About the Author

Christala is from Durant, Oklahoma, where she graduated high school after only 3 years. She then went to Southeastern Oklahoma State University and was offered a job tutoring English at the end of her first semester. After tutoring throughout her second semester, she was offered a course section of developmental English to teach the following semester. Because the course was not for credit, it could be taught by undergraduate students. As a result, she began teaching at the college level at the age of 18. She continued to teach developmental English classes every semester until she graduated with her bachelor’s degree in English education.

Immediately after graduation she began teaching Composition I and Composition II while she worked on her master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in teaching English as a second language. She has taught continuously since that time in face-to-face, online, and hybrid formats. In 2014 she began working in the Center for Instructional Development and Technology (CIDT) at Southeastern Oklahoma State University. She was promoted to director of that department later that year. CIDT is responsible for instructional design, professional development, course review, tech support, media creation, accessibility, and ensuring a quality experience for online students.

In 2016 she began work on a doctorate degree in Distance Learning, and by March of 2020 she was working on the 2nd chapter of her dissertation but was unable to finish due to work and family demands during the pandemic. She maintains the status of “ABD,” which means “All But Dissertation.”

Christala has served in many leadership capacities at both the university and for the state. Leadership roles have included chairing the Distance Education Council, the Online Consortium of Oklahoma (OCO), the Council for Online Learning Excellence (COLE), the Oklahoma Canvas Area Network (OK-CAN), and others. As the chair of the Professional Development Committee of COLE, she has organized multiple statewide professional development sessions and in-person events for higher ed faculty and staff in Oklahoma.

Christala serves on the Oklahoma Education Commission, led by Representative Danny Williams, which meet approximately once per month to discuss education trends and needs in educational sectors throughout the state. This book is a direct result of the work done by that commission, which is discussed in more detail in the section titled, “About This Book.”