Interview With Rivka Rosenberg

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SUMMARY

• Rivka Rosenberg is an e-learning foreign language and online marketing specialist with over a decade of experience in instructional design. She is an international educator and advocate who has lived and worked across three continents. 
• Rivka’s background is in education, and she has always believed in making learning fun. Her focus is on engaging 21st century teaching methods, using technology, and researching different LMSs to enhance course delivery. 
• Her typical day consists of two parts, teaching at Teachers College, where she trains teachers in English and uses virtual reality for language teaching and entrepreneurship education, and creating e-learning courses, curriculum development, and researching various LMSs. 
• She is part of the World Environmental Solutions team that has a green process for cattle feed that reduces 70% of methane emissions. The education part of her role involves teaching partners how to use the process and become more environmentally conscious.
• Her advice for new instructional designers is to use LinkedIn to connect with other designers around the world to get tips, share articles, and observe interesting activities. She also recommends learning from people directly instead of just from books and YouTube. 
• She talks about the power of social media and networking in today’s world. As she is active on social media platforms, especially LinkedIn and Instagram, where she has a large following. She believes that networking is essential, and one day CVs and cover letters will disappear, and people will be hired based on getting to know them through social media platforms.

• Lastly, She believes in the importance of constantly learning and adapting to new cultures and languages in education and how education is very important today, especially for young people.

   

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TRANSCRIPT

Today I'm speaking with Miss Rivka Rosenberg. Rivka is an eLearning foreign language and online marketing specialist with over a decade of experience in instructional design. She has lived and worked across three continents and is an international educator and advocate. Welcome Rivka, it's great to have you.

Thank you, Crystal. Thank you. It's my pleasure, 

Of course. What inspired you to get into eLearning and instructional design?

Um, first of all, my background is education. And I, always my motto and teaching is having fun. And basically what inspired me was the courses in language learning that I took at Washington University in St. Louis, and my professors that used a lot of technology and I was a beginner of friendship students and they brought me to a very high level using a lot of technology and different activities and really made it fun and exciting the courses that were, you know, college courses, sometimes it can be boring, but they were very, very, very inspirational and I always wanted to emulate my professors watch you to teach like they did. And that's really why I always look at different ways to make my courses fun and engaging. And I think no technology is there, so why not use it? And yeah, that's so that's my motto. Funny learning.

Awesome. I love it. Yeah, you definitely need some fun. 

Yep.

 So what's a typical day look like for you?

Um, first of all, I'm mostly a freelancer. I also teach at Teachers College, but that's not freelancing. But with the instructional designer, mostly a freelancer and so that I started off by really studying the population, who am I delivering? The course or the last course that I worked on was the Holocaust. Holocaust education at Yeshiva University in New York. And I really developed the course from A to Z. And I studied the population. I know the students and also the teachers who the professors who took part of this course. And that's, that's number one and then you know, I go from there, and I look at the goals of the course, basically, and I start thinking of ways, how to deliver the material in engaging 21st century methods of teaching to really make it alive, you know, using the technology and so that's my eLearning part of the day, creating courses like that and obviously also researching the different LMSs that there are and different technology that the institution or university has. So that's the eLearning and my second part of the day is really teaching the teachers college and training teachers in English and using virtual reality for language teaching, and also entrepreneurship education, basically, how to teach children entrepreneurship. So that's two parts of my day and, and it's late at night early in the morning if you want. I don't know what to call it because I don't sleep that much. But I also create lessons like curriculum development on virtual reality, a virtual reality platform for a chain of schools in Australia. So the virtual reality platform is called VR Bella. And it's basically the courses on Judaism and Zionism and a little bit of Hebrew also. So that's the curriculum development I do for Australia on virtual reality. 

Oh, wow, that is so awesome. Yeah, virtual reality is growing. 

Yeah. Yeah, definitely. endocare Bella is, is phenomenal. And I definitely recommend some of it is free and some of it obviously you can take a look at it. It really boomed. thanks are due to go to COVID-19 

Yeah, I got to check that out. I'm sure a lot of the listeners as well.

Amazing. Awesome. Has a lot of potential also, of course for education.

Great. Yeah, we'll look into that. How has your time as part of the world Environmental Solutions team impacted your approach to instructional design?

