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Solo ID? Team work?

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Instructional Designers are found in consulting roles, working solo, or as part of a team. They may even be part of a project team that has several divisions that include project management. One such group that I learned of recently was for a large online university. Their instructional designers worked in one of four areas: managing content, managing the Learning Management System, designing the learning activities, and managing the evaluation process. 

Have you considered your ideal Instructional Design role? Would you want to work solo or as part of a team? 

Share your comments below to let us know what the real world of ID is like if you're already working. If you're a team member, do you all have similar roles or is one person assigned the team lead? How is work divided among the team members. 

During my graduate program many of the courses had team projects. This was a great way to prepare for the team work that is likely to follow in the field. Many of us students discovered the challenges of working across time zones. We also had to fit in meetings among our other responsibilities of being a student, having families, mates, and fulltime jobs.

The value of working on teams during graduate school is learning how to become a high-functioning team. During the first meeting the team can discuss roles, expectations, norms, and meeting times. Another thing that's helpful is to discuss what specialties you may have or preferences you have. For example, one team member may excel at editing the content. If none of the other team members prefer this, it can make the team function more smoothly.

Do you have any project team stories or tips to share?









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