Thankful for 2024

I have a lot to be thankful for in 2024 for both professionally and personally.?(I generally keep my LinkedIn posts to professional topics but I'm mixing in some personal reflections this time.)

With the help and cooperation from many people (and AI helpers) I’ve been able to experience and accomplish so much this year. Here are some highlights:

• Tour of Europe – (see details below) I had numerous opportunities to spread the word about learning engineering including at UNESCO, an Open University event at the Royal Geographical Society in London, and at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, visit friends, saw new sights, spent time with my daughter who was studying in Florence.
• My wife joined me in Florence and we visited Rome, Venice and Pisa
• I co-authored 9 published papers and articles including two for peer-reviewed publication, and I lost count of the number of presentations that I prepared and/or helped deliver.
• Started writing a novel.
• Launched a business.
• Played volleyball almost weekly (and held my own with folks less than half my age).
• Played lots of board games and video games with my boys Benjamin and Aaron (including Raft, CIV 6, Catan, Codenames, chess, Dune, Jeopardy, Trivia Murder Party, Hues and Cues, Furnace, Agricola, Trivial Pursuit Live 2…)
• Visited my daughter and friend (like a son) David in Nashville before Thanksgiving?
• Participated in and helped lead fulfilling work that is making a difference for learners and workers in the U.S. and beyond, including:?
• Celebrated QIP’s 20th anniversary with my colleagues. It was fun. Kudos to everyone.
• Did some sometimes difficult but important work as a volunteer leader of IEEE’s Learning Technology Standards Committee
• Interacted with leaders of other data standards initiatives as a liaison for CEDS and IEEE to Data Standards United
• Met many new people, heard great stories, and learned a lot
• Taught a class to teachers in India
• Wrote some songs.
• Sang in a musical.

I’m thankful that going into 2024, my son Benjamin Goodell just landed a full time job that he likes after some time of freelance and part-time work. He’s done well there. My son Aaron has been gainfully employed throughout the year and my daughter Abigail Goodell is thriving at college.

I’m thankful that I am still healthy enough to play volleyball with both of my sons Benjamin and Aaron (and my daughter when she’s home) and my nephews Adam, Tim Goodell , Collin McGuiness , and Taylor (and once or twice with my niece Nichole) and other young friends that feel like family.

In February, I went to the ADT-TK conference and had the privilege of presenting with Megan Torrance and meeting new acquaintances including Josh Cavalier , a leader in the use of AI for instructional design. I participated in an impromptu competition involving AI ‘speed dating’. That was fun. I also had the privilege of being a coauthor on a TD magazine cover story “Building a Learning Data Dream Team” with Megan and Dr. Eddie Lin .

I am thankful that on Valentine’s Day I was at ASU giving a seminar “Practical Guide to Learning Engineering” as part of the LERN speaker series, using some interactive project-based activities. I love learning engineering so the Valentine’s Day visit was appropriate. On valentines day I had a nice breakfast with Ariel Anbar then a nice tour of the campus with Jodi Lis and a colleague then Met with Gemma Garcia , the Executive Director, Learning Technology at ASU. I enjoyed meeting the graduate students in Danielle McNamara ’s class and met with Scotty Craig and Rod Roscoe of the Fulton Schools of Engineering before heading to the airport. I took the redeye home in time to be home for my valentine’s birthday (my wife Patti).

February is also the month of FAWM — February Album Writing Month — founded by my friend Burr Settles . (Burr was also one of the earliest employees of Duo Lingo and its chief scientist during its rise to success.) FAWM brings together a community of thousands of musicians with the challenge of writing 14 songs in 28 days (29 on the leap year.) This can include solo works or collaborations. This year I was busy and didn’t complete an album or do much collaboration but produced a few songs and encouraged others.

Young Adults

I’m thankful for the young adults that meet at our house every week to study the Bible or just hang out. Those not already part of the family have become part of our family. Adam, Nichole, Audrey, D.J., Rebecca, and others and some like Troy, Jonah, David, and Abigail when home from college and internships.

