The Future is Now

This week, I’d like to introduce you to Sher Downing.

Sher Downing, Ph.D., is a coach and consultant skilled in creating strategic partnerships between people, technology, and innovation. Noted as “a distinguished value giver,” Sher provides strategic planning, learning content development, and consulting services to help organizations transition to digital and hybrid environments.

She is also the host of EdTech Speaks, a podcast that discusses tools, technology, and people in new and unexpected ways.

Sher’s Dance Through Life

Sher has always loved learning. She considers herself a risk-taker and a creative, but growing up in the ‘80s drilled into her that to succeed in life, one must have “a real job.” So rather than pursue her outside-the-box interests, her insatiable curiosity carried her to college as a first-generation student.

It didn’t take long for Sher to recognize the gap between students like her and those from college-educated households. This experience ignited a passion in her for developing solutions to bridge that gap between the “haves and have-nots”—a fire that has fueled her entire career.

Sher saw the effects of this uneven playing field carry over into the workforce after college, so she pursued a career in higher education to equip students with the necessary skills to succeed in the workplace. Her work led her to the technology space with the introduction of online learning in the ‘90s. She has been focused on using technology to create accessibility to and passion for learning ever since.

Dropping Knowledge with EdTech

There is more to learning today than formal education, Sher says. “Now we live in a world of micro-learning and instant training. You’ve got employers saying, ‘watch this video’ or ‘go through this quiz.’”

And it’s not just the workplace that’s affected by this shift.

“Our learning and growth are no longer divided between our personal and professional lives. The pandemic showed us we could be reactive to a situation and learn, shop, and communicate online. Think how it would work if we were proactive in our efforts,” she says.

How Can You Transition to A Digital Future?

Sher offers several resources. Her company, Downing EdTech Consulting, serves individuals, businesses, and institutions seeking to transition into hybrid and digital environments—an endeavor that can be arduous and costly without expert help.

The Downing EdTech Influence is Sher’s free online newsletter to help guide companies and professionals in the business of digital transformation. 

You can learn more about Sher’s work with education technology and EdTech at www.downingedtech.com. 

If you want to learn more about how technology is opening doors to learning for people from all walks of life, watch and listen to our conversation below.

If you learned something interesting from Sher’s journey, leave a comment and be sure to subscribe to this newsletter for biweekly updates.