Hi, I’m Valora MacCallum, I am the curriculum manager, and I have been with IDLA for 15 years. The curriculum team likes to tease that once you have been on the team long enough and we know you are sticking around, we will get you a tattoo…but don’t worry—it’s nothing intimidating like a flaming skull. It’s a tasteful little figure-eight around the words “Ctrl + Z,” because if there’s one thing a curriculum development specialist believes in, it’s eternal revision.
Unmuted: IDLA Q&A
Q: What does a typical day look like in your role?
A: It usually starts with morning meetings with the course development specialist team members, helping them with their projects. Then in the afternoon, I typically have some task time where I work on coordinating future projects, finding and hiring contractors, sometimes I get to do the fun stuff like update a class, but usually it’s more mundane tasks like updating our documentation or answering emails.
Q: What’s one thing about your job that might surprise people?
A: The quantity of classes our team creates and maintains. We just recently had a meeting with some other online course providers to talk about our Quality Matters course review process. Every organization said how many classes they are trying to get QM certified. Each organization said numbers like 50 classes, 87, 120, then IDLA was like we have 350 classes and we want them all reviewed. They were like, no, we mean unique classes you build yourself, and we were like…yeah! 350!
Q: What’s one project or achievement at IDLA that you’re especially proud of?
A: I’m personally proud of the fact that IDLA took a chance on me and hired me as one of the first full-time teachers back in 2012. It is an honor for me to be picked to serve that role first. Then I was our first Ed Tech Engineer on the tech team for years, also, so I guess my achievement at IDLA is being about to blaze those two trails for others. Hopefully, I set others up for success in them.
Q: What do you love most about working in online education?
A: I love hearing about the students who take our classes. I have a collection of stories about the students I had when I taught for us. My favorite is a student I had that we nicknamed T-bo, on the tech team, because he would always call and tell us when things were wrong in our classes. I was his math teacher, and then when I joined the tech team, he called one day and I answered the phone. His response was great: “Ms. Hodges (my maiden name), you can’t answer the tech support line, you’re a math teacher!”
T-bo ended up taking almost all his classes from us, and I even got to go watch him walk at this high school graduation and give him a little gift and certificate. It was definitely one of my favorite days and a highlight of my career.
Q: What’s one unique aspect of IDLA that people might not realize?
A: When you meet IDLA staff, they are very friendly, and you might wonder if all of them are really that nice. Well, they are really THAT loving and caring of individuals. I’ve been here a long time now, and every time I have had something difficult in my personal life, the first thing that I am told is that I come first and my work comes second. I think that type of work environment, where the individual is cared for, without question, is unique.
Q: If you could swap roles with someone at IDLA for a day, who would it be and why?
A: I would like to swap roles with a regional support specialist because I always thought it would be fun to go into the schools and talk with the local staff who support the students taking our classes.
Q: What’s a favorite memory you’ve had while working at IDLA?
A: Last year’s IDLA Halloween-themed in-person training days, when everyone on the content team dressed up and had face masks of Ryan Gravette. We kept it a secret and he was surprised and delighted to have 20 of himself to spend the day with.
Q: What’s one fun fact about you that most people don’t know?
A: Well, everyone who works at IDLA knows this, but people listening (or reading) might not. My husband, Blake, and I are in a band. We are part of the Boise Highlanders’ Pipes and Drums. I play the tenor drum, and Blake plays the bagpipes. That’s probably the coolest thing about us.
Lightning Round!
Q: What’s your go-to coffee (or tea) order?
A: large black medium roast coffee
Q: If you could have dinner with any historical figure, who would it be?
A: Jesus
Q: What’s the best book, TV show, or podcast you’ve enjoyed recently?
A: Book – See No Stranger by Valarie Kaur
Q: What’s one piece of technology you couldn’t live without?
A: Hot Water Heater
Q: If you could work remotely from anywhere in the world, where would it be?
A: Medellin, Colombia “City of Eternal Spring”
I would end by saying that every Ctrl + Z moment here at IDLA has been a tiny investment in Idaho’s kids, so to those students of ours, keep asking the weird questions that break ChatGPT. To my colleagues here at IDLA, thank you for proving every day that kindness scales faster than bandwidth.
