The Instructional Designer

Watch the little animation Patrick Dunn made on his blog.

So, is the future of instructional design in danger? Are Subject Matter Experts the ones we need?

I will only add this to the debate: I see a lot of 'degraded' instructional design roles, and to me an instructional designer for learning is like the TV format creator in entertainment.

Yes, degraded. When I look only at my own company to all the people that carry the title 'instructional designer' (especially in one country that attracts a lot of outsourced work and shall remain unnamed)  and I look at what they mostly do, I get worried. Somehow, over the years the skill of matching learning need with proper learning activity design degraded into how to arrange stuff on a screen. That is not what instructional design is about. If it is, or if it got degraded into that for most that carry the title, please let subject matter experts take over.

A proper instructional designer is like a TV Quiz format creator to me. It is the design of the 'template', where other people can make a 1000 shows on... We don't need 100s of instructional designers for that, but we need a few damn good ones.

Great instructional design with action mapping and the e-learning blueprint

Cathy Moore is a freelance instructional designer that coined the action mapping approach. She has now a great online tool for instructional designers that is easy, to the point and valuable: the e-learning blueprint. You can see the first pages for free, the rest works via a subscription model. Take the tour here.

Design Lively Elearning with Action Mapping

View more presentations from Cathy Moore.

Toolbox of 20 instructional models

There is a free download from Blinc productions entitled 'Instructional Models in eLearning and Blended Learning' available from this link.

The report builds on the 'Goettinger Katalog Didaktischer Modelle', that goes back to the mid-seventies. It lists 20 instructional models with definition, didactic principles, reference to eLearning and a template for designing them.

The 20 models are:
- activity method, assignment method
- disputation
- exploration, excursion
- case method
- apprenticeship, assistance
- distance study, correspondance instruction
- classroom teaching, expository teaching
- programmed instruction, personalised instruction
- individualised learning center, laboratory plan
- micro-study circle, small group discussion
- educational/learning exhibition
- educational dialog
- clarifying educational environment, interactive man-environment learning system approach
- educational conference, symposium
- educational network
- learning project
- simulation
- peer tutoring
- lecture method
- educational workshop