Staff Spotlight: Jacob Guerra-Martinez
This month, we’re spotlighting Senior Learning Designer Jacob Guerra-Martinez! In the blog post below, Jacob gives us a glimpse behind the scenes of 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’ve been working at Northwestern for about eight years; however, I have been in Distance Education for 15 years. The first seven were spent at South Texas College, located in my hometown of McAllen, Texas. My journey started when a group came to present local teachers with an opportunity to earn a Master’s Degree in Instructional Design.
Describe your typical “Day in the Life.”
My day is pretty typical. I get up, wake up my son, get him ready for school while I get ready. Drop him off, then make myself a smoothie for breakfast before starting my to-do list of what I need to get accomplished for the day. Though I do love using technology for most of work, there is just something about having a pen and paper to-do list and physically scratching off items that gives me a great sense of satisfaction. At the end of the day, I pick up my son, then maybe go to the park or walk around the neighborhood if the weather is nice.
What’s something about your job that might surprise readers?
The one thing that people always seem to be surprised about (well, mostly those outside of education) is that Instructional Design is not centered on tech or computers. When I first started out, many people thought I was tech support. I had to explain that Instructional Design is grounded in pedagogical principles, which assist with the creation of educational materials and experiences. Technology is just one of the many tools at our disposal, though it’s not always the focus.
What’s your favorite resource or tool that not many people know about?
While a lot of people know about gamification, I feel that many do not realize that you can still use the concepts of gamification in course design without making an actual game.
Tell us something you’re passionate about.
I’m a huge fan of all things 80s/90s, especially 80s animation. That’s probably why I have a massive collection (over 100-plus) Funko Pop figures of everything from Masters of the Universe to Transformers, Jem, and so many others that I can’t remember them all.
Jacob displays some favorites from his collection.
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!