Kajal Madeka's Digital Portfolio

My Resume

Education

2007 - Present

M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instructional Technology, 
​Iowa State University, Ames, IA. USA.

The Masters of Education at Iowa State University shaped my career as an instructional designer and technology expert. Some of the notable projects I worked on were

  • designing an Active Shooter Survival Guide
  • designing a One Room School in Second Life
  • creating role-play demonstrations for Phasient Learning Technologies
  • innovative modification of testing protocol for program evaluation with children.
  • Student Entrepreneurship and Leadership
    Founder-member of Learning Design Solutions (LearnDS), a student led enterprise founded in August 2008, providing professional level Instructional Design services to external and internal clients and equipping students of instructional technology with the skills, attitudes and resources to expand their career choices and pursue an entrepreneurial career path upon graduation.
  • t​ook leadership in preparing grant proposal for College of Human Sciences Entrepreneurial Program Initiative Grant Competition in 2009 soliciting LearnDS member contributions to write sections of the grant and coordinating the process. Succeeded in securing funding of $25,000 for LearnDS for 2009-2010.​

1992 - 1994

M.A. in Ancient Indian History, Culture and Archaeology
The Mahara Sayajirao University of Baroda, Gujarat, India.
M.A. Thesis: Textural Differences in Ceramic Thin-sections and its Relationship with Technology.
​Conducted extensive ethnographic observations of traditional potters in villages of western India.

1995 - 2002

Ph.D. in Archaeology
The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Gujarat, India
Ph.D. Dissertation: Study of Black-and-Red Ware of Western Indian Chalcolithic Cultures: A Natural Science Approach. Area of specialization: material science and ceramic petrology. Through a scientific analysis of ceramics from three different culture sites, I was able to identify clay-paste making traditions in these cultures and the position of black-and-red ware within it.
​I received The Ford Foundation Junior and Senior Research Fellowships for 3 years. 

Instructional Design Experience

B.A. in History 
Presidency College, Calcutta University, West Bengal, India

1989 - 1992

Course Redesign, Post-Professional Doctor of Physical Therapy  

College of Health Sciences, Des Moines University, Des Moines, IA.

Course Platform : Angel Learning Management System

Independent contract work with one employee which included:

  • complete reorganization of orientation course and restructuring of content and navigation
  • visual redesign of home page and content pages to create a course theme and identity
  • redesign of content to include interactive elements and multimedia delivery systems
  • design and implementation of strategies to increase student interaction, human and social presence
  • redesign of Plagiarism unit with new activities and assessments to help overcome increased incidences of academic dishonesty
  • integrating all the new activities and content with existing ones for cohesiveness.

July - September 2011

March - May 2011

Program Analysis, Post-Professional Doctor of Physical Therapy  

College of Health Sciences, Des Moines University, Des Moines, IA.

​Course Platform: Angel Learning Management System

Project manager for Learning Design Solution. Analysis addressed faculty concerns about:

  • time and workload management
  • effectiveness of pedagogical and assessment strategies
  • issues with student participation and collaboration
  • overall visual appeal and navigation
  • academic integrity and
  • creating a congenial environment for group work.

Recommendations made in the program analysis report were implemented as an independent contractor.

Online Course Design,Emerging and Exotic Diseases of Animals 
Center for Food Security and Public Health, 
College of Veterinary Medicine, Iowa State University. Ames, IA

Course Platform: Moodle Open Source Learning Platform

Dual role of Instructional Designer and Project manager for Learning Design Solutions managing a team of software programmers and graphic designers to

  • program newly developed Moodle Flex-page module and implement course in it
  • implement extensive redesign of course layout, appearance and organization.
  • design and development of acontent player interface and navigation
  • design and development of a chapter with interactive content delivery

​Responsibilities included:

  • finalizing contract with client detailing deliverables, timeline and cost estimates
  • assessing project needs and interviewing and recruiting student candidates
  • planning project phases and overseeing progress and implementation
  • liaising with client for updates and feedback
  • project management tasks of time-tracking, payments and maintaining teamwork and motivation​

March - August 2010

August 2008 - May 2009

Research Assistant, Alternative Technology Exploratorium 
and Usability Lab,
N058, Lagomarcino Hall, Iowa State University

​Responsible for :

