eLearnReady Receives

2023 MERLOT Classics Award

The MERLOT Awards program recognizes and promotes outstanding online resources designed to enhance teaching and learning and to honor the developers of these resources for their contributions to the academic community.

Who We Are

eLearnReady Team

Why and when did we build eLearnReady?

eLearnReady is led by a group of educators and researchers who are dedicated to assist learners and teachers in the online learning environment. This project was initiated in 2003 when Dr. Corey Lee and Dr. Natalie Abell were offering online courses at the University of Findlay. Drs. Lee and Abell observed that many students choose to take online courses because of their availability and convenience, even though they are not experienced or prepared for online learning. Helping students understand the nature and expectations of online learning is critical for success. In a review of the literature relating to successful learning online, Drs. Lee and Abell identified multiple essential attributes for online learning and developed a diagnostic an intervention system based on them, which serves as eLearnReady’s backbone.In 2012, Dr. Lee, Ms. Jennifer Shinaberger, and Mr. Lee Shinaberger, were rewarded an internal grant from Coastal Carolina University to improve eLearnReady by revising the instrument and adding study tips for students. In 2015, Dr. Lee and Dr. Todd Cherner obtained additional funding to produce video tutorials for students to view (see these videos at Student eLearnReady Profile).In 2016, Dr. Sherri Restauri, Director of Office of Online Learning at Coastal Carolina University, and her office contributed to this project by providing useful teaching strategies/tips for online instructors (see Class Profile). Dr. Restauri and Dr. Lee began external promotions of the eLearnReady tool starting at the OLC Innovate conference in April 2017, presenting to groups across the U.S. on this assessment tool.

eLearnReady Contributors

Corey Lee, Ph.D.

Project Leader and Webmaster

Dr. Lee has worked to construct eLearnReady’s interactive website and strategized methods for sharing eLearnReady with teachers from across the United States. Dr. Lee teaches at Coastal Carolina University. Throughout his teaching career, he developed strong interests in the areas of distance education, mobile learning, interactive multimedia, and graphic/website design. In his classes, he introduces a wide range of software applications and open-source packages to students, allowing them to master computer-based tools used in the design and creation of electronic media, such as electronic images, sounds, videos, text, and motion.

Natalie M. Abell, Ph.D.

Professor at the University of Findlay

Dr. Natalie Abell is a member of the Graduate Faculty and Professor in the College of Education at The University of Findlay in Findlay, Ohio. Dr. Abell’s teaching background is in special education and early childhood. She came to The University of Findlay as the chair of Teacher Education. She has written several grants related to teacher education, educational technology in the K-12 schools, and integration of technology into the teaching and learning process in higher education settings. Dr. Abell was the first Academic Technology Officer at The University of Findlay and oversaw both the faculty support center and the launch of the Blackboard course management system for online courses. Her current research interests include faculty teaching styles and student learning attributes in online courses. Dr. Abell currently teaches courses in grant writing, research, collaboration and diversity in the Master of Arts in Education and the Doctor of Education degree programs.

Jenn Marshall Shinaberger

Director, CeTEAL

Jenn is the director of the faculty development center at Coastal Carolina University. She works with the faculty as an instructional coach. In this role, she consults with faculty to help them bring innovative and proven pedagogical practices to their classrooms, assists faculty in the development of distance learning courses, and integrates technology into courses to improve the teaching and learning process. She is also a teaching associate in the University’s Spadoni College of Education where she has taught instructional technology. She has been in the field of education for over 20 years. Jenn has presented at regional, national and international conferences and she serves as a reviewer.

Lee Shinaberger

Lecture at Coastal Carolina University

Lee has cultivated a passion for teaching and engaging students. Lee joined the E. Craig Wall Sr. College of Business in 2012 as a Lecturer after a 15 year career in the electronics industry. His primary teaching areas include statistics and quantitative analysis of decisions in both face-to-face and distance environments. His research interests are in the scholarship of teaching and learning, specifically in regards to teaching undergraduate statistics and the use of a flipped classroom format. Prior to joining the faculty at Coastal Carolina University, he served as a machine design engineer, R&D engineer, and process engineer at AVX Corporation in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. He holds three patents related to his work at AVX. Lee received a BS in mechanical engineering from the University of Pittsburgh and an MBA from the University of South Carolina.

Todd Cherner, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor at Portland State University

Todd Cherner, PhD, is an assistant professor of education in the Graduate School of Education’s Curriculum and Instruction Department. Cherner specializes in using instructional technology to develop students’ literacy abilities across the content areas, and he is committed to the purposeful use of technology to promote students’ reading and writing in the classroom. Before entering higher education, he taught 10th grade English and journalism courses at Leesburg High School in Central Florida. Previous to coming to Portland State University, he taught in and coordinated Coastal Carolina University’s Master of Arts in Teaching program.

Sherri Restauri, Ph.D.

Director, Coastal Office of Online Learning, Coastal Carolina University

Dr. Sherri Restauri has served in academia for 17 years. During this time, she has served as an instructional designer, faculty member in the field of psychology and other areas, and also as an administrator over Online Learning at several universities. Dr. Restauri joined the Coastal Office of Online Learning as their Director in July 2016. Her research focus is on improving the teaching and learning process across all teaching modalities through the use of technology, with specific interest in pedagogical practices to increase student engagement, and best practices in online pedagogy. She serves on the OLC Steering Committee for the annual Innovate conference, and also as the Editor of the Professional Coaching Board as well as a member of the Editorial Board for the Psychology Board of MERLOT.