John Parris

John Parris is a researcher, designer, and producer with more than 25 years of experience in investigating and building high-quality, innovative educational media for students and teachers.

Parris’s work is rooted in a deep understanding of the realities of classrooms and guided by the desire to engage students and support teachers. He applies his expertise to a wide array of research and development prototypes and products for science, social studies, the arts, and interdisciplinary curricula. Parris has contributed to the development of forward-thinking, technology-based products, including Zoom In, which links history and literacy, and Possible Worlds, which explored digital games as a way to improve student understanding of phenomena that are often the subject of scientific misconceptions. He has served as a designer and producer for print, Web, mobile, and video games.

Parris has developed materials and digital strategy for the educational media initiatives at many iconic cultural institutions, including the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Smithsonian Institution, the American Museum of Natural History, the Library of Congress, and Carnegie Hall.

He holds a BFA from the University of Delaware.

"I try to consider multiple dimensions of software usability: user interface, how it functions in the classroom setting, and the demands it places on teachers and students outside class.”