Recent Posts

Empowering Students Through Universal Design and Instructional Transparency

by Oct 02, 2023

Building an inclusive online learning community (OLC) can acknowledge the learners’ diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences. The newly updated version of the Northwestern SPS High-Impact Teaching Practices for Online Instruction offers many strategies and techniques to build, maintain, and sustain an OLC. According to the Community of Inquiry Framework, learning in this environment occurs at the intersection of social, cognitive, and teaching presence. What follows are some course design considerations with an emphasis on designing an OLC with diversity and inclusion in mind. Use Front-loaded Context to Deepen Learning When beginning a new module each week in a course, students

September Staff Spotlight: William Guth

by Sep 26, 2023

Staff Spotlight: William Guth This month, we’re spotlighting Senior Instructional Technologist William Guth! In the post below, William tells us more about his work with Distance Learning.  How long have you worked here? How did you come to join the DL team / get involved in distance education? 10 years. I joined the team in a unique temp-to-hire scenario in 2013. Prior to joining SPS, I was working as a freelance web project manager, web developer, and social media campaign manager. I leveraged my skills from web project management, coding, and media design to hit the ground running as a technologist

August Staff Spotlight: Carrie Lindeman

by Aug 29, 2023

Staff Spotlight: Carrie Lindeman  This month, we’re spotlighting our newest team member, learning designer Carrie Lindeman! In the post below, Carrie tells us more about herself and her first two months working at Distance Learning. How long have you worked here? How did you come to join the DL team / get involved in distance education? I’ve worked on the DL team for two months. I’ve been an instructional designer for over 8 years and have worked in a combination of higher education and industry. I’m happy to have found myself here at Northwestern with the SPS DL team, and

All About Library Research: An Interview with Tracy Coyne

by Aug 28, 2023

As Northwestern prepares to head back to school in September, we’re excited to interview Tracy Coyne, Distance Learning and Professional Studies Librarian! Below, Tracy shares the changes, trends, and challenges she’s witnessed over her many years of library experience, as well as what she believes the future of library research is today.  We’d love to start by hearing you describe your role in your own words. How long have you worked at Northwestern, and what led you to SPS / distance learning? I started working for NU Libraries in September 2009 as a reference intern while attending Dominican University here

,

July Staff Spotlight: Aaron Bannasch

by Jul 25, 2023

Staff Spotlight: Aaron Bannasch  This month, we’re spotlighting Senior Instructional Technologist Aaron Bannasch! In the blog post below, Aaron tells us more about his work with Distance Learning. How long have you worked here? How did you come to join the DL team / get involved in distance education? I have worked at Northwestern for 8 years; I joined SPS in July of 2014. I became involved in distance education through working in IT and media support roles in higher education during undergrad and grad school. Describe your typical “Day in the Life.” The most visually interesting area of my