Europe

On 20 March, I boarded JetBlue flight 1620 to London to begin my European adventures.

London

I arrived at London’s Heathrow Airport on the morning of the 21st. I took a train into the city and arrived too early to check into my room at the Corus Hotel Hyde Park, so I spent a good part of the day walking around the park and exploring the landmarks within walking distance including Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, and Paddington Station.?

On March 22nd, I attended the Navigating the Future - AI's Impact on Education conference sponsored by the Open University at the Royal Geographical Society adjacent to Hyde Park, not too far from the Albert memorial and Royal Albert Hall. It was a great opportunity to promote learning engineering and build awareness of our book, Learning Engineering Toolkit, and to learn about perspectives on AI and its potential to transform education. I met Rose Luckin , Margaret Korosec and Donald Clark.?

Edinburgh

After the Open University event, I took a train from London to Edinburgh. I spent two nights in a cozy Airbnb, a converted garden shed. On Saturday, my friend and colleague in U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation projects and data standards initiatives Phil Barker and his wife Juliette showed me the charming streets of Edinburgh, the Royal Mile, historic castle, and the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the King's official residence in Edinburgh and the home of Scottish royal history. We ended the day with a nice meal of haggis (the vegetarian kind) and then some sips of other local delicacies. On Sunday I attended a mass at a local church and then headed to the airport.

Paris

On March 24th, I flew from Edinburgh to Paris on a Transavia flight. I checked into the Hotel de France Invalides and prepared for the UNESCO Global Education Summit, which took place the next day at the UNESCO Headquarters in the shadow of the Eiffel tower. The summit brought together educators and policymakers from around the world to discuss the future of education. I met my friend and colleague Simone Ravaioli there and made some new acquaintances, including Roy Saurabh, PhD , Karina Ginoyan , Beth Havinga , and Milja Laakso .

St. Malo

After the summit, I took a train to St. Malo, a beautiful coastal town in Brittany, France. I spent three nights at the Hotel Les Chiens du Guet enjoying the charming simple atmosphere and food. My days were spent exploring the ancient walled city and listening to the audiobook of All the Light We Cannot See, the novel by Anthony Doerr set in the city during WWII which was made into a Netflix series in 2023. There I began to refine some ideas for my own novel tentatively titled Enlightened Human Dimensions.

Back to Paris

On March 29th, I returned to Paris by train and checked into an Airbnb. The main “sight” that I was eager to see was my daughter Abigail who was there with her study abroad friends for the weekend. I had a wonderful time exploring the city with the students, strolling along the Seine River, getting rained on at the Eiffel tower. We attended an Easter dual language worship service and enjoying the Parisian atmosphere and restaurants.?

Barcelona

On April 1st, I flew from Paris to Barcelona. I stayed at the Sheraton 4 Points hotel for two days and met with the TIDE Research group for Interactive & Distributed Technologies for Education at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra. My host was Davinia Hernández-Leo , the director of the research group. I presented on learning engineering and met local edTech leaders Alicia Berlanga, Ramon Eixarch, and Josep Lluis Sega. We had interesting discussions about the future of technology in education, outcome-based contracting in education, intelligent tutoring systems, experience API, and peer evaluation/collaboration leading to learning engineering as a team sport.

I’m so thankful that I added the stop in Barcelona. My motivation was to talk with people about learning engineering, but I discovered how beautiful a city it is! I fell in love with the wide avenues with walkways down the middle, charming city squares, and sights like Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família. The food was amazing including a magnificent octopus lunch with Dr. Hernandez-Leo. And the visit was good research for my novel. Barcelona has a prominent role in the story.?

My daughter and her friends followed me to Barcelona and we spent a day there together before I moved on.

Bologna and Florence

On April 4th, I flew from Barcelona to Bologna and then took a train to Florence. On the first two days I explored on my own before my daughter got back to her team’s villa. I climbed the tower in the Duomo plaza, ate some gelato, learned how the bus system works, and strolled across the Ponte Vecchio.?

My daughter, returned to Florence with her college group. My wife joined me on April 8th. While my daughter was in class that week we visited the Duomo in Florence then spent a night in Rome, then back to Florence and spent a few days seeing Florence and Venice with Abigail.

