Sean Burns Receives the University of Kentucky Online Teaching Award

^{In the photo above, University of Kentucky Online Teaching Award recipient Sean Burns, third from left, is joined by (from left), Youngok Choi, Director of the School of Information Science; Brandi Frisby, Associate Director, Associate Provost for Academic Affairs; Burns; and Jennifer Greer, Dean of the College of Communication and Information.}

Designing Online Learning with Purpose 

For Sean Burns, online teaching begins long before a student opens a course site or starts their first assignment. It originates with a question at the heart of his work: how can an online course be intentionally designed so that students know where they are, what they are learning, and how to engage meaningfully from a distance? That commitment to purposeful course design, student experience, and accessible learning is what helped make Burns the inaugural recipient of the University of Kentucky Online Teaching Award.

An Associate Professor in the School of Information Science in the College of Communication and Information, Burns was recognized Sept. 16 with the Online Teaching Award, which was created to recognize a faculty member who demonstrates exemplary commitment to developing and teaching credit-bearing online courses and advancing the broader field of online education. 

“Sean’s work reflects exactly what we hoped this award would recognize: intentional design, care for the student experience, and a deep understanding of how online learning can expand access and opportunity,” said Brandi Frisby, Associate Provost of Academic Affairs. “He approaches online teaching with the same rigor, creativity, and compassion that define excellent instruction in any modality.” 

Burns began teaching online while completing his doctoral work in information science and learning technologies at the University of Missouri, where he taught online and hybrid courses and served as a teaching assistant for an online lab. He also experienced online learning firsthand as a student in a hybrid master’s program and later in online doctoral coursework—experiences that helped shape the way he designs and teaches fully online courses today. 

Since joining UK in 2013, Burns has contributed to online education across graduate and undergraduate programs, approaching each course with careful attention to structure, accessibility, student experience, and meaningful engagement. 

“Online teaching is not the same as face-to-face teaching,” Burns said. For him, that difference is not a limitation but an invitation to think more deeply about how students navigate, experience, and participate in a course. He describes online instruction as both a pedagogical challenge and an information science challenge, where course design, user experience, communication, accessibility, and technology all shape the learning environment. 

Burns’ approach recognizes that online courses require instructors to make visible many elements that may be assumed in a face-to-face classroom. Course structure, expectations, workflows, feedback, and opportunities for connection must be intentionally designed. He notes that asynchronous courses, in particular, create both challenges and freedoms, allowing instructors to rethink how learning is organized beyond the traditional weekly classroom rhythm. 

That intentionality extends to empathy and accessibility. Burns has reflected on how difficult it can be to “see” students in online spaces and how important it is to understand the tools, devices, schedules, and circumstances that shape their learning. Experiences working one-on-one with students, especially during the early days of COVID, influenced how he designs courses and supports learners. 

“Online courses make pedagogical challenges also information science challenges,” Burns said, “and as an information scientist, I really enjoy the interaction between the two.” 

In receiving the inaugural award, Burns also expressed appreciation for the mentors, colleagues, and professional communities who have supported his work. “I’d like to thank Dr. Jeff Huber, former SIS Director, as well as Dr. Young Choi, the current Director, and Dean Jennifer Greer for their support. In addition, Dr. Will Buntin has always been supportive as an ear to listen, and my colleagues at SIS, my former professors at the University of Missouri, and my colleagues at ALISE (Association for Library and Information Science Education) have been so helpful for discussions and sharing what we learn via our annual conferences.” 

“These awards give us an important opportunity to recognize the faculty who are shaping the future of online learning at UK,” said Patsy Carruthers, UK Online Director. “We are excited to continue celebrating this work, with nominations for the 2027 University of Kentucky Online Teaching Award opening in February.”