Whether you're dealing with stakeholders, subject matter experts, internal clients or external customers, some issues are bound to arise during the design and development of learning experiences. … [Read more...]
Answers To Instructional Design Career Questions
I get lots of emails from people who are considering a career in instructional design. In fact, that's why I created a free 12-lesson email course called Breaking into Instructional Design. It's all … [Read more...]
Alternatives to Correct and Incorrect
Eight approaches to providing learning feedback
Imagine a trainer at the front of the room responding to a participant's comment by saying nothing more than "You're right!" or "Incorrect." Imagine this happening over and over again. So, why is … [Read more...]
Finding Your Place In an Instructional Design Career
If you aren't happy with your career in instructional design or want to start a career in this industry, there's no reason to be a square peg in a round hole. There are numerous paths you can follow … [Read more...]
ELC 065: Pro Tips For Working With Subject Matter Experts
Strategies and techniques from Dawn Mahoney and Diane Elkins
Subject matter experts or SMEs are usually an indispensable part of a learning development team. Even though they are on the same team, however, the SME and the learning professional may be living in … [Read more...]
The World Needs More Checklists
Using Checklists for Performance Support
One of the most brilliant cognitive aids devised by some very smart humans is the checklist. Hidden in this deceptively simple format is a type of performance support that has saved lives in the air … [Read more...]
The Importance of Writing Effective Distractors
Writing Distractors Is Not Easy The purpose of a test is to determine a participant's mastery of the performance objectives and to find out whether a learning experience was successful. … [Read more...]
What Do Instructional Designers Do?
Starting a Career in Instructional Design
What is instructional design? Instructional design involves the process of identifying the performance, skills and attitude gaps of a targeted audience and creating or selecting learning experiences … [Read more...]
Alternatives to Bloom’s Taxonomy for Workplace Learning
How Bloom's Taxonomy Came About Discussions at the 1948 Convention of the American Psychological Association resulted in Benjamin Bloom leading a group of educators in an effort to classify … [Read more...]
Synchronous and Asynchronous Learning Explained
Virtual classroom learning or self-paced instruction?
As technology evolves, the ways to present online learning increase. If the sheer number of approaches seem confusing, you may find it helpful to think in terms of two simple categories—synchronous … [Read more...]
Best Resources For Creating Live Virtual Training Right Now
Due to the coronavirus outbreak, an increasing number of universities, colleges, schools and businesses are canceling in-person classes, meetings and events and moving them online. Yet, doing live … [Read more...]
Journalism Techniques To Borrow For eLearning
In some ways, the goals of learning experience designers aren't that different from those of journalists. When it comes to writing a news or magazine story, the journalist's goal is to inform, educate … [Read more...]