Brian O’Dwyer, Founder of CognaLearn
By John | Sept. 19, 2020 | LRNT 523
Brian O’Dwyer is an ed-tech leader who is the founded CognaLearn in 2015. After serving as the CFO of an airline that was sold, he turned to a career in education. Though he has held other positions in the technology sector, it was as an airline management instructor where he realized that many employees were not learning what was demanded by industry from institutions of higher education (O’Dwyer, n.d.). O’Dwyer discovered Team-Based Learning (TBL) methodology through a colleague and realized that it had potential to be adapted for online delivery. He then began developing TBL software that instructors use worldwide.
I selected this individual due to my interest and success in facilitating TBL. I have used this methodology with good results in face to face advanced career and college preparation (CCP) and first year English courses at Coast Mountain College (CMTN). I am became more familiar with Dwyer’s approach during a webinar recently, a free introductory workshop introducing the TBL online version.
As institutions of higher learning were adapting to the current pandemic TBL instructors were now able to make the shift to online delivery. O’Dwyer’s success in this area is ground-breaking for those committed to the constructivist features that are integral to the traditional, analog version of the methodology. His work illustrates that important features of the traditional classroom TBL experience can be successfully accomplished online with requisite training in the software.
References
Empowering team-based learning with technology. (2020). Retrieved from https://www.intedashboard.com/
Guest Bogger. (2019, May 6). Meet CognaLearn: Physical and online team-based learning classrooms. LearnLaunch. https://learnlaunch.com/meet-cognalearn-physical-and-online-team-based-learning-classrooms/
O’Dwyer, B. (n.d.). About [LinkedIn page]. LinkedIn. Retrieved September 16, 2020 from https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianodwyer/?originalSubdomain=sg
Team-based learning collaborative. (2020). Retrieved from https://www.teambasedlearning.org/
September 23, 2020 at 2:41 am
John, thank you for introducing me to Team-Based Learning.
I’ve read up a bit about it but will invest more time to learn it fully. I want to enhance my student’s synchronous, online group experience, next semester.
October 11, 2020 at 4:00 pm
Thanks for your interest Vanessa. TBL is one of those methodologies that tends to engage students deeply, and it is inexpensive to implement, at least in the face to face format