Senior Instructional Designer and Instructor Reimagines Student Experience Online

Not only does Angela Robbins leverage every resource available through UC Canopy, but she also provides her expertise to advance curriculum design and technology in the Carl H. Lindner College of Business.

As an instructor of design for blended online learning environments, she uses video to facilitate interaction. Robbins said video is helpful because it illustrates concepts differently than communicating in writing; including different formats is crucial because students have different learning styles.

Robbins uses video for myriad purposes, such as introducing concepts to students, course announcements, online office hours, clarifying any questions they have, providing feedback on projects and re-teaching topics when there is some confusion among students. 

“I use video to bridge what’s missing in an online classroom, to bridge that connection with students,” Robbins said. 

Robbins said video facilitates individualism in an online learning environment, which is easy to miss when students are never meeting face to face with each other or their instructors. It is also helpful in providing feedback on assignments, as criticism can be easily misinterpreted in writing. Watching a video of an instructor providing their feedback is more personal, and being able to see their facial expressions leaves less room for misinterpretation. 

“I want students to always feel like I am present in the classroom,” Robbins said. “I want them to know I’m more than just copying and pasting.”

Robbins uses Kaltura to create and share videos for her class as well as Echo360 to record lectures. She plans to use WebEx, a web conferencing tool, which is now available to all primary instructors of record who are teaching a course during this fall semester.

As senior instructional designer for the college of business, Robbins serves as a resource to the faculty, sharing the best practices in course design and pedagogy. She said it’s all about faculty development and moving curriculum to the next level. 

Robbins is currently working on instructional design for Lindner’s Master of Business Administration and Master of Business Administration in Taxation programs. She also collaborates with the College of Allied Health Sciences for their Master of Health Administration program. 

While Robbins has completed her bachelor’s and master’s degrees face to face, she has completed another master’s degree and has almost completed her doctorate online. Robbins said she has seen so much growth in her online courses, as online education is more interactive than it has ever been before. Robbins said with more interactivity, there is less room for students to hide in a corner of the classroom and not participate.