So world environmental solutions, I'm part of the group. It's basically a business that my partners are all over all over the world. The business's process for cattle feed reduces 70% of methane emissions, and also it's a fiber rich diet for cattle. So this has got nothing to do with education does really because educating people on how to use our process and we have partners from all over the world, that I actually found them on LinkedIn and on Instagram $0 for marketing and really basically LinkedIn and Instagram thanks to those two platforms, they found our partners and they signed with us an agreement we teach them. That's the part of the teaching we teach them how to use the process for their cattle, whoever has cattle and the process is obviously a green process reduces methane. And that's basically the education part that we educate them and then we take obviously because we're a business we take a small percentage of their profits. So it's a really and done the only marketing that I've ever learned was from my own YouTube and following Dragon's Den and Canada, I lived in Canada and reading books on marketing, but I think that people today should take advantage of really the platforms of social media, of course, I'm a I'm a number one advocate for LinkedIn and of course Instagram and that's how we found our partners and yeah, it's it's not really education per se, but it is education teaching people how to become more you know, environmentally conscious,

Oh, right. Yeah. And that that is really I think that's really interesting. What you do I know that it's not really related, but I really love that idea. 

Not related, but it is related.

So yeah, exactly.

Solving them really takes problems. Solving them through education. So are, you know, inspiring people to change, you know, to change their set of minds or the way they do things?

Yeah, and it's definitely necessary. I love that. I didn't even have this listed as a question but you were mentioning about being on social media and LinkedIn. And I did notice that you have a lot of followers on LinkedIn as well and

a long time so

you must be really active and I know that's and that's a big thing that is like you were saying on social media and platforms. I feel like networking is going to be more and more.

Exactly, yeah. Like they're powerful. I think, one day, CVS and cover letters are going to disappear and people are going to actually talk to you and learn who you are and talk to you maybe several times and then hire you but not like they do today, a few minutes and then bye bye. Like that's how the hiring usually gets. It's not from one page and I think LinkedIn is an amazing platform. And it's really, it makes the world a little village because everyone you can connect with. It's not Facebook, it's very professional. And you know, it's really you who put in the keywords that interest you and people from all over the world are connected. It's incredible. I teach LinkedIn and at the teachers college and you also create people. When I have time I help people develop their LinkedIn profiles and oh, wow, very important. I think it's a wonderful tool on LinkedIn.

Yeah, I agree. And I think that's some I think that's one of the biggest problems that a lot of my followers have is they're still stuck in that mindset of thinking you need to have resumes and things.

I always have difficulty putting my although all the things I do on one piece of paper and I think LinkedIn is amazing, okay, sometimes, you know, the endorsements are a little bit funny, but it shows that you know that some people know you most people don't know you, but they see what you do or they have some kind of interaction with you and they they endorse your work and it's, it's, it leads to a lot of i I've met so many people around the globe, you know, it's very, I love LinkedIn. Yeah.

So you're on LinkedIn a lot then

we also for world environmental solutions, also from my own interest. So

yeah, I mean, that's pretty much what you have to be doing all day long. That's what I

cover 99 The chain of schools in Australia I met through LinkedIn and the job I got through LinkedIn actually. So I never met them. I live in Israel and they live in Australia. It's not a you know, hop away. And so I've been working with them and the only way we've met we've met through LinkedIn and then of course zoom and then they're Bella. And that's that's it like,

that's awesome. I know. I wish I want to keep talking about LinkedIn

I can give a session on that too.

I mean, I'd love to have you back. Okay, let me see what is the number one habit that you developed that has contributed to your success?

Um, I think time management so I'm very, sometimes it's, it stresses me out that I have but it gives me also more time that let's say I have a deadline for project instructions design and so I always hand it in early so I have time to correct when I need to correct or revise or edits. So I think time management it can cause you know, stress because I'm very careful with the time but it also gives me more time leeway to to correct what I need to correct so

great. How do you manage your time? I am the worst.

So very little sleep number one a few cups of coffee and So basically started the day with the elearning projects or the translation projects and then in the evening is the Teachers College and at night on the weekend is Australia, which is opposite times from Israel. So yeah, that's three o'clock in the morning, four o'clock in the morning. Yeah. I'm not a good example for sleep habits.

I mean, that's awesome that you stay active. And you're doing what you love. I love it.

It's called coffee.

Okay, can you share any tips or advice for new instructional designers just starting out in the field.

Um, I think the biggest tip from from the session today is the is LinkedIn really connecting to people in following I've been following people on the door instructional designers all over the world and without that, like I wouldn't be, you know, narrow minded in my own environment with the few people that I know but LinkedIn really, I just randomly connected, you know, put in elearning or instructional design or curriculum development. I connect to people all around the globe, and I follow them and I get tips from them and they share, you know, the articles they share what they do and sometimes if they let's say they do some kind of interesting activity in their own environment. I ask them if I can join or observe somehow so I think that that really connects to people around the world. That's my best advice for everyone and really, you know, to, to learn from whoever you looking to learn not just from books and, and YouTube,

right? Yeah, I love it. That's great. Yeah. Great. Okay. What are some of the common challenges you face when designing online courses and how do you overcome them?

