Learning Designer. Curriculum Specialist. Creative Technologist.

I'm John Hoare, an education-focused software engineer, learning designer, and curriculum specialist based in Toronto. I build rigorous, beautiful learning experiences for schools, nonprofits, and mission-driven teams that need curriculum, assessment, and digital tools to work together.

My background spans International Baccalaureate teaching, literature and media studies, instructional design, web development, photography, writing, and music. That mix matters: the best learning experiences are not just well organized; they are culturally alert, visually coherent, intellectually serious, and usable by real teachers and students.

A literature and media class in Bangkok once convinced me to throw out my lesson plan and rebuild a unit around the music videos students were already arguing about. That moment still shapes my practice. I design from the questions learners are already carrying, then connect those questions to disciplinary knowledge, assessment criteria, and transferable habits of mind.

I have lived and worked in Bangalore, Tokyo, Bangkok, Singapore, and Jakarta, and that international experience informs how I think about curriculum, identity, culture, language, power, and belonging. Whether I am designing an IB literature unit, an AI-supported assessment workflow, a portfolio website, or a visual story, the work begins with the same question: how do people make meaning together?

If you are looking for a learning designer, curriculum consultant, education technologist, or creative collaborator, start with the Learning Design portfolio. For education-specific curriculum and assessment work, visit Quill Associates. For web presence, portfolio systems, and digital strategy, visit Rough Logic.

I am always interested in serious projects with humane stakes: better teaching, clearer assessment, stronger communication, and more memorable learning. You can also explore my essays on AI, assessment, and culture or the photography portfolio for a wider sense of the work.