Rome

My wife Patti and I visited the Vatican the first day then on the 2nd day walked around Rome and saw the major sights including the Piazza Navona, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Forum, and Coliseum before catching the train back to Florence.

Venice

We took a nice day trip to Venice on April 13th.

Pisa to Ireland

The most economical way to get home was to fly from Pisa to Dublin and then on to Boston. We took advantage of the route to see the leaning tower before our 1st flight and then spent a few days in Ireland before our flight home to Massachusetts.

On April 14th, we flew from Pisa to Dublin, and stayed outside of the city at the beautiful Roganstown Hotel. On the 15th we visited Malahide Castle and Gardens and We enjoyed a meal an award-winning pub. (I included Gibney’s Pub and the area as a setting for one of the backstories in the draft of my novel.) The next day took the train to the coastal town of Howth, and on our final full day took a bus tour of the Irish countryside and Cliffs of Moher.

Homeward Bound

Finally, on April 18th, Patti and boarded a JetBlue flight from Dublin back to Boston, marking the end of our European adventure. I’m so thankful for this trip! It was an incredible experience, filled with new sights, sounds, and cultures. It gave me a chance to spread the word about learning engineering and contributed to inspiration and research for my in progress novel. I’m thankful that Patti moved beyond her comfort zone and flew to Europe and I am grateful for the opportunity to have traveled to so many amazing places and to have made so many wonderful memories.

And I’m thankful for the beautiful Spring I returned to.

Learning Engineering and Talent Transformation Events

I had the chance to connect with many in the learning engineering communities and build bridges to new communities through events like @ATD 24 in New Orleans in May and the Badge Summit in Boulder Colorado in August, and the Internet Identity Workshop at the Computer History Museum in Silicon Valley.? I’ve had the chance to do book signings for Learning Engineering Toolkit at ATD and Learning Guild events. In June Shelly Blake-Plock and I attended an Army University event and met Elvin Fortuna and others, and presented an approach to Unity-based VR learning experiences with instrumentation and AI inference.

Badge Summit

This was my first badge summit and it was also the co-located T3 Innovation Network Mid-Year Meeting.?It was great to finally meet Noah Geisel .

It was a chance to see my U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation leaders and fellow consultants/contributors including Jaimie Francis , Taylor Hansen , Phillip Long , Dmitri Zagidulin ???? , Amber Garrison Duncan, PhD . It was also great to meet new people from the badges community.?And I had a chance to meet people I work with often but have never met in person before, like Joshua Gay who leads the SA Open Source Community and Infrastructure @ IEEE. I also connected with colleagues from Learning Economy Foundation including Taylor Kendal and Duncan Cox.

While there Phil Long, Dmitri Zagidulin, Golda Velez and I developed our idea of a Progressive Trust Registry that we later vetted at the Internet Identity Workshop.

ICICLE Conference

In August, it was great to get together with other learning engineering enthusiasts at this year’s ICICLE conference in Tempe Arizona. I’m so thankful for that community! They’re like family. My company QIP was one of the supporters.?

I reconnected with friends including?Learning Engineering Toolkit co-authors Avron Barr , Erin Czerwinski , Scotty Craig , Brandt Dargue , Brandt Redd , Aaron Kessler , Jodi Lis , Shelly Blake-Plock and Bror Saxberg . And many ICICLE leaders and regulars were there including Emily Marasco, PhD , Renée Johnson , Kimberly Larson , William Lynch , Dr. Zarka A. Ali , Tracy Arner , Jenna Matthews , Katherine McEldoon, PhD , Lauren Totino , Rob Nyland, Ph.D. , Michael Jay , Kathy Crowley , Susanne Nobles , Philip Vahey , Siyuan "Mei Mei" L. , Danielle McNamara , Arun Balajiee L. , John Stamper , Eric Ultes, Evangeline Schepper, M.Ed. , Katie Nicksic , Amy Parent , Liza Loop , Lilian Jiachen Gong , Henry Ryng , Janice M. , Renée Johnson some of whom I hadn't met in person before this event. ...There were some that couldn't make it there though due to weather-related travel issues. If memory serves, I missed seeing Anne Fensie, Ph.D. and some other active ICICLEists.

