Fred Zinn

Fred Zinn is Associate Director of Digital Learning at the University of Massachusetts Amherst College of Education where he focuses on shaping the use of instructional technologies based on student-centered learning objectives, universal design principles, and issues of equity & access. His special interests include visual design for instruction, narrative-based presentation design, data visualization, and neuroinclusive instructional design.

Fred has been assisting instructors with their use of instructional technologies since the days of slides and overhead projectors. At UMass Amherst, he has helped faculty through multiple changes in learning management systems (LMS), the adoption of emergency remote instruction, and the arrival of generative AI tools. Before UMass Amherst, he helped incorporate computers across the foundations curriculum at the Minneapolis College of Art & Design, and introduced computer-based presenting at the University of Michigan. A visual thinker and unrepentant doodler, his illustrations have been used in a variety of instructional materials, including “Parasites Unleashed” a science-based card game published by Zygote Games.