About
Jason Rhode, Ph.D.
I’m the Assistant Director of the Faculty Development and Instructional Design Center at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, IL. In my role at NIU I’m responsible for developing and offering programs and support for faculty and staff on teaching with technology and related topics, providing leadership on technology-related issues, and performing supervisory functions at the Center. I work closely with various units at NIU on addressing faculty needs related to online teaching. I’ve been in the field of online learning for nearly 10 years, having been an online student, instructor, instructional designer, course developer, and program director. I’m totally fascinated by the whole concept of online education and that’s why I’ve joined the team at the University of Illinois Global Campus.
I also dabble in freelance Web design and development, having been creating Web sites of various forms for over a decade. I’m intrigued by emergent learning technologies and I enjoy exploring the pedagogical possibilities that such new approaches to instruction afford. The available tools today have minimized the technical complexities that used to prevent the the majority of individuals from creating engaging online learning. It’s therefore more important now than ever to understand principles of instructional design before jumping in and incorporating these new technologies. Through this course I look forward to exploring with all of you the foundational principles inherent in quality online teaching and learning.
