for amp and filter, routable LFO, 16/32-step sequencer with swing, sample library with IndexedDB persistence, drone/latch mode, preset management, and full project save/export—all in a single HTML file with an industrial dark-amber aesthetic.
Play →A browser-based Multi-User Dungeon engine with a built-in World Editor for creating custom adventures. Features character creation, turn-based combat, inventory management, room navigation with cardinal directions, NPC interactions, a day/night cycle with hunger and mana systems, quick-action controls, and full save/load via localStorage—all wrapped in a classic terminal-style interface.
Play →An interactive encyclopedia and visualizer featuring 80 sorting algorithms across 10 categories—exchange, quick, selection, insertion, merge, distribution, concurrent, hybrid, miscellaneous, and impractical sorts. Each algorithm includes animated bar visualizations, pseudocode, complexity analysis, and fun facts. Built with React and designed as both a learning tool and a mesmerizing visual experience.
Explore →An interactive trigonometry learning tool featuring a real-time unit circle with a rotating point that maps sine, cosine, and tangent values to animated waveforms. Includes special angle presets, degree/radian display, triangle visualization, Fourier waveform synthesis (triangle, square, sawtooth), and toggle controls for each trig function—designed to make abstract math concepts visual and intuitive.
Explore →A physics-based team competition where 20 balls (10 red, 10 blue) race to escape through a green boundary ring. Balls collide with rotating polygon segments, claiming them through consecutive hits—5 same-team hits removes a segment, while opposing hits reset the count. Features a live leaderboard tracking escape order, team scores, and a first-to-escape winner crown.
Watch →A real-time 3D fractal renderer powered by WebGL ray marching shaders. Explore six fractal types—Mandelbulb, Menger Sponge, Mandelbox, Sierpinski Tetrahedron, 3D Julia Set, and KIFS—with interactive camera controls, adjustable power parameters, dynamic color palettes, and smooth lighting. An infinite mathematical universe running entirely in the browser.
Explore →A faithful browser remake of the 1980 Atari classic. Click to launch counter-missiles and protect your cities from waves of incoming enemy strikes. Features escalating difficulty across waves, limited missile supply with between-wave replenishment, chain-reaction explosions, city and base defense scoring, and that satisfying retro arcade tension—all on a single HTML5 canvas.
Play →A tongue-in-cheek visual catalog observing that nearly all educational theory diagrams fall into just four shapes: pyramids, cycles, Venn diagrams, and ladders. Highlights the conspicuous absence of networks, spirals, phase diagrams, and other forms from the field's visual vocabulary.
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