Rebecca D. Armstrong Email & Phone Number

Chicago, Il, Us

Dallas, Texas, United States

iDesign is an online program management (OPM) provider that collaborates with universities to build strong, creative online courses.

Greater Chicago Area

I have worked in higher education for more than two decades both as a university faculty member and as a senior instructional designer. My knowledge of the process of course design starts with the course map and the alignment of learning goals, content, activities, and assessment, and includes all of the technical skills for building out modules in a variety of learning management systems, and designing engaging learning with course authoring tools such as Adobe Captivate. As a subject matter expert I have created and taught courses in philosophy, business ethics, medical humanities, leadership studies, conflict negotiation, and religion for major Midwestern Universities.I began my career working with Urban Gateways, the Arts in Education agency serving greater Chicagoland, and did performances and workshops for ten years for students in middle, junior and senior high schools. My work in lifelong learning ministry for Unitarian churches focused on interfaith education and social action. Then, for 12 years I worked with the Joseph Campbell Foundation to promote the recognition of myth as a vital aspect of contemporary life and a new lens for viewing, diagnosing, and treating the symptoms of civic collapse. Since 2004 I’ve developed and taught courses at major universities in the Midwest, refining my own theories on conflict resolution, appreciative listening, transformative dialogue, and the pedagogical methods that best serve the learning process. Of special value to me were the three years of teaching in the prison program sponsored by Purdue University in Westville, IN. The importance of education in transforming lives was made real and palpable every day. I am currently involved in efforts to expand the prison education program through Indiana University.Being an educator is my archetypal role in civic life and I embrace it with passion and purpose. It is a joy to be able to bring my expertise to so many different audiences.

Chicago, Illinois, United States

Chicago, Illinois, United States

My work at DePaul University started after I realized how deeply enraged I was about the Enron scandal and the devastating impact that implosion had on so many lives. I created a course called "Ethics After the Fall on Enron" which I taught for the next 10 years. That was a turning point that galvanized much of my work in the field of ethics. I continue to develop courses for DePaul University, the latest one is entitled "Visible & Invisible Cities: Discovering Personal & Cultural Narrative through Word & Image."

Gary, Indiana, United States

I began teaching in higher education in the Masters of Liberal Studies program at Mundelein College in Chicago. Over the years I have created courses at many of the major institutions in the Midwest including DePaul University, Purdue University, Indiana University, and Benedictine University. Among the dozens of courses I have designed and taught for Indiana University are: "Gods & Games: Theories of Play in the Humanities", "Myth, Dream, Movie and the American Soul", "Introduction to Religion in America", "Women in Religion & Philosophy," "Biomedical Ethics," and a new medical Humanities course called "Health, Disease & Healing." As a teacher I am at home in the face-to-face classroom as well as the online environment and have created courses using a wide variety of learning management systems including Blackboard, Desire2Learn, Canvas, OnCourse, Angel, and Pearson's eLearning.

San Diego, Ca

Chicago, Il

Westville, Indiana, United States

I taught in the Purdue Prison Program at Westville Correctional Center for its last three years, and value that experience as one of my life-changing events. I remain a strong advocate for prison reform and increased educational opportunities for anyone who has been caught in the prison industrial complex. While at Purdue I also taught religion, anthropology, and ethics at the undergraduate and MBA levels.

I was honored to be asked to work with this nonprofit, educational organization devoted to preserving, publishing and promoting the work of the late mythologist, Joseph Campbell (The Power of Myth; Hero with a Thousand Faces; Atlas of World Mythology, etc.) in the role of International OutReach Director. Having known Joseph Campbell as a personal friend during my formative years in Chicago, I was living with his ideas every day, and had started my own organization to pursue his work in the year following his death. My activities were brought to the attention of Bob Walter, Campbell's editor, who was just forming a nonprofit to bring out the posthumous work, and I was invited to fold my group into the newly minted Joseph Campbell Foundation and pursue membership recruitment.. I initiated the worldwide membership program and developed the Mythological RoundTables, visiting these study groups in a dozen countries while supporting and guiding their development; I supplied content for the online database of mythological resources in over a dozen categories; designed and edited a monthly newsletter (in print and then online); planned and facilitated the Campbell presence at three international gatherings of the Parliament of the World's Religions; planned and facilitated the annual member's meeting in diverse locations including the National Air and Space Museum and the National Museum of the American Indian; I was also an active planner and participant at the annual Joseph Campbell Week at Esalen Institute.I continue to work with Campbell's ideas in classes I teach and in my consulting, coaching and writing.In 2011 I was deeply honored to be interviewed for a film on Joseph Campbell - "Finding Joe" by producer/director Pat Solomon - below are a couple of excerpts from that film.

Masters, Ethics

Doctorate, Ministry

My doctoral work culminated in a three-month project called "Pilgrimage to the Soul of the City" and involved taking groups from nine.

M.Div, Ministry, Religious Education

Bachelor'S Degree, Arts In Education

Certificate In Blended Curriculum Design

Exec. Certificate In Home Modification, Issues In Aging

Certificate In Divorce Mediation