Anna Strommer

Background

About Anna Strommer

Hello! My name is Anna Strommer. I have always loved beautiful things and design. I started my design career at BYU-Idaho in 2006 where I studied graphic design. There I perfected my abilities in the design process and creation of good design. However, I still felt like there was more that I wanted to do. My passion for learning and communication wasn’t being fulfilled. That is when I discovered the field of Instructional Design and Instructional Technology. I fell in love. I decided to pursue this career path seriously and enrolled in Utah State University’s Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences graduate program. I am looking forward to graduate in May of 2014. I have been asked many times whether or not transitioning from graphic design to instructional design was difficult. My answer is always, “No.” My graphic design background has given me a great foundation for entering this field, and I still rely on my graphic design skills and knowledge almost on a daily basis. I feel that I get to enjoy the best of both worlds. Some view Instructional Design as highly process oriented, which some may think is the opposite of creativity. But I disagree. Process helps in managing a project and work flow, but it is only un-creative if you make it that way. I am very interested in design thinking, agile design, and rapid prototyping. I have also been engaging in a variety of research projects over the past two years. This has allowed me the opportunity to build important analysis and critical thinking abilities. Again, some may think that this is unrelated to instructional design, but I disagree. Evaluation is an important part of instructional design that often gets neglected. This is something that I think is very important, and will include as much as possible in my work. Further, training and learning should be helping to solve some problem, and my analysis skills help my to break down a problem to find the best solution.