Rebecca Heiser is the lead instructional designer for The Pennsylvania State University’s Lifelong Learning and Adult Education online graduate program with World Campus. She also serves as the applied research coordinator for World Campus Learning Design, overseeing special projects. Heiser is pursuing a doctorate in distance education from Athabasca University, with research interests at the intersection of globalization, equity, and learning analytics in distance education. She has presented and published on topics like open educational resources (OER), social presence in online learning environments, active learning strategies for optimal learning in distance education, identity-centered design, and cross-cultural learning design. Heiser is part of the Learning Analytics cohort with the Oregon State University Ecampus Research Unit, which is conducting a study on the Perceptions of Learning Data in Higher Education. Prior to Penn State, Heiser served as coordinator of professional development at the Southern Regional Education Board. She is an established technical writer, learning design consultant, and eLearning developer for corporate software companies.
