About

Hello, and welcome to my portfolio site! My name is Heather Thach.

I am a Ph.D. student in the School of Information Science and Learning Technologies (SISLT) at the University of Missouri and am also earning my Graduate Certificate in User Experience and Usability through SISLT. I earned my Master's of Education in Learning, Design, and Technology from the University of Georgia in 2019. My research broadly centers around designing inclusive and accessible instructional environments through the use of innovative and emerging technologies, including generative AI. I am particularly interested in leveraging such interventions for neurodivergent and disabled populations. I often weave theories relating to human motivation, cognition, and emotion into my work to better understand how specific psychological constructs inform human behavior and interactions with technology, particularly in the context of accessible and inclusive learning environments.

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“The more radical the person is, the more fully he or she enters into reality so that, knowing it better, he or she can transform it. This individual is not afraid to confront, to listen, to see the world unveiled. This person is not afraid to meet the people or to enter into a dialogue with them. This person does not consider himself or herself the proprietor of history or of all people, or the liberator of the oppressed; but he or she does commit himself or herself, within history, to fight at their side.”

- Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed