For 30 Years, Rio Adjunct Inspires Students One Slide at a Time
By Mira Radovich, Senior Contributing Writer
Dusti Ide is coming up on 30 years of teaching science for Rio Salado College - a tenure that began in the classroom and with pen and paper correspondence with students that today is evolved into email and digital lessons. Through it all she has experienced the evolution of technology in education.
“I began teaching for Rio in January 1996, as an on-site instructor,” Ide said. “At the time, there were locations used by Rio for evening classes. Two sites were at local (Mesa) high schools, Dobson and Red Mountain.”
Those early days provided Ide with some of her favorite Rio memories.
“I remember explaining microscopy in one of my earliest on-site classes,” Ide said. “There were older students who had not had the opportunity to work with microscopes previously. The astonishment on their faces when they made their own slides then looked at them through their scopes was one of my most rewarding moments.”
A life-long science buff, Maryland native Ide earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Marywood College in Scranton, Pa.
“Ever since I can remember I've been interested in seeing how things work,” Ide said. “When my mom would buy a whole chicken, I'd ask for a knife to dissect the heart. What a mess I made!”
Ide also credits her dad’s love of the “‘ologies,” grounded in his work as a captain of the guard at the Library of Congress.
“I’ve always loved basic science and mechanics – knowing how things work,” Ide said. “Had life been different, I would have been an automotive engineer. Understanding how ecosystems work is critical as our population increases causing increased changes at a faster rate in those ecosystems.”
Ide was awarded a full scholarship through the Government Professional Opportunities Program to the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, where she earned a master’s degree in ecology.
She then moved to Arizona, and began teaching as an adjunct instructor for Rio Salado College, because, “I wanted to show others that science is not intimidating, and yes, YOU can do science!”
After those early years of in-person classes, Rio Salado adopted a mixed-media teaching format, which included correspondence classes, in the early 2000s.
“I think the term ‘mixed media’ was used because the telephone was used as the means of contact,” Ide said. “Students would call Rio with their questions and leave a message for me. I would then return the call through the Rio system. The assignments would be completed by the students and delivered to my home by courier. After assessment, the work would be returned to the student by regular mail using Rio supplied postage. It sounds very cumbersome now, but it was very effective.”
In 2004, Rio Salado began transitioning from correspondence classes to online learning. The college launched RioLearn, a transformative learning management system (LMS) developed in partnership with Microsoft and Dell.
By creating its own LMS, Rio Salado was able to support a new online learning model, offering courses with multiple start dates.
“As technology moved on, the RioLearn system was developed, and I have been instructing in this modality ever since,” Ide said.
Currently teaching BIO100 - Biology Concepts, and BIO105 - Environmental Biology, Ide hopes to inspire today’s students with the knowledge that many career opportunities exist within the field of biology.
“It is difficult to think of a field where biology of some type is not used,” Ide said. “If a student wants an outdoor environment, many agencies have positions in conservation and wildlife management. Public health and medicine have many choices from teaching to working in the field. Educators in biology at all levels are needed in public, private, and charter schools, as well as zoological parks and botanical gardens.”
Ide’s passion for science and teaching have landed her several professional accolades, including Rio Salado College Outstanding Adjunct Faculty Award for 2006-2007 and 2024-2025, the Maricopa District Outstanding Adjunct Award in 2024-2025, and the Rio Salado College Adjunct Faculty Years of Service Award in 2011.
When she is not teaching, Ide looks forward to picking up the needles and getting her stitch on in support of a worthy cause.
“One of my hobbies is knitting baby blankets from yarn donated by various groups,” Ide said. “These blankets are then provided free of charge to local agencies that need them. I create around a dozen blankets per year in various patterns and colors.”