  • lab set-up, maintenance and providing complete technical support to users for gaming and usability tests
  • achieved cost savings of $6,000 in equipment purchase by reviewing for and avoiding redundancy
  • consulted with users about test design, protocol and customizing set-up to meet specific needs
  • experimented extensively with specialized testing software (Morae) and testing equipment and created detailed user documentation. 
  • observed testing patterns and modified lab set-up to create conducive testing environment
  • conducted dissemination activities to promote research on games and learning
  • took leadership in writing grant proposal for Computational Advisory Committee to expand the scope of the Alternative Technology Exploratorium and Usability Lab. Generated participation and support for it from students and faculty of different departments across campus. (not funded: $21,834).​

January 2007 - May 2009

Independent research collaboration
with Carla Sinopoli, University of Michigan Museum of Anthropology, Ann Arbor
and Kathleen Morrison, Center for International Studies, University of Chicago
for the Petrographic and Technological analyses of Iron Age ceramics from South India. Project Title : Early Historic Landscapes of the Tungabhadra Corridor (EHLTC) funded by NSF

2005 - 2006

Associate Lecturer, Department of Archaeology,
The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Gujarat, India 
Responsible for teaching graduate course on (Bronze Age Civilizations : Egypt, Mesopotamia, China) and guiding individual research papers. 
Also taught two undergraduate courses (Introduction to Archaeology and Greater India: Influence of Indian culture on the political, religious development and art of S.E. Asia in
the Early Historic Period.
  • Significantly revised the outdated course material and approach of the paper ‘Greater India’ by introducing new research perspectives and latest archaeological data
  • Pushed for and modeled the use of classroom technology and internet resources to enhance conceptual understanding, overcome language barriers, dissuade the culture of ‘note-giving’ and encourage students to interact independently with the course material​

2004 - 2005

Research Assistant, National Institute of Ocean Technology 
(NIOT) project. Department of Archaeology,
​The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda
Project Title: Archaeological Survey around the Gulf of Khambhat region of Gujarat
  • Created site distribution maps through extensive literature and identified the area for further exploration after evaluating past survey data and maps
  • Led field exploration team on survey of coastal regions on eastern margin of the Gulf of Khambhat
  • Analyzed the surface collections and submitted a comprehensive report

2003 - 2004

Research Assistantships

Teaching Experience

Substitute History and Social Studies Teacher 
Amrit Vidyalaya,
Kalol, India
Taught history and political science to Grades VI and VIII.  Also took students of this school on an educational tour to the World Heritage site of
Champaner, India

January - April 2004

Independent Research

Experimental reproduction of Black-and-Red effect on pottery 
using a traditional potter’s kiln. Technical Collaboration with:
Dr. D.K. Kanchan (Dept. of Physics, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, India) and
Dr. Vijay Kaushik (Indian Petrochemicals Pvt Ltd (IPCL), Gorwa, India)
​for the reconstruction of ancient firing atmospheres by analysis of black pigment of modern and archaeological samples using Mossbaüer Spectroscopy, Electron Spectroscopy for Chemical Analysis (ESCA) and Elemental Analysis.

2001 - 2002

Publications 

Shah, K. & Lee, M. (2010). Building an interactive One Room School Experience in Second Life: An example of TPACK at work. In D. Gibson & B. Dodge (Eds.), Proceedings of Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference 2010 (pp. 2064-2070). Chesapeake, VA: AACE.

Shah, K., Correia, A.P. & Karakus, T. (2009). Flexible online Learning and game-based learning environments: do they make a happy marriage? In M. Simonson (Ed.), 32nd Annual Proceedings of AECT Selected Research and Development Papers (pp. 403-407). Louisville, KY, 2009.

Koehler, N., Thompson, N., & Shah, K. (2009) Pilot study of a multimedia instructional program for project-based teaching ESL Grammar with a story format, online access, and embedded tracking technology. In I. Gibson, R. Weber, K. McFerrin, R. Carlsen & D. A. Willis (Eds.), Proceedings of the Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education (pp. 3301-3306). Chesapeake, VA: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education.