I can't list all the new friends I made but here are a few: Tyler De Lane , Rick Treitman, Steve Salik, Amy Pate, EdD, Andrew Potter, Micah Watanabe, Ph.D. , Punya Mishra , Nicole Oster .

INFERable, a Public Benefit Corporation

In 2023 I formed INFERable, a Public Benefit Corporation with a mission to make a material positive impact on systems of education, training, and human development. Things started to take off in 2024 with the development of an MVP and customer discovery.

September marked a milestone. We began work with INFERable’s first customer, Learning Economy Foundation, on the Skyway Initiative, partially funded by the Walton Family Foundation. INFERable’s learning detectors will be integrated with LEF’s LearnCard to support multiple Skyway cohorts and flight paths in 2025 and beyond.

I’m so thankful to INFERable’s board of directors and advisors along the way who have provided guidance needed for the PBC to do well while doing good. I'm especially thankful to Beth Young, PhD , Shelly Blake-Plock , Tom Szuba , and Matthew Gee . I'm also thankful for Bryce Meizen who has joined the INFERable team and has made great contributions to technical development efforts.

The Skyway Initiative was introduced by the Learning Economy Foundation in collaboration with the PVBLIC Foundation, LearningFREQUENCY and Diplomatic Courier at a series of high-level events during the week of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York City. Supported by the Walton Family Foundation, the Skyway Initiative is designed to create sustainable, technology-driven learning records and pathways, offering an alternative way to recognize, map and evidence the impact of learning and education systems.

Skyway has been developed to address the growing need for a modernized approach to learning, as existing systems struggle to keep up with the demands of an evolving, interconnected global society. By integrating advanced technology, personalized record and curriculum frameworks, and innovative policy solutions, Skyway is offering flexible and adaptable digital learning infrastructure to empower students globally.

The initiative places open source technology at the core of improving learning and educational systems. A comprehensive platform has been created, allowing learners to navigate personalized educational journeys, supported by portable records, real-time data analytics, artificial intelligence, and adaptable curriculum tools. This approach ensures that education is both scalable and secure, providing learners from diverse backgrounds with the flexibility and opportunity needed to succeed in today’s world.

Strategic partnerships have already been established with global leaders in technology and education, focusing on advancing alternative learning methodologies. Through collaboration with firms, youth-focused NGOs and civil society organizations like Sesame Workshop, Roblox, Filament Games, INFERable, Crescendo Studios, World Scouting, and others, the initiative supports all learners with an emphasis on learning through play, neurodivergent students, underserved communities, and those requiring alternative methods and approaches to learning. A key aspect of the initiative is its emphasis on holistic learning environments that allow students to learn in diverse ways, beyond the traditional classroom model.

Marriage Retreat & Mom’s Birthday Outing.

In early October, my wife and I attended the family life marriage retreat. It was challenging but I think it was a net positive. It reminded us of God’s plan an purpose for marriage and gave us some things to consider and work on if we want a healthy and more resilient marriage.

Mid October is my mom’s birthday. We celebrated with my mom and by brothers families riding rail bikes and then going for ice cream. It was a beautiful day. I’m thankful that at 78 my mom is doing well, enjoys her little dog Lexi, and thankful that we live close. And I’m thankful for her love and generousity. I’m also thankful for my wife’s care in helping my mom weekly.

October 16 — Book Group Review of Draft Novel

As a form of human-centered design I asked my sister-in-law Cathie Sullivan, who organizes a book club at our public library, if the club might give feedback on a partial draft of my book. So I had some drafts printed then on October 16 met with the group. I’m thankful for the feedback and advice from the group, including Alice Rojko, Jennifer Sweeney, Rick Delaporta.

Talent Pipeline Management Tools Event

I flew to Chicago on November 17 for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation 's Talent Pipeline Management Tools Event.

