About
I am an eLearning technologist and researcher working at the intersection of critical pedagogy, online learning, and educational design. With a background spanning graphic design, course development, and academic research, my work explores how digital education can empower learners and resist the reductive pressures of automation, surveillance, and platform-driven learning.
My interests centre on student agency, authentic assessment, and open education. I advocate for pedagogical practices that are dialogic, inclusive, and grounded in real-world relevance—particularly in the context of Technology-Enhanced Learning (TEL). I am especially concerned with how AI and learning platforms are reshaping education, and how we might respond with integrity and care.
In my writing and practice, I critically engage with educational technologies—not as neutral tools, but as systems embedded with values and power. Whether exploring the challenges of LMS migration, the potential of open educational resources, or the misuse of AI in assessment, my approach is always rooted in pedagogical purpose rather than technical novelty.
I believe that meaningful digital learning is co-created—with students, educators, and communities—and that educational design must begin with values, not with tools.
People I am not
I first saw this approach on the profile of a LinkedIn connection, and it struck me as a simple and thoughtful way to avoid confusion. While I share a name with several other professionals, academics, and creatives, these are poeple I am not:
- Steve Wheeler (Learning with ’e’s)
- Stephen Wheeler (Professor of Landscape Architecture, UC Davis)
- Stephen Wheeler (Associate Professor of Classics, Penn State)
- Stephen Wheeler (Clinical Assistant Professor of Data Science, University of North Texas. Also, appears in, and consulted for, the film Computer Chess, 2013)
- Stephen James Wheeler (English Cricketer)