Capturing Unique Moments During Work Travels

Name: Marc Alan SperberPosition: Instructional design and technology consultant, Duke School of Nursing Years at Duke: 8What I do at Duke: I consult with faculty on matters related to instructional design, the integration of technology-infused education, and active learning strategies for online and face-to-face courses. Inspired by previous careers, I moved to North Carolina in 2006 with the goal of becoming a media literacy teacher (Sperber has experience as a magazine publisher, TV commercial film editor, marketing researcher and musician.); however, soon after arriving, I turned down a teaching job offer to work at Duke, earned a graduate degree in this field and have not looked back. The ways in which media can influence the attitudes and behaviors of people is not far off from the ways in which technology could be used to facilitate learning. Both fields are related to the psychology of learning and both are endlessly interesting to me. If I had $5 million, I would: Buy one of my photographs for $5 million. That might be the most money anyone’s ever paid for a photograph. (Sperber is a photographer, and he recently had a solo exhibition at The Carrack Modern Art in downtown Durham.) The purchase would make it to the record books, the legitimacy of the purchase would be debated, and ultimately, it would be the cheapest $5 million publicity stunt ever. My first ever job: Lifeguard in a YMCA. Turns out that mothers are better at saving their children than lifeguards are. At least that was my experience.   What I love about Duke: I’m an entrepreneur at heart and Duke has little pockets of innovation that I find exciting. Also, I believe that key leaders here truly understand the role educational technologies and people like myself are going to have as Duke continues its transformation to becoming a university of the 21st century. I’m fortunate to be at the School of Nursing, where we have over 100 online courses. Not all schools at Duke have someone like me. The optimist in me sees my role at Duke as a ground-floor opportunity – one day there will be positions for me to manage and a group for me to direct.     If I could have one superpower, it would be: The ability to fly and to not get hurt when I bump into the sides of buildings and trees. I wouldn’t wear a cape; ideally, I wouldn’t have to wear anything, because I would also be invisible. This is all part of the one superpower. An interesting/memorable day at work for me: When I went to Tanzania for the first time and stepped off of the plane out into the air, it just smelled so fresh. (He traveled to various places in his former role with the Duke Global Health Institute, from Tanzania to China, where he conducted needs assessments with educators and students related to their teaching and learning preferences, experiences and resources.) A movie I like: I have too much energy to sit down to watch TV and movies, but I tend to like artsier films that have great sound design and music and captivating visuals. I’m bad at remembering the names of movies, but if you need an example of a movie that some people might know, I’d say something along the lines of Punch-Drunk Love. A book I like: I mostly read non-fiction about leadership, creativity and education. The two that I’ve read somewhat recently that have stuck with me are called “The Innovator’s DNA: Mastering the Five Skills of Disruptive Innovators” (by Jeff Dyer) and “Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die” (by Chip Heath and Dan Heath).