Krishnan, K. & Shah, K. (2005) Beyond wares and shapes: gaining a petrographic perspective on ancient Indian pottery. In Biswas, A.K. (ed.) Science in Archaeology and Archaeomaterials. D.K. Printworld, New Delhi (pp. 135 – 156)

Presentations and Workshops 

Shah, K. & Lee, M. (2010). Building an interactive One Room School experience in Second Life: An example of TPACK at work. Paper presented at the Society for Information Technology & Teaching 21st International Conference, San Diego, CA, March 29 - April 2, 2010.

Correia, A.-P., Baran, E., Larsen, J., Preast, V., Shah, K., Wang, W. & Yusop, F. (2010). Learning and practicing instructional design in the context of a social enterprise. Paper presented at the American Educational Research Association 2010 Annual Meeting, Denver, CO, April 30 - May 4, 2010


Shah, K., Correia, A.-P. & Karakus, T. (2009). Flexible online learning and game-based learning environments: Do they make a happy marriage? Paper presented at the Association for Educational Communications and Technology 2009 Convention, Louisville, KY, October 27-31, 2009


Shah, K., Correia, A.P. & Karakus, T. (2009). Alternative Technology Exploratorium: Efforts to bring main stream gaming into teacher education. Paper presented at 5th Games+Learning+Society conference,

Madison, Wisconsin, June 10-12, 2009.


Baran, E., Karakus, T., Desmiraslan, Y. & Shah, K. (2009). Usability cases in education: Experiences, challenges and lessons learned. Presented at the Association for Educational Communications and Technology 2009 Convention, Louisville, KY, October 27-31, 2009.


Correia, A.P., Baran, E., Desmiraslan, Y., Karakus, T., Shah, K. & Yusop, F. (2009). Web 2.0 Technologies for virtual collaboration: How to design and support successful learning experiences. Half-day workshop delivered at the Association for Educational Communications and Technology 2009 Convention, Louisville, KY, October 27-31, 2009.


Koehler, N., Thompson, N., & Shah, K. (2009) Pilot study of a multimedia instructional program for project-based teaching ESL grammar with a story format, online access, and embedded tracking technology. Paper presented at the Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education 2009 International Conference, Charleston, SC, March 2-6, 2009.


​Shah, K. (2005) Technological Choices, Clay-Paste Traditions and Ceramic Petrology. Invited seminar presentation the Department of Geological and Atmospheric Sciences, Iowa State University, Ames,

Iowa. November 1, 2005.

Shah, K. (2004) Typo-technological Character of Chalcolithic Black-and-Red Ware from North Gujarat: An Evaluation through Paste Characterization. Archaeological Sciences of the Americas Symposium University of Arizona, Tucson. 23-26 Sept. 2004.

Shah, K. (2000) Sources of Archaeology and the art of reading the past. Exhibition–cum-Seminar on Sources of Archaeology and History of the Gujarat Region’, M.K. Amin Arts and Science College and College of Commerce, Padra. 20-24 January, 2000.


Shah, K (1994) Textural Differences in Ceramic Fabrics and its Relationship with Technology. Paper presented at XVIII Indian Social Science Congress at Baroda, Gujarat, December 1994 

Program Assistant, Dialogues on Diversity
Iowa State University. Ames, IA

Course Platform: Blended learning, face to face and WebCT 

Responsible for conduct of the undergraduate program with 100 students and 10 facilitators each semester divided into five sections. The responsibilities were multifaceted with administrative, organizational, instructional and academic dimensions as well as hospitality.
  • Identified and recruited facilitators from ISU graduate student body, faculty, staff as well as the Ames community
  • Designed and developed facilitator training material and pedagogically useful resources and activities on diversity issues and dialogue mode of communication for facilitators every semester, and constantly improved upon it based on their feedback.
  • Organized and conducted facilitator training workshops and retreats to model activities and dialogue
  • Researched and developed student course packs and resources including relevant readings, games, experiential activities and online discussion starters such as case studies and audio-visual media for online discussion and postings
  • Designed and handled the WebCT component of the course for 100 students and five sections
  • Spearheaded the initiative to implement time-saving measures in the classroom by digitizing the pre-tests and post-tests
  • Organized Inter-group Dialogues between different identity groups on Campus (ISU Intergroup Dialogues on Diversity Project coordinated by Dr. James McShay and Dr. Warren Blumenfeld)
  • Provided technical, material and moral support to facilitators and students throughout the course.
  • Organized and conducted inter-section finals which included the finals activities, and hospitality ​