Get to Know--Stevie Rocco
 Have
you ever wondered what it takes to put a Penn State course online?
Stevie Rocco, instructional designer on our Instructional Design and
Development Team, is responsible for a wide range of World Campus
courses offered online and via CD-ROM. We recently talked with Stevie
to learn more about the course design and development process.
What is an instructional designer?
Basically, an instructional designer helps create learning events for
students. World Campus instructional designers work with faculty
members to create educationally sound courses for distance learners. We
help faculty members translate activities and objectives/goals from an
on-campus classroom environment into a distance-learning environment.
This might include altering an activity or helping create a
technological solution so that students can participate in ways that
are similar to the experience of students who see their instructors in
a classroom.
Has your classroom teaching background helped you when designing online courses?
Teaching experience has been invaluable to me as an instructional
designer. For starters, I can better understand the faculty perspective
regarding the teaching/learning process. In addition, the experience in
doing course, unit, and lesson planning, execution, and evaluation has
taught me to integrate the reflective practice of teaching into my
design work.
What can online learners look forward to in the future with online courses?
The next few years are going to be exciting for students taking online courses. Greater access to the Internet has opened educational possibilities for students who would not have been able to participate before. In addition, technological advancements are making it possible to have richer and more interactive content, such as simulations and lab activities.
What attracted you to this field?
My formal training is as an educator, but utilizing technology to
enable learning has always been an interest. I first got e-mail and Web
access in 1993, and immediately began to wonder how I might employ that
technology to give greater opportunities to my students in rural
locations.
Back then, teachers were using videos and filmstrips to expose students
to information. Access to the Internet allowed me to take students on
virtual tours and Webquests, on which we were able to look for new and
updated information on our subjects of study. In addition, the Web
enabled us to have many conversations about the need to evaluate
information sources for accuracy, helping us to become more
information-savvy.
This led me to consider the online element in my
planning. Where might it make sense to include technology? How might
the Web add to our learning? From there, the field of instructional
design was a natural step.
What one or two things would you suggest that online learners do to make the most of their online courses?
I'd suggest going through the syllabus and taking note of the major
assignments in the course, then surveying several lessons at random to
get a sense of how the course is put together. Is there a set schedule?
For example, will you always read a textbook first, then read the
online content, and then have some kind of activity? Do similar
activities happen in every lesson?
Next, are the directions provided for submitting
assignments and completing activities clear? If not, contact the
instructor to get clarification early in the course so that you are
prepared.
Finally, look at your personal and work calendars and decide
on a schedule for doing the course work. If there are times when you will need
to be "absent" (i.e., without Internet access for a time), communicate
that to your instructor as early as possible. The same is true for any emergency
situations that come up. The earlier you notify the instructor, the easier it
will be for the instructor to work with you so that you are successful.
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