Leaders from the Foundation including Jason Tyszko, Taylor Hansen along with other innovators and leaders for key initiatives such as Phillip Long , Robert McGough , Amber Garrison Duncan, PhD .

The event served as a convergence of several USCCF initiatives: Talent pipeline management, TPM Academy, T3 Innovation Network, skills savings accounts, JEDx. This convergence promises to help accelerate that value and impact for a talent ecosystem informed by data, empowered by technology standards, where all learning counts, competencies are used like currency, employers have the talent they need when they need it, and employees are empowered with their own data.

Internet Identity Workshop

The Internet Identity Workshop has been finding, probing and solving identity issues twice every year since 2005 meeting in the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA. I've been hearing about it for years and I'm thankful that in 2024 I finally took the plunge. I learned a lot, made some great connections and vetted a "Progressive Trust" idea that Phillip Long, Dmitri Zagidulin ????, Golda Velez and I developed that could address significant "last mile" adoption challenges for learning and employment records (LERs).

Transformative Teaching with AI: Practices & Approaches in Education. Session #9: "Emerging Trends in AI in Education"

Thanks to Avron Barr’s connecting me with Anil Rewari I had the privilege on November 30th of teaching a class for hundreds of teachers in India as part of the course Transformative Teaching with AI: Practices & Approaches in Education.

The discussion-style learning experience centered around three key fears that teachers have about AI.

My slides are available here:

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1gnSn_jFCr6V1zf8N0ApdukcR8LIIgJ59cJZLJ08m6u4/edit

IITSEC

Over the last six years or so a highlight of my conference going has been the it’s a conference. I/ITSEC stands for. The interservice and industry. Technology and simulation in education conference. Over 18,000 industry, academic,? and military representatives attend the conference to learn about the latest learning technologies, including virtual reality, simulation, artificial intelligence in the latest approaches to learning development and human performance enhancement.

I was blown away that a dozen sessions had learning engineering in the title or session abstract and learning engineering was a significant topic. This was in part due to the Air Force AETC establishing the Learning Engineering Center of Excellence.

I co-presented with Wendy Walsh- EdD, MPA, MEP a paper proposing a Generalizable Learning Engineering Adoption Maturity Model. The co-authors for the paper also included Shelly Blake-Plock Scotty Craig Erin Czerwinski Jodi Lis Katherine McEldoon, PhD Kevin Owens Julian Stodd Sae Schatz . Thanks to our I/ITSEC bird-dog Paul Butler.

This year, IEEE Learning Technology Standards Committee that I chair held the ad hoc planning meeting and the IEEE ICICLE government interest group, focused on advancing learning engineering in military and government contexts, also held a meeting that resulted in some great strategic thinking for 2025.

Dana Horn LCol Len Matiowsky CD BSc MEd Christine Covas-Smith, Ph.D. Christina Parker, EdD Andy Johnson Ivan Martinez-Ortiz Jefferson M. Dr. J.J. Walcutt Fritz Ray Robert Sottilare, Ph.D. Simon Hsu Art Werkenthin Doug McCarty Tammy Berman Aaron Parker Aaron Presnall

AACRAO Ignite!

My final trip for the year was to Atlanta for an event of American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO) Infuse event. The meeting convened 35 representatives from key stakeholders—including nonprofit organizations, technology providers, institutions, and other industry leaders—to explore a collaborative approach to advancing the adoption of innovative digital credentials in higher education.

Thanks to Mike Simmons and Mark McConahay for the invitation and opportunity to support this important work. It was great seeing people I've worked with in the past and meeting Thomas Black and Jason Weaver in person for the first time.

“I’ll be Home for Christmas”?

I sang in the chorus as part of a musical put on by my church family.

Holiday & Family Time

I wrapped up the year with some relaxing time with family being grateful for the incarnation that we celebrate in this season and reflecting on the year (including writing this reflection). I have so much to be thankful for, especially the people who enrich my life and partner with me in the journey.

Looking Forward to 2025!

The future is coming in hot! 2024's sci fi will be 2025's reality. My next post will be my predictions for 2025...