Instructional Design

We often hear about the debate of how Subject Matter Experts meddle with Instructional Strategies and how Instructional Designers do not have the freedom to develop their own product. In this debate we often forget about the target audience, and finally end up creating something for the Subject Matter Experts. This article talks about how sticking to the Instructional Design basics would help satisfy both the Subject Matter Experts and the target audience.

Mayes and de Freitas (2004) state that the use of technology can be used to achieve better learning outcomes, more effective assessments or a more cost effective way of bringing learning environments to students; and that  reforming practice requires transformation of the understanding of the principles. So what are the pedagogical principles behind “e” learning?

“Myth: 82% thought that teaching children in their preferred learning style could improve learning outcomes. This approach is commonly justified in terms of brain function, despite educational and scientific evidence demonstrating that the learning-style approach is not helpful (Kratzig & Arbuthnott 2006).” Check The Myth of Learning Styles article and infographic to find more!

Employees deal with large amounts of information every day. They likely check email, social media, and RSS feeds daily, as well as take in everything happening on the job. It’s easy to burn out with so much to take in. Avoiding information overload is helpful in personal life and is also an important consideration in elearning courses.

My interest in exploring the potential of mobile apps for performance support took me to the domain of Instructional Design. The objective of the Instructional Design Wizard app is to help instructional designers with just-in-time, just-enough (JIT-JE) knowledge to learn/perform confidently while on the job.

Single Sourcing Design Strategy Series 3: A Centralized Knowledge Repository Model and the structure of the Reusable Information Object (RIO) and the Reusable Activity Object(RAO).

One of the main concepts that leads to successful e-Learning course design is Information Chunking. But what is chunking? Why is it embedded in the world of instructional design? And what kind of chunking strategies can an instructional designer use to enhance learning?

Would you like to know the types of memory? What are the characteristics and operations of short-term and long-term memory? What is working memory? Sure you do if you are involved at the eLearning field! Last but not least, at this post I will present you 7 Memory Mythbusters!

All jobs require a certain set of talents and skills, whether natural or acquired. But what skills does an instructional designer need in order to be successful and stand out? Check out the following comprehensive list and bear in mind that it can be expanded depending on the course, its scope and the audience.

What does Andragogy mean and which are Knowles’ 5 assumptions of Adult Learners? Are you familiar with Knowles’ 4 Principles Of Andragogy? In the following post I will answer the above questions and provide you with several highly recommended resources on Malcolm Knowles’ Adult Learning Theory.

As Instructional Designers, we often want the courses we design to be perfect. Every student must have an equal experience, our faculty members should be able to do everything with the greatest of ease, and our courses should be the envy of every institution in the world! Well, it rarely works out that way, but that’s ok. In fact, I think as Instructional Designers, it is important to create a space where faculty members, students, and even IDs make mistakes and sometimes fail. Here’s why:

Have you heard the famous expression: "How will you change the world, if you can't change yourself?". Probably, you have, but I want to ask you another question: "How will you motivate other people to learn, if you can't motivate yourself?"