Mila P.

Transitioning teachers might be curious…what do instructional designers actually DO? Here is an example of a real world project I am working on this month. I am consulting with a software product team to figure out HOW to credential a new technical training learning pathway. Do we offer one credential at the end of the pathway? Each time a learner completes an assessment? For course completions along the way? Or once at the end of each topic? The digital credentialing framework is flexible enough that we can fit the offerings to each individual learning experience, while maintaining a consistent look and feel throughout the program. My job is to determine what would be the most meaningful to learners. Credentials are theirs to own, download, and share, so what approach will have the highest engagement? I'm analyzing program data to help inform our decision. There you have it, a real world instructional design project. #TechnicalTraining #CustomerEducation #InstructionalDesigner #FormerTeacher #TransitioningTeachers Image Description: A photo of a woman working on a laptop with the text “Real World Projects”

16

2 Comments

We often talk about "engagement" in learning design, but we rarely talk about "trust." I was recently reflecting on the moment a learner spots a piece of outdated content - maybe it’s an old software interface in a screenshot, or a reference to a policy that changed last year . In that split second, engagement doesn't just dip; trust evaporates. The learner thinks, "If this part is wrong, how can I trust the rest of this training?" . Even if 95% of your course is perfect, that 5% of outdated material compromises the ROI of the entire build. It’s like jumping out of a plane not knowing if your parachute was checked recently - no thanks. We need to stop treating maintenance as an afterthought. Designing for longevity isn't just about saving time later; it's about respecting the learner's time today. More on this in my #ATD #Cpre4 talk on Thursday. Image: This image, created by nanobanana, captures the anxious moment a skydiver in freefall looks back to see a large "UNCHECKED" tag hanging from his parachute pack. #InstructionalDesign #LearningAndDevelopment #ContentStrategy #Trust

12

2 Comments

Your portfolio matters more than your resume. And yet… So many instructional designers are still building portfolios that look like this: • Overbuilt projects • Endless screenshots • Tool tours instead of thinking • Case studies with no clear problem or outcome It’s not a talent issue. It’s a clarity issue. That’s exactly why Christy Tucker and I are delivering a Training Magazine Network Webinar session today, March 4: 5 Portfolio Mistakes Instructional Designers Keep Making (and How to Fix Them) We’re digging into: ✔ The most common mistakes that weaken your impact in the hiring process ✔ A five-part framework to structure your projects around problems, decisions, and outcomes ✔ The difference between showcasing tools and demonstrating instructional design thinking Because hiring managers are not just looking for Storyline skills. They’re looking for how you think. If you’re transitioning into the field or refining your existing portfolio, this session will give you a practical structure you can apply immediately. Let’s make sure your portfolio reflects the depth of your work, not just the surface of it. Join us on TODAY! Click the link below to sign up: https://lnkd.in/ebf6P-sm

1

Want to sharpen your instructional design skills? Looking to build an ID portfolio with work you can actually use? ATD Nashville’s Instructional Design SIG is back, and Session 1 kicks off a full ADDIE-aligned journey designed to build real instructional design capability from concept to creation. Hosted by Paula O'Brien, MHR, M.Ed., PMP, this experience blends learning science, practical application, and portfolio-building opportunities for L&D professionals at any stage. 📅 Monday, February 16, 2026 ⏰ 5:30–6:45 PM CST 📍 Zoom (link provided upon registration) 💰 Members & Non-Members: FREE with registration In this session, you’ll: • Explore the foundations of learning science • Understand the impact and value of instructional design • Review core learning theories including Behaviorism, Cognitivism, Constructivism, Adult Learning Theory, and Bloom’s Taxonomy • Set the stage for a multi-session experience that builds toward tangible learning assets Participants are encouraged to attend all sessions to get the full ADDIE-aligned experience. ➡️ Register here: https://lnkd.in/eu8Cyape

5

The most important work in instructional design happens before you create a single slide, handout, or quiz. Too often, training starts with materials. But the Dick & Carey model reminds us that impactful learning starts with clarity and analysis: 1️⃣ Identify Instructional Goals – What should learners actually be able to do? 2️⃣ Conduct Instructional Analysis – Break the goal into the critical steps or skills. 3️⃣ Analyze Learners & Context – Who are they? What motivates them? What challenges do they face? 💡 Only after these steps are clear are we ready to: Write performance objectives Develop assessments Design the learning experience ✨ When we start with strategy and analysis, the materials practically design themselves—and the learning sticks. Are you starting your training where it truly begins? #InstructionalDesign #LearningAndDevelopment #PerformanceImprovement #SystematicID #DickAndCarey #CorporateTraining #ConACTMethod

2

Rethinking eLearning Development: Beyond Levels and Rate Cards   The Industry Norm: A Templatized, Cost-Based Model Most eLearning projects today are scoped and priced using predefined "levels," typically Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3. Levels 1 and 2 "designs" correspond to a fixed mix of screen types (static, interactive, media-rich) and align with a standard rate card. This model is transactional, not creative. It simplifies costing but limits the quality of the content. Bespoke eLearning: A Misused Term? Despite industry buzzwords like "bespoke" and "tailored," most "custom" eLearning boils down to one thing: content chunking. Instructional design becomes a mechanical exercise involving breaking content into screens and populating old templates. Most corporate eLearning today falls into this routine category, mostly under Level 2.   The Cost Challenge: Rising or Slightly Reducing Despite Repetition Why Is Cost Still Rising or Not Decreasing Much? Even with repeatable processes, eLearning development costs have either risen or not reduced much over time. One primary reason is inefficiencies from reinventing the wheel on every project. Another reason is fragmented team structures, where writers, designers, developers, and SMEs work in silos, and a lack of synergy between various teams within an eLearning company. AI: Used, But Not Smartly eLearning vendors are increasingly using AI primarily for content chunking or summarization. However, the core structure still uses the same old templates. So, while AI speeds up tasks and reduces the development costs, it doesn't lead to better learning outcomes unless integrated intelligently.   The Real Opportunity: Creative Use of Templates Design Templates What the industry needs is a creative rethink of how templates are used. Instead of just technical templates, we need "Design Templates" that are creative, learner-centric screen formats aligned to each level. Each template should balance engagement, instructional integrity, and visual consistency. Once they are designed, even less senior instructional designers can write creatively with the help of AI. All involved in the development team use copies of the same templates from the repository for production. With well-designed templates and an integrated team approach, development time and cost can drop significantly, while the courses move one notch up at a reduced price.

4

Great Instructional Designers don’t just build courses… they master three powerful habits. 🐒 Most people think Instructional Design is about tools, slides, and authoring software. It’s not. Great instructional designers consistently practice three core behaviors: 👀 See Beyond Spot learning opportunities others miss and design with long-term learning impact in mind. 🎧 Hear Within Understand learner frustrations, motivations, and hidden barriers before designing learning experiences. 📣 Speak to Transform Deliver knowledge in a way that drives behavior change, engagement, and real performance improvement. When these three abilities come together, learning stops being content delivery and becomes transformation. That’s when instructional design, eLearning design, and learning experience design truly create impact. Which one do you think is the most underrated skill in instructional design today? 👇 #instructionaldesign #elearningdesign #learningexperience #learninganddevelopment #elearning

171

5 Comments

The last Learning Designers Community (LDC) meetup brought together 17 learning designers from ed tech, L&D, K12, and LX design to reflect on #CarlHendrick’s webinar on the Five Illusions of Learning. Like all LDC meetups, the focus was on practice in real learning contexts. As I co-facilitated for the first time, three things stood out for me. #Illusion1: engagement does not always mean learning. We ideated on how to look beyond visible cues, what deep learning means & how activities remain in memory & not learning! #Second, discovery learning may not work for novice learners. We spoke about sequencing content more carefully, providing clearer guidance to new leaners while amping up self-learning challenges for advanced ones. #Third, Small wins help retain continued motivation, especially among younger learners. Most of us were raking our brians on how to find the balance between designing for easy wins vs friction for deeper learning. This space helped access a sense of validation, engagement & fun! Big shout out to Shraddha Rawat Miriam Elnaggar #LDC #LandD #peerlearning #learningcommunity

26

2 Comments

Most instructional design teams are not slow. They’re trapped inside a production model that is. One hour of eLearning still takes months to build. Too many handoffs. Too many review cycles. Too much production work. And instructional designers spend more time formatting slides than designing learning. That model is overdue for replacement. On March 26, we’re hosting a live LinkedIn session: The 10x Instructional Design Team A practical look at how modern learning teams are building faster, thinking deeper, and delivering stronger outcomes without adding headcount. 📅 March 26 ⏰ 1 PM EST / 10 AM PT Register here: https://lnkd.in/gY5SXjPG Stop building learning like it’s 2010. #eLearning #MissionFuelAI #InstructionalDesign #LandD #FreeWebinar #LiveStreaming

(Reposting because my initial comment was too long to post to the thread. Guess I had a lot to say about this topic.) This is so unbelievably true. I've been saying for a while now that we need to bake accessibility into every program we teach about design or leadership (or, really, any place where it overlaps with a skill or function). Dr. Nicole L'Etoile, CPACC really nailed it here. But not everyone goes through formal training, *especially* in the L&D space. So much is self-taught, which is why we have to make our tools accessible from the start. The big one, I think, is to just integrate accessibility into all of our discussions. It's still not mainstream. We have the beloved and much-needed Accessible and Inclusive Design Conference, the Summer of Access series, etc. Those are fantastic and they're needed. But we *also* need accessibility to be a keynote at other L&D conferences that aren't specifically about accessibility. Or we need people to chat about accessibility in our webinars the same way we chat about AI. It doesn't even need to be the main focus of the presentation; it just needs to be included at any moment it's relevant. I remember watching a YouTube video a while back from this really talented and well-known graphic designer in the tabletop gaming space. He was showing how he uses Adobe InDesign to do layout for card games. Very technical, design-oriented work. Then at one point he just dropped this in (paraphrasing): "So it's really important to not depend only on color when you're laying out your cards. A red or green border is nice, but it needs to be paired with an icon or text, because some people won't be able to tell what colors you're using." Boom! WCAG SC 1.4.1:Use of Color right there. It wasn't overt. It wasn't in a presentation about accessible card design. It was just a presentation about design basics. Because accessible design should just be part of design.

7

3 Comments

As Instructional designers, we are always onto the next project. How many of you are involved in the process before the next big project assignment or initiative? The next time a stakeholder comes to you saying "we need a training ASAP", dig deeper. Interview employees, shadow tasks, and review data. You may find something surprising. The issue may not be a skill gap. It may not be a knowledge problem. It may not even be a motivational issue. You may just solve the problem with a thoughtful, human-centered needs analysis. I believe impact starts with listening, not just a storyboard.

39

2 Comments

Is Instructional Design Right for You? Ask yourself: Do you enjoy solving performance problems, not just delivering content? Do you think in systems, structure, and measurable outcomes? Are you comfortable aligning learning with business goals? Instructional design is not about building courses. It is about designing solutions that improve performance. If you are analytical, structured, and solutions-focused, this is not a random pivot. It is a strategic progression. The right move is not the loudest one. It is the one aligned with how you think, solve, and execute. Let's connect at www.TheTrainingLounge.com! #instructionaldesign #TheTrainingLounge #coursecreation #portfolio #careertransition

1

Instructional design is often misunderstood as simply building courses or creating slides. In reality, the work begins much earlier. Good instructional design begins with asking the right questions. What problem are we trying to solve? What do the learners already know? What do they need to be able to do after the training? What is the simplest way to achieve this? Sometimes the best solution is not a full course. It might be a job aid, a quick reference guide, or a short interactive scenario-based activity. Instructional designers sit at the intersection of subject matter experts, goals, and learner needs. Our role is to translate complex information into learning experiences that are clear, relevant, and actionable. When the design is done well, it changes the behavior of the learner rather than simply delivering information.

14

😊 Get our STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN PROCESS. People find storyboarding content harder than it needs to be. This isn't our experience. This end-to-end guide helps to free you from: - Overwhelm and frustration. - Scope creeeeep. - Projects that feel not fun for you and those you work with. - Releasing ineffective solutions. "I can't even begin to explain the value this process has added to my work! It's simple, easy to follow, and all in one place—I wouldn't be where I am as an instructional designer without it!" 👉 Check it out now on our creator hub: https://buff.ly/48Qg1k1 🤑 Only AUD$49! #howToCreateAnElearningStoryboard #howToCreateAnElearningStoryboardOnlineCourse #howToCreateAnInstructionalDesignStoryboardOnlineCourse #howToBecomeAnInstructionalDesigner #HowToStoryboardAnElearningProject #howDoYouUseAnInstructionalDesignStoryboard #whatIsAnInstructionalDesignStoryboard #howDoYouCreateAnInstructionalDesignStoryboard #StoryboardingMadeEasyForInstructionalDesignersAndELearningDevelopers #eLearningDeveloperCourses #InstructionalDesignerCourses #StepByStepLearningDevelopmentCourse

2