Instructional Design

February 2, 2017

Why Crafting Engaging eLearning Content Is Crucial To Instructional Design

A look into why engagement is so important to learning and, more importantly, how and why crafting engaging eLearning content is so important to Instructional Design.

by Kyle Hauptfleisch

January 23, 2017

From Building Content To Meeting Today’s Job Needs

Last month, I felt compelled to write about a trend I’ve been seeing in our industry: Doing less with analyzing and meeting instructional and performance needs and doing more with building content. I think this started happening when rapid development tools could make anyone into a learning practitioner.

by Patti Shank, PhD

January 23, 2017

Content Curation And Crap Detection: 10 Ways To Detect Crap In What You Share

As we drown in more and more information every day, one skill that’s becoming increasingly important for learning designers is content curation. This article explains how we’re doing it already, and then elaborates on the one aspect that can make a huge difference to the quality of content we curate.

by Srividya Kumar

January 21, 2017

Intelligent Tutoring Systems: What Happened?

Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS) promised to the dream of a truly adaptive learning experience almost 30 years ago, but in spite of millions of dollars spent and promising student learning outcomes, they have not flourished.

by Bill Ferster

January 19, 2017

ADDIE Vs. Backward Design: Which One, When, And Why?

Opinion is divided between which of the two popular Instructional Design models is ideal for developing an online course. Both have their pros and cons, and it is quite likely that one of the two is better than the other in a specific situation. This articles explores the ADDIE vs. Backward Design dilemma.

by Partha Bhattacharya

January 12, 2017

5 Design Steps Of Learner Engagement For Humans

Are you in Learning and Development, part of HR? Then you’re in charge of learner engagement and motivation. You’re probably looking at gamification, microlearning, mobile learning, Augmented Reality / Virtual Reality, and other hot trends. This article is about why you can’t motivate humans, and the 5 design steps you should go about it.

by Zsolt Olah

January 12, 2017

Did Learner Curiosity Kill The Valedictorian?

What role does learner curiosity play in course design? It varies, depending on the learner, but there are some things you can do to use each student's natural curiosity to your (and their) advantage.

by Karen Fields

January 3, 2017

3 Instructional Design Strategies For Virtual Reality Learning

As the field of instructional technology pivots quickly to Virtual Reality, online learning developers must chose the correct strategy for creating the Virtual Reality learning experience. Otherwise learners will have a “cool” experience in the Virtual Reality environment, but not have tangible learning results.

by Karl Kapp

January 1, 2017

Don’t Shut Down That Amygdala, Please: How To Not Scare Off Learners

There are several mental conditions in which learning thrives. In this article, we talk about one in which learning simply does NOT take place – when the learner perceives a threat to their intellect. We explore how we might unconsciously scare off learners, and ways by which we can avoid doing so.

by Srividya Kumar

December 25, 2016

5 Ways To Avoid Overwhelming Learners

We constantly hear of people suffering from information overload on social media. But we don’t realize that this can happen in a controlled environment too. What happens when we throw too much content at learners? Information overload. In this article, we talk about ways we can avoid overwhelming learners.

by Srividya Kumar

December 22, 2016

6 Tips To Write Measurable Learning Objectives For Online Training

A well-written learning objective must be clear, concise, and actionable. It should tell the employees exactly what they need to accomplish, how their proficiency will be measured, and what materials they have at their disposal. In this article, I'll share 6 tips for writing measurable learning objectives for your online training program.

by Christopher Pappas

December 19, 2016

5 Tips For Defining eLearning, The Toughest Instructional Design Question

How do you define eLearning? In this article, I will provide advice to address the challenge Instructional Designers face on defining eLearning in a conversation when there is no shared definition.

by Linda Rening, PhD