Staff Spotlight: Courtnay Roberts
This month, we’re spotlighting Learning Designer Courtnay Roberts! In the blog post below, Courtnay shares a glimpse into her 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 started with SPS in November 2018. I’ve been working in distance education since 2006, when I started out as an editor. After working with instructional designers for a couple years and observing the work they were doing, I realized LD work was a better fit for me, and I was fortunate to have the opportunity to make the transition.
Describe your typical “Day in the Life.”
Every day is different, which is how I like it, as I appreciate the variety. Some days you’ll find me reviewing content or building a Canvas course site, while other days I might be meeting with faculty or instructional technologists to problem-solve or look for opportunities to help students find unique ways to collaborate. In between meetings and tasks, you’ll often find me driving one of my kids somewhere or taking a quick break to walk my golden retriever!
Courtnay’s dog, Willow!
What’s something about your job that might surprise readers?
Don’t hate me for writing this, but I actually love meetings! Okay, not ALL meetings, but definitely development team meetings. It’s such a privilege to meet so many interesting faculty members from diverse backgrounds who are so passionate about their work. Whenever an opportunity arises to pick an expert’s brain on a topic that I’m excited to learn more about, let’s just say I’m not particularly shy.
What’s your favorite resource or tool that not many people know about?
I recently worked with an IT to incorporate a Teamwork Assessment Tool into a course that was centered around an ongoing group project. The tool integrates seamlessly into Canvas and helps teams set their priorities and hold each other accountable. It also enables individuals to track their performance as part of their team and helps keep faculty abreast of individual contributions so they can grade more fairly.
Tell us something you’re passionate about.
I studied philosophy in college and am still very passionate about it. With new technologies being developed at breakneck speed, I think it’s more important than ever to ask ourselves ethical questions about the consequences (intended or unintended) of the decisions we’re making today as a society. I’m usually fairly optimistic, but I admit to being terrified on occasion. One thing’s for sure—it’s a fascinating time to be alive.
The Distance Learning team is part of the Northwestern School of Professional Studies (SPS). To keep up with news, staff spotlights, online education insights and more, subscribe to the DL newsletter (The DL Digest), follow us on our departmental LinkedIn, and check out the rest of the Distance Learning blog!