Instructional design
Structure learning around clear goals, useful practice, appropriate scaffolding, and the needs of real learners.
Professional profile · Selected work
Jordan Reed, M.Ed.
Educator, instructional designer, and digital learning creator.
I turn complex ideas into clear, useful experiences across educational resources, video scripts, websites, and interactive products. My work combines teaching experience, instructional design, research, writing, visual communication, and practical use of emerging technology.
Field note 01
What ties the work together
Whether I am designing a lesson, researching a video script, organizing a resource library, or shaping a game system, the central task is the same: understand the audience, clarify the goal, and make something complicated easier to use.
The working toolkit
What I do
Four connected ways of turning information into something people can learn from and use.
Educational content
Research, write, edit, and organize scripts, lessons, articles, curriculum materials, and classroom-ready resources.
Digital products
Design content systems, interactive tools, user flows, and web experiences that help people find and understand what they need.
AI-assisted workflows
Use modern AI tools for research support, ideation, prototyping, iteration, implementation, and quality control while keeping human judgment, accuracy, and audience needs in charge.
Case file
Selected work
A few projects that show how I approach learning, communication, systems, and digital experiences.
Project 01
Educational publishing · Web product design
Reed.School
Reed.School began as a small educational blog and was rebuilt as a guided discovery platform for classroom resources. The site helps teachers move from a need—grade level, subject, lesson length, or format—to a useful resource without reproducing the clutter of a large marketplace.
Explore Reed.SchoolRole and contribution
- Defined the site’s strategy, audience, content architecture, and brand direction
- Designed the four-question Resource Finder and curated collection structure
- Developed product landing pages and the Teacher Notes editorial library
- Directed an AI-assisted Astro, GitHub, and Vercel development workflow
- Incorporated accessibility, analytics, structured data, SEO, and responsive testing
Project 02
Research · Educational media · Scriptwriting
Educational Video Scripts
Freelance and contract scriptwriting for education-focused YouTube channels, including Degree Hacked and Everything Teacher. The work turns complicated education, career, technology, and teaching topics into clear scripts designed for narration and visual production.
Role and contribution
- Research topics and evaluate sources
- Translate complex information into accessible explanations
- Write for audience attention, pacing, narration, and on-screen visuals
- Organize visual notes and production callouts alongside audio
- Revise from editorial feedback and collaborate asynchronously
- Fact-check claims and distinguish evidence from speculation
Project 03
Curriculum · Educational publishing
Classroom Resources for Teachers Pay Teachers
A growing catalog of geography, history, civics, reading, writing, and ELA materials designed to save teachers time without reducing lessons to filler.
Browse the TPT storeRole and contribution
- Identify practical classroom needs and turn them into focused resources
- Write readings, questions, activities, directions, and answer keys
- Design differentiated and visually accessible materials
- Package, publish, describe, and maintain digital educational products
- Use teacher feedback and marketplace behavior to improve future work
Project 04
Independent product · Game systems and UX
Rafterbound
In developmentRafterbound is an independently developed college-basketball management game centered on recruiting, roster building, coaching decisions, program identity, and the long arc of building a contender.
Role and contribution
- Define the product vision, player experience, and core management loop
- Design interconnected systems for recruiting, rosters, simulation, tournaments, progression, and career decisions
- Direct interface and visual-design iterations
- Write detailed implementation specifications for AI-assisted development
- Create testing, validation, save-state, and workflow requirements
- Balance creative ambition with technical and production constraints
Rafterbound is an active independent project and is not yet a released commercial product.
Working principles
How I work
A practical standard for decisions, collaboration, and responsible use of new tools.
Clarity before complexity
Start by identifying the real audience, decision, or learning goal. Complexity should serve the experience rather than become the experience.
Useful before impressive
A product, lesson, or script should make someone’s work or understanding easier. Visual polish matters, but usefulness comes first.
Human-led, AI-assisted
Use AI to expand what is possible, accelerate iteration, and explore alternatives—but verify the work, make the decisions, and remain responsible for the result.
Experience snapshot
Professional threads
The recurring roles that connect classroom experience, publishing, media, and independent product work.
Educational scriptwriter
Remote freelance and contract work researching and writing education-focused video content.
Founder & educational content creator
Reed.School and Teachers Pay Teachers resource development, publishing, content strategy, and site direction.
Educator & instructional designer
More than two decades of education experience, including secondary and ESL teaching, international classrooms, and the design of learning materials for varied audiences.
Independent product creator
Long-term development and creative direction of Rafterbound and other digital projects.
Academic foundation
Education
Master of Education
Education Technology and Instructional Design
Adult Learner Specialization
Western Governors University
Selected capabilities
Built across the work
The next chapter
Open to thoughtful remote work.
I currently take on select project-based work and expect my availability for a larger remote role to grow over the coming year. I am especially interested in instructional design, educational content, e-learning, curriculum development, educational media, and learning-focused digital products.