About

 

Dr. Marina Kostina, CEO & Founder of Wired@Heart, Amazon Bestselling Author, Distance Learning Expert and Consultant

I am here to help you transcend the distanceby creating powerful and engaging online programs and products that attract your ideal clients, increase their completion rate, inspire them to produce great results and become your raving fans! My services are designed to help you gain more financial freedom, flexibility and ultimately build the lifestyle of your dreams.

I believe that we are all as human beings are wired to connect. Therefore, the very core of my business is building connections and engagements in the cyberspace. I grew up in Moscow, a country with beautiful people who always remember your birthday, answer your phone call at 2 am, feel your pain as if it were their own, and put everything they have on the table when you are in their house. Russians believe that it is better to have “a hundred friends than a hundred dollars” because connections between people are the most important assets in our lives. I think Russians are the masters of connections.

Being a part of the “heart-based” service industry all my life (I was a teacher, a trainer and a professor), I know how important it is to develop a bond with a client. I believe that teaching, like coaching and training should be a relationship-building activity and not pure knowledge transfer.

Therefore, I developed online training programs and learning series featuring the most important steps every small business owner, teacher or an organization needs to apply to go beyond the one-on-one model, and exponentially increase their impact and their income.  I am here to give you practical hands-on strategies that you can implement in your business today and start enjoying this new context to design your preferred lifestyle, affect the lives of many, and develop deep bonds with your clients.

Check your Online Engagement EKG:

_________________________________________________________________________

I had the pleasure of working with Marina on implementing Moodle at IES Abroad. Marina is a dedicated, service oriented co-worker who helped many study centers globally to implement Moodle. Her patience with everyone was always highly appreciated.”

 Thomas Staub, Director of Academic Technology, IES Abroad

_________________________________________________________________________

Dr. Marina Kostina’s Professional BIO:

Dr. Marina Kostina is an author of Teach Online e-guide (2011), and a co-author of the Amazon Bestseller, The Golden Climate in Distance Learning (2012). She is an expert in distance learning and her weekly blog inspires coaches, teachers, and trainers to transcend distances online in over 172 countries. She is a winner of STARTALK grants (2012, 2013), Oppenheimer Family Foundation grants (2005, 2006) and a nominee for the Golden Apple Award (2006). She graduated with a PhD in Teaching & Learning/ Distance Learning from the University of Iowa and has presented her research at various national and international conferences that provided insights to thousands professionals on how to build online connection, presence, engagement and enjoyment.

Marina’s publications:

Books:

Kostina, M. & La Ganza, W. (2012). The golden climate in distance Learning. Mindstir Media:NH

Kostina, I., Kostina, M., & Vyshinskaya, L. (2000). Perspectives Part 3: a textbook for advanced students of Russian. Zlatoust Publishers, Moscow.

Kostina, I., Kostina M., & Vyshinskaya, L. (1998).  Perspectives Part 2: a textbook for advanced students of Russian. Zlatoust Publishers, Moscow

Articles:

Kostina, M (2013). Student autonomy and satisfaction in a web-based foreign language distance learning classroom. Distance Learning, 10, 1. 31-38.

Kostina, M. (2011). Independence, Interaction, Interdependence and Interrelation in a Web-based Russian Distance Learning Classroom. Journal of the National Council of Less Commonly Taught Languages. 11(Spring 2012). 31-53

Kostina, M. (2011). “All one” or “alone”: perceptions of students in a distance foreign language classroom. AATSEEL Newsletter, 10, 7-8.

16 Random Fun Facts:

  1. I grew up in Moscow, Russia and spent 9 years in Iowa City, IA studying at the University of Iowa— so yes, I am also a Hawkeye!
  2. I live in Chicago with my amazing husband and my cranky most precious cat Marushka in our gorgeous house near the lake.
  3. I speak Russian and Spanish, can fake Italian when I am in Italy, and study French.
  4. I am an Aries. My birthday is in April.
  5. Lilacs are my favorite flowers and lavender is my favorite color.
  6. I practice yoga and meditation every day. I also work out daily through lifting weights,  kickboxing, zumba, pilates, and step classes.
  7. When I came to the USA I worked in road construction, scrap rooms, waited tables and bar tended in restaurants. There is road I made in Iowa City!
  8. I adopted an alkaline way of living, and my diet is very clean, consisting mostly of juices and veggies.
  9. My biggest temptation is sweetened condensed milk which is not allowed in our household  because of # 8.
  10. I am a Salsa and a belly dancer,  and used to be in a dance company in Chicago.
  11. I talk to my mom several times a day.
  12. I have 2 brothers: one – in Russia, and another – in the USA.
  13. My biggest pet peeves are indecisiveness, flakiness and dishonesty.
  14. My friends call me “culturally confused” because I identify myself with 5-6 cultures.
  15. I believe that I am a “chooser” and not a “choosee” in this life as I have the power to attract anything I wish.
  16. I am really lucky to have Julie Cottineau as my business mentor (a former VP of Brand Virgin and a CEO of BrandTwist).

 

Check your Online Engagement EKG: