Jeffrey S.

Instructional Design in 2025: One Pattern Stands Out 🔍 If you look at the current data on instructional design, there are a lot of clear and predictable things. Most instructional designers spend 66% of their time creating new courses and only 34% improving existing ones - content fluency is huge. Most projects are still centered around workplace training: onboarding, compliance, soft skills, delivered in formats ranging from quick microlearning to full programs. It takes 2–6 years for many professionals to transition into the role, and by that point, they’ve typically built a portfolio of 5–10 projects. The compensation reflects that investment: mid-level designers earn around $70K–$90K a year in the USA, with top roles exceeding $100K. So far, nothing surprising. But there’s one thread running through all of this that is harder to quantify and I think it’s pretty important because it pops up in way too many survey subjects. AI. Right now, AI is simultaneously: 🔸 the biggest challenge (how do we use it without lowering quality?) 🔸 the main trend (it’s everywhere, whether we like it or not) 🔸 a real fear (will it replace parts of the role? or the entire role?) 🔸 a huge opportunity (it can remove a lot of manual work) 🔸 and increasingly, a core skill (knowing how to use it well is becoming expected) And when you connect this to the earlier numbers, you can notice this: If most of an ID’s time is still spent on manual course creation, then AI is not another tool. It’s a pressure point. It’s pushing the role to change, and sometimes so quickly that keeping up is a struggle, but an inevitable one. #InstructionalDesign #iSpringEvents #LearningAndDevelopment #LearningAndDevelopmentCommunity #AnnaPoli

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It's so important to understand what the real learning need is, if we're going to create learning g that has a lasting impact and is useful to learners. Once you understand the need, making it learner cented and engaging is essential to achieve measurable desired outcomes. What do you use to measure learning outcomes?

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Even small, incremental changes can have significant effects for learning. Documenting decisions and changes not only provides a record of what WAS DONE, but also of WHAT WORKED (or didn't) and WHY--it's a force multiplier that supports change for the focus training and learning for all that follow.

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🚀 The Evolution of Instructional Design: From Specialist to Strategic Function Instructional Design is no longer a single skillset- it’s a collaborative function essential to the future of workplace learning. Gone are the days when an Instructional Designer was a singular role, focused solely on content authoring. Today’s learning organizations thrive when Instructional Design operates as an independent function with diverse roles like- *Learning Strategist & Architect- ensures learning experiences are intentional, effective, and support organizational objectives. *Content & Experience Developer- brings learning to life—transforming knowledge into engaging and immersive experiences. *Assessment & Analytics Specialist- proves the ROI of learning through data and enables continuous improvement. *Technology & Project Integrator- ensures learning solutions are accessible, tested, user-friendly, and assigned efficiently within a Learning Management System. By embracing this evolution, we unlock innovation, deeper engagement, and better business results. 🙌 It’s time to stop thinking of Instructional Designers as “course creators” and start building instructional design teams that can actually transform learning. 🎉 #InstructionalDesign #LearningTransformation #LXD #LearningStrategy

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#EDUClippings / #GemsOfExpertise: An actionable way to use data analytics in instructional design. Guest: Laura J. Todd From Episode 044, “Standing Out as an Instructional Designer” To all LinkedIn episodes: https://lnkd.in/es69FfiJ Links to all podcast episodes across 4 platforms are available via my Campsite link: https://lnkd.in/eqax_ycw #EducationalDesignersUnited #InstructionalDesign #EdTech

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Learning AI for instructional design hasn't been all rainbows and butterflies. Over the past several months I've been exploring how AI tools might support instructional design. And if I'm being honest... It's been a process. New models appear constantly. Tools change quickly. Free versions have limitations. And building practical workflows take experimentation. Some days it feels like you finally understand one tool... and three new ones show up. But the process has also been fascinating. Because when used thoughtfully, these tools can genuinely support parts of the learning design process - especially during research, ideation, and early development. For me, the biggest takeaway: AI works best as a support tool, not a replacement for strong instructional design thinking. The fundamentals still matter: Understanding the learner. Defining outcomes. Designing meaningful learning experiences. Like many in L&D, I'm still exploring as this space evolves. Curious how others are navigating AI in their design work. #Learning&Development #InstructionalDesign #AIinLearning

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Ever wished creating training content could be fast, easy, and completely free? Say hello to free authoring tool that let you design interactive eLearning, quizzes, and microlearning modules without spending a dime. Whether you’re an L&D pro, a small business owner, or just starting in training, these tools empower you to: -Save time -Engage learners -Build professional content effortlessly The best part? You don’t need advanced tech skills just creativity and a little curiosity. Stop waiting, start creating. Here’s the link: https://lnkd.in/dipYNJ5T

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"Canvas Archiving allows us to reduce the burden of retroactive accessibility remediation, enabling our team to prioritize making active courses fully WCAG compliant while ensuring historical content remains accessible ." Just one of many quotes from our Canvas Archiving clients. Remember, any course that is in your LMS is subject to remediation unless it is archived. #wcag

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A lot of K–12 products are deemed “modern” just because they have videos or digital worksheets. That’s not modernization. That’s a new skin on the same old thing. Real modernization means rethinking the foundation: 1. How the content is built, 2. How it runs on low-resource devices, 3. How teachers get support, 4. And whether students can actually use it. I built a roadmap that teams can follow before jumping into a rebuild. (Check the first comment) #EdTech #K12 #Content #Modernization #DigitalLearning #InstructionalDesign #Accessibility Magic EdTech

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Ask Sage AI has become my daily copilot for instructional design. In the Analysis & Design stages of ADDIE, I load policy docs, course maps, and old course notes into datasets and use grounded prompting to produce CLO/LO alignments, Bloom’s mappings, rubrics, and lesson storyboards for new course design in minutes, not hours! Recent use example: I transformed a course that existed only as a PPT deck (with notes) into a foundational text/lesson–based course. Ask Sage parsed the slides, organized concepts into a clean module flow, turned notes pages into first-pass lesson narratives, and proposed assessments aligned to our objectives. Even better, it crosswalked the newly generated content against our updated learning objectives, flagged gaps and then adjusted sequencing and phrasing so lessons, activities, and assessments stayed aligned. Outcome: no blank-page pain, easier starting point for the SME to do their magic, fewer rework loops, faster reviews, and clear traceability back to source materials. For IDs who need rigor at speed, Ask Sage is a force multiplier. Nicolas M. Chaillan Ask Sage, Inc. #InstructionalDesign #ADDIE #LearningScience #AIinEducation #AskSage #GenerativeAI

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What happens when a national organization needs better learning tools, and fast? Jeannine Reilly, Vice President of Education Delivery and Technology Solutions at Junior Achievement USA, explains how they approached the decision to switch learning management systems, starting with a broad evaluation. Then they narrowed the field based on what educators needed and what would feel familiar in the K-12 market, eventually choosing D2L Brightspace. As Reilly puts it, “the relationship with D2L has been amazing.” Watch the video to hear the story behind the switch.

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"AI has made two potential futures for the profession extremely clear. Future 1: Instructional Designers Are Pushed Downward Into Production Oversight or...

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Sometimes, we really are our own worst enemy. Vibe coding an authoring tool or LMS is the new trend that we’re diving blindfolded into, and it doesn’t look pretty on the other side. Even proven products are facing security risks with literal TERABYTES of student data stolen (a single terabyte can hold 85 million Word documents). Maybe ask yourself if you really want these types of problems, and if you do, good for you—what’s your plan to anticipate, defend, and maintain your systems? This is not to say that we should cope with the bare minimum crumbs given to us by industry behemoths. We should be asking for more especially if they’re raising prices and citing AI. But there’s a difference between lobbying for better tools versus just churning out more fragile, Temu versions of the same thing. Disclaimer: I do vibe code. I am vibe coding an authoring tool for branching chats (#Chatatouille). And I am thinking about this. If I weren’t, you should be throwing tomatoes. — Image description: BBC article titled: "Canvas hack: Company pays criminals to delete students' stolen data" by Joe Tidy, with an image of students in a computer room interacting with their computers.

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Introducing L&D Launchers 🚀 ~ ATD St. Louis’ New SIG for Instructional Designers Starting April 1st, 2026, (NO JOKE!) 😎 Ready to Think Bigger, Build Smarter, Grow Faster, and Execute Bravely? If you’re an Instructional Designer who’s ready to level up your craft and your career, ATD St. Louis just launched something built exactly for you. Meet L&D Launchers — a brand‑new Special Interest Group blending entrepreneurial mindset with instructional design mastery. And the best part? ATD St. Louis members attend for FREE. If you’re not a member yet… this is the moment to join. https://lnkd.in/gmaWzjyK 🌟 What Makes L&D Launchers Different? This isn’t another “tips and tricks” group. It’s a year‑long professional development arc designed to help new and developing IDs build clarity, capability, and confidence — using a quarterly framework inspired by entrepreneurial classics and aligned to the ATD Talent Development Capability Model. The program moves through four powerful phases: 🔹 Q1 — THINK: Vision, Role Clarity & ID Identity You’ll define the Instructional Designer you’re becoming and craft a Professional Development Aim that guides your decisions all year long. As the document puts it: “Define a clear professional vision as an Instructional Designer… Establish the identity of the ID you are becoming.” 🔹 Q2 — BUILD: Needs Analysis, Assets & ID Leverage Shift from order‑taker to strategist by mapping your workflow, identifying reusable assets, and choosing your next “leverage experiment.” The program reframes ID work through an entrepreneurial lens: “Understand ‘assets vs liabilities’ as reusable ID assets (templates, frameworks, systems).” 🔹 Q3 — GROW: Learner Behavior, Engagement & Experience Design Audit your design habits, reduce cognitive load, and focus on the high‑impact decisions that actually move learners forward. One of the core prompts: “Which design choices help or hinder learner success?” 🔹 Q4 — EXECUTE: Systems, Habits & Your ID Operating System You’ll close the year by building your own Instructional Design Operating System (IDOS) — a personal blueprint for how you design, learn, and lead. The program emphasizes identity‑based habits: “Build identity-based habits that support your Professional Aim.” 🎯 Who Is This For? New and emerging Instructional Designers IDs seeking clarity, confidence, and community L&D pros ready to think like strategists, not order‑takers Anyone who wants to blend an entrepreneurial mindset with instructional design excellence. 🎁 Why Join ATD St. Louis Now? Because L&D Launchers is free for members — and it’s one of the most thoughtfully designed, capability‑building programs we’ve ever offered. If you’re ready to launch your next chapter as an Instructional Designer, this is your runway. https://lnkd.in/gmaWzjyK Association for Talent Development (ATD) - St. Louis Chapter, Association for Talent Development (ATD)

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𝙈𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙚𝙇𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚, clear objectives aren't defined at the outset. As leaders in our industry, it's paramount to deliver learning experiences that truly engage and convey value. When designing eLearning modules, 𝙗𝙚𝙜𝙞𝙣 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙙. Identify what skills or knowledge participants should acquire and align every piece of content to these goals. This ensures that learning is not just informative, but transformative. 𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲, when we revamped our team's training program, we focused first on pinpointing the crucial competencies needed for success in today's fast-paced environment. This approach not only enhanced participant engagement but also resulted in measurable business impact. Let's champion a new standard in corporate training, one that prioritizes purpose and results. How do you approach eLearning in your organization? Share your thoughts below! #eLearning #CorporateTraining #LeadershipDevelopment

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Every Edtech company is doing what they can to automate humans out of the system by building AI content generators Frankly, AI is faster, and cheaper. The only advantage instructional designers have is to show they have better outcomes There is only one Learning Measurment System, and we have made it super easy for L&D teams to show their impact. Instructional designers should be screaming at their CLOs to invest in measurement tools https://lnkd.in/ePND7S-D

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Converting Articulate Rise SCORM Packages Back to Source Files If you have worked with Articulate Rise, you know the challenge. It is a powerful cloud elearning based authoring tool, but your source files remain locked inside your account. There is no local backup and no easy way to migrate your content. Continued access depends on an active subscription. For many instructional designers and elearning developers, this is a real concern. I recently explored an interesting solution. Slatebuilder.io is an AI powered, component based authoring tool similar to Rise. It allows you to import a published Rise SCORM package, edit the content, add lessons, and effectively reconstruct the course into a new editable source format. 👉 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝘅𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗶𝗳: ✅ You are migrating to another authoring tool ✅ A subscription has expired but you still have SCORM packages ✅ You need more flexibility with course ownership and backups In today’s competitive cloud authoring landscape, flexibility matters more than ever. Features like this are a big win for our instructional design and elearning development community. #instructionaldesign #elearningdevelopment #elearning #articulate360 #articulaterise #instructionaldesigner #elearningdeveloper #SCORM #slate #risesorucefile

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