Ko wai au?
Who am I?
I'm Brent Simpson. I'm an educator, technologist, and communicator, based on Waiheke Island.
For thirty years I've been turning up early to technologies that matter, and helping people make sense of them. I built some of the first websites in the early nineties, and I was running blogs and wikis inside universities before most institutions knew what they were. I helped implement podcasting at my community radio station before the word had really landed. And now I'm working conscientously with AI in classrooms.
I'm not a specialist in just one area. I create solutions that draw on instructional design, web development, media production, AI integration, and I have a genuine commitment to working across cultural and linguistic diversity. I've done this for thirty years, for real organisations in real contexts.
My background is primarily in education and tertiary institutions, but the problems I'm good at solving show up in NGOs, community organisations, and businesses too.
Taku mahi
My work
I've spent thirty years at the intersection of education, technology, and communication. The work that interests me most tends to live where those things overlap.
Some of the things I'm particularly good at:
- Turning expertise into learning.
- Designing courses, programmes, and resources that people actually engage with, whether that's online, or in person.
- Building digital things that work.
- Websites, tools, and educational technology. I've been building for the web since the early nineties and I still find it interesting.
- Media and podcast production.
- I understand community media from the inside. I have a Masters degree in Media Studies from the University of Auckland, and I'm a trustee for Waiheke Radio, a community radio station on Waiheke Island.
- Making sense of AI for real organisations.
- The practical reality of what these tools can and can't do, should and shouldn't do, fascinates me. I'm particularly interested in this across educational and organisational contexts.
- Bilingual and bicultural communication.
- Working in English and te reo Māori, alongside Māori cultural leads, for organisations doing genuine bicultural work. I am Pākehā. I don't offer cultural advisory but I'm comfortable collaborating with people who do.
- Curriculum and learning design.
- Pedagogically sound, actually teachable. I'm well versed in the NZ Curriculum and NCEA contexts but I've also taught a variety of classes to adults in Aotearoa.
- Social media and communications strategy.
- I'm comfortable with social media and I know how to create and amplify messages, as well as track their efficacy and reach.
Ngā pūkenga
Skills
I feel my real value isn't in any single capability, but in what happens when they combine. Here are some of the ways organisations have found that useful:
Education & Learning
Instructional design · eLearning development · LMS setup · Curriculum design (NCEA) · Teacher professional development · Adult education
AI & EdTech
AI integration · Workshop facilitation · AI policy development · Prompt engineering · EdTech strategy
Technology & Web
Web development · Server administration · Python web apps · Bot development · CMS setup · Digital tool builds
Media Production
Podcast production · Community radio · Audio & video production
Te Reo Māori & Bicultural
Intermediate speaker · Te reo digital tools · Pou reo
Design & Communications
Visual communication · Social media strategy · Content strategy · Technical writing
Curious about the full picture? Explore my skills map →
Whakatauira
Examples
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Kohinga Kupu · kohingakupu.nz
A te reo Māori web app I designed and built to help with vocabulary acquisition in te reo Māori. A small example of what happens when language commitment meets web development.
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Waiheke Radio · waihekeradio.org.nz
I'm a trustee, web developer, trainer, and show presenter at Waiheke's community radio station. I wrote my MA thesis on it.
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SXSW Interactive 1999 — Best Educational Site · University of Texas at Austin
The Texas Information Literacy Tutorial (TILT), which I led the design of at the University of Texas at Austin. Recognised as the top educational web site at South by Southwest Interactive in Austin, Texas.
More on request.
Whakapā
Get in touch
If something here sounds like what you need, I'd like to hear about it.
- smpbrent@gmail.com
- linkedin.com/in/brentasimpson