Instructional Design

A broad field

Instructional design encompasses a variety of roles and functions. For example, designers work in K-12 education, Higher Education, corporate training, the military, and non-profits. Instructional designers may work independently or as part of a team. Instructional Designers vary in their function, also. They may conduct analysis or Human Performance Technology functions, or, they could design the content for a college course. Some ID'ers are e-learning specialists and use tools such as Articulate 360 to develop digital courses.

If you're considering Instructional Design as a career, or if you're a student of ID, it's important to meet professionals in this field. You can start by talking with professors in the graduate program that you aspire to join or the one you're in already. Graduate schools may have organizations you can join to meet professors and students of the program. You can get to know them and how they chose this profession.

Another option is to talk to IDers through Linked In. Many professionals are willing to shar with you how they discovered this profession. They can give you an idea of their day-to-day responsibilities and an idea of whether they work solo or as part of a team. If you can get to know several IDers working in different industries you'll see how their roles can vary.

What are your goals for being an ID professional? What specialty do you see yourself working in?

Comments

Smartsheet: an alternative to Microsoft Project

For years Microsoft Project dominated the market for project management software. It has a steep learning curve and is an expensive per seat cost. I was a technical writer for a small software company that used MS Project for the three project managers and myself. While I enjoyed learning about the science of project management from them in our meetings, I discovered that using the software was not that intuitive. I plugged in the tasks and timelines for several projects only to discover how challenging it was to have to refactor dates. It seemed to mess up the entire project such that I just stopped using it. It was more time consuming setting it up and refactoring it than just inputting status to show our progress. It looks like a better option is SmartSheet which is used by many major companies. You can sign up for a free trial to get familiar with it. The more you can learn about tools to manage instructional design projects, the more likely you are to be considered for the team. T...

The U.S. Distance Learning Association

The USDLA is the oldest organization for distance learning https://usdla.org/ They conduct research and have weekly podcasts as well as local/state chapters. Are any of you members or planning on becoming a member? Higher Education is one of the specialties I'm considering, so I want to check out this organization. However, this organization is not limited to just Higher Education -- their members include corporations, healthcare, and government. This past week they held their annual conference. They also offer a certification for universities to demonstrate their adherence to the 91 standards of the organization. Maybe this is something you would propose to a future university team to consider. Here's their monthly podcast about the future of distance learning: https://inkandescentradio.com/series/distance-learning-roundtable/

Apps for Instructional Designers in Higher Ed

As an Instructional Designer in Higher Education your tasks will range along the ADDIE model: Source: https://hortmonvera.wordpress.com/2015/03/06/addie-instructional-model/ A peer in my graduate ISLT program also works for the University. Her tasks in instructional design are determined by the department she works for. This is her second assignment as an instructional design assistant. Some of her tasks include testing links to multimedia content, checking library references, and proofreading and editing content. She graduated from the program recently and was promoted to Instructional Designer 2. In this role she uses apps like PowerPoint to create the videos and recordings that accompany these. She also uses Camtasia by Tech Smith to make similar content. However, this tool takes some skill to use, which impacts the Design and Development stages. Are you working in Higher Education or planning to as an Instructional Designer? Which apps are you currently using and which o...

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