SUNY Online Teaching Ambassador 2026: Monroe – Wanda Willard

Wanda Willard, PhD, is a Professor of Psychology at Monroe Community College where she teaches courses in child, adolescent, and lifespan development. She has also created new courses for MCC in learning and behavior disorders, child and adolescent psychopathology, and sleep and dreaming. She teaches both online and in-person classes. Dr. Willard earned a bachelor’s in psychology and master’s in educational administration from St. Lawrence University, and a PhD in lifespan developmental psychology and Certificate in University Teaching from Syracuse University. Prior to teaching at MCC, Dr. Willard was a visiting assistant professor at SUNY Oswego and an adjunct instructor at Cayuga Community College. Before entering the graduate program at Syracuse University, she served as Director of Experiential Learning at Keuka College in the Finger Lakes.

“My expedition into online teaching started in spring 2005 when I taught my first asynchronous fully online course. Being among the first faculty at MCC to teach online, I have traversed through a number of learning management systems, from Lotus Notes to Angel to Blackboard, and now Brightspace. I confess that I began what I then assumed would be a brief sojourn into online teaching because of both curiosity and doubts about the pedagogical quality and academic integrity of online learning. I started the venture so that I could better understand what online learning was all about and whether students could learn as effectively virtually as in person.

Not only did I find that students can successfully learn in a well-designed online environment, I found so much more along the way. I have found that I often know better how well my online students understand course concepts than I do some of my in-person students. Because of the way my online courses are designed, students cannot “hide” in my online classes the way some may be able to do in face-to-face classes. I have also found that although online learning and in-person learning are different due to their respective modalities, one is not necessarily better than the other. Both offer students valuable learning opportunities. I have found that learning systems and instructional technology are most effective when they are used to complement teaching and learning rather than supplant it. That is, the teaching-learning experience, rather than the technology itself, should remain the focus. Finally, because my online training and experience has fostered deep reflection on what, why, and how I teach, I have found that I am not just a more effective online instructor, but a more engaging and deliberative teacher overall. Both my online and in-person classes are “works in progress” as I strive to continually improve the learning experience for my students.

When I started my online teaching journey, I could not have envisioned that over 20 years later I would still be enthusiastically teaching online. I certainly did not imagine being honored as a SUNY Online Teaching Ambassador! It’s been a great voyage so far, and I look forward to what’s ahead and around the bend.”