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

How much do apps matter in Instructional Design?

https://www.aura.com/learn/social-media-privacy-risks This week in my graduate course we discussed social media tools - Web 2.0 - that are useful in learning environments. My disclosure is that I typically don't use social media for personal use, and this makes it a bigger jump to think about using it for learning purposes. The irony is that I enrolled in this elective class because I am intrigued about using social media for learning environments. The points I vacillate on are data security and time commitment. With data security I would need to ensure that learners' data, user profiles, etc. are protected. This isn't the same thing if it's higher education and the university is using an LMS. FERPA and a contract protect student data and how it's used. With free social media apps there's more risk to a learner's content. I'm still exploring these tools to determine if there are settings to protects our learner's identities and content. One thing th...

Learning a new LMS

I can assure you that many of the LMS systems are fairly intuitive. I was the Admin for a LMS called CPD Online. This is an industry-focused LMS for credit unions, but it's developed by Sum Total Systems of Gainesville, FL. They use their platform to customize it to a variety of industries. That being said, underneath the hood the LMS is still the same. https://www.sumtotalsystems.com/ I was able to learn the Admin role simply by exploring. I watched a few vendor videos and through their support team, had my questions answered and was up and running with it. Being an admin is about user permissions. You set up users, logins and passwords, and their access to content. For instructors, you support them by uploading their content.

Knowledge Management and your social media network

When you think about your social media networks, is it your go-to for staying in the know (is that term even used any more?). As part of my graduate studies my peers and I are examining these concepts. Specifically, we want to know if your social media network has developed into a level of knowledge where you can find the resources you need. Is it the first place you look when you want to know more about your topic of interest? The first social media networks I followed were health-related. What I liked about them is how dynamic and current they were. Previously I was referring to a few websites, but soon lost interest because the content didn't update very frequently. In addition, if the site moderator didn't keep the conversation moving it wasn't motivating to check in on it because there wasn't new input. My focus now is to find an opportunity in instructional design. This is where knowledge management for this community is important to me. Members in these communi...

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