Professor · Cognitive scientist · Builder
I’m Jon Westfall. I write about how people think, how we learn, the tools I build, and the life happening around all three.
Publishing ideas, experiments, and stories since 2005.
From the notebook
I have a fairly simple requirement for classroom technology: I should not have to develop a relationship with the classroom computer. I don’t want my files living on it.…
Read essayI often get asked if someone can contribute a “Guest Post” to my blog. Today I’m allowing someone to, but in full disclosure, I…
Read essayOn Christmas 2021, I chose to make my grandmother's coffee cake with my mom instead of going for my usual walk. This spontaneous decision…
Read essayYesterday, a heating element failure led Karey and I to switch our Thanksgiving plans, using an electric roaster for a turkey breast instead. We…
Read essayA useful way in
Ideas about cognition, learning, research, and the lively reality of the classroom.
↗ 02Practical tools, experiments, workflows, and what I learn while building them.
↗ 03Memory, resilience, family, travel, humor, and the moments worth noticing.
↗Things I’m making
Teaching tool
A calmer classroom control surface, because the computer should support the lecture—not become it.
Visit Podium ↗iPhone & Apple Watch
A focused interval-workout companion for planning, pacing, and staying present.
Explore TempoPilot →Rotating project
A playful, visual tour through the people, places, and ideas that made me.
Take a look →Professional snapshot
I’m a professor of psychology, cognitive scientist, author, and software builder. My work keeps returning to one question: how can we make complex human systems more understandable and useful?
Side roads encouraged
