Training

Educational Technology Integration & Procurement

As Chief Learning Office of Mustard Seed Training, Meagen Farrell focuses on long-term contracts in professional development for adult & family education and short-term contracts in web design for schools & non-profits.

 

Contact Meagen at learn@mustseed.org to book professional development or discuss your project. 

While focusing on the importance of teaching presence and building community, Meagen supports fellow educators, parents and catechists to effectively utilize digital tools. She is currently pursuing a PhD in educational technology from Kent State University with a research interest in values-based educational technology procurement.

Services include

• • Facilitating professional development including live workshops, self-paced online courses, and distributed communities of practice.
  • Designing processes to evaluate, procure & integrate technology, including ethical AI tools for educators.
  • Non-profit website design and transitioning to multi-platform communications.

 

Biography

Meagen Farrell started her career serving as an AmeriCorps member and HM Volunteer at a homeless shelter and drop-in center in Cleveland, Ohio. As an adult literacy tutor, she learned about the impact of adult education to create opportunities for people in the transition to stable housing. This has led to a career of teaching adults and families for a more just and loving society.

Meagen brings over 20 years of experience in the fields of adult basic education, nonprofit communications, project management, religious education, and educational technology. She founded Mustard Seed Training in 2018 to strengthen families and educators to grow in faith, love and charity. She has a Bachelor's in Religion from Oberlin College, Certificate in Distance Education from Penn State University, Master's in Theology and Religious Studies from John Carroll University, and is currently studying for a PhD in Educational Technology at Kent State University.

Her previous company, Farrell Ink, supported literacy collaborations and organizations from brainstorming through the first 1-3 years of project pilots and implementation. During this time, she worked with partnerships of nonprofits to bring $1.2 million to Northeast Ohio for adult literacy, with a 80% success rate for grants submitted.

 

Previous projects include

Communications to Strengthen Families

While all school or church staff are trained to report abuse and neglect when we see it, how can we help prevent domestic violence in our everyday work? Participants learn simple but powerful “mustard seed” changes to their technology-mediated communications to help families avoid or heal from trauma.

This series is intended for any adult who communicates directly with families. The sessions briefly introduce research on five protective factors to strengthen families and prevent violence and neglect: parental resilience, emotional competence, parenting knowledge, concrete support, and social connections. Participants will see practical examples of revising or creating family communications in light of this research, including websites, shared document storage, automated emails or texts, and more. These practices can also increase family engagement for stronger school or church communities.

 

The Literacy Cooperative of Greater Cleveland's Contextualized Curriculum

Meagen Farrell contributed lesson plans to the 1st edition of the Digital Literacy Contextualized Curriculum, then edited the 2nd editions of all five industries into their current form. She led a multi-year series of workshops on professional development for instructors to utilize these free, authentic workplace materials. 

Action Research Distance Learning (ARDL) II: Industry-Focused Standards and Communities of Practice

This multi-year collaboration supported adult educators in Washington, D.C. to pilot hyflex courses for Integrated Education and Training (IET) programs. It brought together expertise from the University of D.C.'s Adult Education Program, D.C. Office of the State Superintendent (OSSE) Adult and Family Education unit, World Education, and Mustard Seed Training. This action research project built on previous Mini-PD Institutes. Meagen Farrell led industry-focused groups of adult educators and administrators to implement industry standards in their hyflex lesson plans.

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