So sometimes, I know like in Israel, the academia uses only Moodle, and that's very, very, very constrained, very old fashioned. It's very constrained or h5 P It's very like, like there's not a lot you can do with the, with those archaic environments. So I think that if institutions are willing to invest a little bit in their LMSs, for example, like Panopto I used it once were the courses that I developed with a university here in Israel. It's called Bar Ilan University and the hospital that's called Sheba hospital, and the LMS that uses Panopto, which is very, very advanced. Let's say you upload a course and yet someone says I don't know diabetes, for example in the course and it finds right away all the videos and all the in all the presentations but the word diabetes appears so it's very advanced and unlike Moodle, that you know some I understand why universities use it on colleges here because it's, I mean, it's free. So, but I think that, you know, we should invest a little bit in these platforms and right, you know, Zoom is not elearning and Moodle is not elearning we should really take it a step a step further. Okay, I'm not talking about ver Bella, which could have cost a lot of money but you know, platforms that are more advanced.

I agree. Yeah. When I was in college, we used Canvas. Yeah. And I Yeah, it was because it was free.

I also used it Yeah, I also University Delaval where I went to school in Quebec City, it's also they so they use that as it's free so they use it but like why not invest a little bit and you know, have more engaging open it up for for the world. You know, elearning is really connecting the world you can invite a guest speakers and people from just the other day I was a guest speaker at Laval University, some professor invited me to speak at his course and really inviting and he created a whole a whole course from different professors and I know scholars from around the world talking to in his court so that's that's amazing. But this is what technology can do really creates. You know, one village out of the

I know it's simple. I still have like, seven where are we at?

Seven questions. Oh, that's a lot to follow. I

wrote out 15 Just to be I know in my VA helped me too, but I'm trying to see which ones do you talk about? One of them is can you share your experience interacting with children about responsible citizenship and environmental stewardship?

Um, so I talked to the children. I'm not really taught. Haven't really taught children about climate change, but I always focus on, I mean, my role as a teacher when I was a teacher, in elementary school was really teaching language, language, languages, French or English or Hebrew. But I do use it a lot. I do love using art. And let's say, I taught at a Montessori school and it was close to like a forest in St. Louis. So I took the kids out and we really studied outside. So really, I think that's very important to study in nature. And I think we forget that sometimes. Especially maybe I connected and glued to the screens but you should take children out and you should take yourself out first and breathe fresh air and that's very, very important. So with my language teaching, you know, it was always art and music and nature and using, let's say rocks and stones and leaves for different arts activities for teacher language.

That's so cool. I love it. I know one of my New Year's resolutions this year was to make sure I'm outside at least 30 minutes a day. I mean, yeah, it's pretty sad people, but I had to make resolutions.

Sometimes I don't make 30 But like, I try I tried. Yeah,

I just bring my computer and sit outside. Yeah, yeah, sometimes.

Nice weather. But sometimes I get stuck with an eye.

Right now. I'm in Florida, so Oh, actually, usually

it's nice. But yeah, so it's like

sometimes, sometimes it's not. Okay. The videos are supposed to only be seven to 15 minutes. So I'm going to have to edit this out. But I really really enjoy talking with you. And I know right? 

Yeah, definitely.

There should be in the comments, I guess lecture to my to my course and into the college. Break but once the semester starts, I'd be happy to Yeah, let's

keep intention. Okay. Okay, interesting. 

Yeah, for sure. Okay, well, let me ask you one more. Okay. If you had to do it all over again, what would you change or do differently?

I'm nothing. I'm happy that I chose education as my field and they're really happy with the choices that I made to live in different countries and work with different people and different languages. And yeah, it's just an asset the more languages you know, the more cultures you know, and education is very important. Especially today. Everything is supposed to educate people. So starting with their very, very young stuff, never giving up.

Yeah, and making it like I love that you help them fine. Yeah.

I found that when I taught adults say I taught at the Montreal police when I lived in Montreal, and they were like kids, they love the games and they loved the moving around and all the activities that they used to do with kids I did with them obviously changing a little bit but adults are like it's so they really love of games and the love of learning and the fun that's very important as an educator.

Yeah, it is. Definitely. Oh, well. That's awesome. Okay, well, I'm very thankful for the opportunity to interview you today. Your story, your story will be incredibly beneficial for new and aspiring instructional designers who are tuning in.

you've provided me with a comprehensive overview of your role. Is there anything I've missed bringing up that I should have asked you about that? I didn't look before we finished up today.

No, I think we've covered everything and I'm always here. For questions. I can put my email, my telephone, I guess on WhatsApp and always here for questions and LinkedIn. 

Yeah, yeah, I'll put your link below can contact me are

happy to connect with anyone.

Great. Thank you. So much. I appreciate your time. 

Thank you.