Robin Sargent, Ph.D. Instructional Designer-Online Learning

What is your go to video and/or graphics tech? What do you consider when choosing? As instructional designers, it sometimes feels like we need to know how to use every new tool in the market, but the strongest approach is choosing one or two tools that have an intentional and strategic place in the design process and placing a stronger emphasis on theory-based alignment. How do you approach deciding what to spend time learning about in this ever-changing technological landscape? #instructionaldesign #elearning #canva #newtech #edtech #learning

1

1 Comment

Large SaaS vendors are priority targets for cybercriminals. There are so many vulnerability pathways and the payout is immense. As a faculty instructor and instructional designer, this article from Inside Higher Ed paints a nightmare scenario of the recent Canvas attack: https://lnkd.in/gx68V7E5 #moodle #canvas #edtech #lms

7

2 Comments

Designing LMS for low-bandwidth users A slow LMS doesn’t just frustrate users — it excludes them. From my experience working with Moodle: 🔹 Keep pages lightweight (avoid heavy themes & large media) 🔹 Use compressed or downloadable content 🔹 Prefer text-first design 🔹 Break content into smaller modules 🔹 Limit plugins and external scripts 👉 Performance is not a feature — it’s accessibility. If your LMS doesn’t load fast, it doesn’t work.

2

AI won't fix weak instruction; it amplifies existing systems. Adaptive tools and AI tutors require clear instructional goals. Fuzzy expectations scale inconsistency. Instructional leadership matters. Align to standards, curriculum, and assessment. Strengthen instruction first, then use technology to accelerate what's already working. #AIinEducation #EdTech #InstructionalLeadership #EducationStrategy

3

Rise courses don’t have to look “cookie-cutter.” Most people don’t realize how powerful Custom Blocks are in Articulate Rise. They let you build a library of your best layouts—then reuse them across courses so your work is: ✔️ consistent ✔️ scalable ✔️ faster to produce ✔️ easier to maintain I recorded a quick tutorial showing exactly how I use Custom Blocks in real builds: 🎥 https://lnkd.in/guX5rucm If you’re creating training under deadlines, this is a must-know.

9

2 Comments

Higher Ed Needs Reinvention - Embracing Controversy & AI Innovation Universities must adapt to AI and changing learner needs. At Career-Bond, we show how career training responds with agility and relevance. This video explores careers in technology and healthcare that benefit from career training designed for the modern workplace. Career training emphasizes applied skills, workforce readiness, and measurable outcomes. Career training helps learners succeed where institutions are slow to change. Don’t wait—explore your career options now at https://zurl.co/WSzIK #HigherEdInnovation #career training #career-bond

3

2 Comments

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

If your learners feel overwhelmed or just can’t seem to remember what they learned, it might not be their fault. It could be how the content is presented for their brain to process. As Instructional Designers, understanding how the brain handles different types of info can help you create learning that’s easier to absorb and harder to forget. Here’s a quick look at 3 types of cognitive load and what to do with each one

14

3 Comments

Why eLearning Courses Fail After 16+ years in instructional design, I’ve noticed something consistent. Most failing eLearning courses don’t fail because of the content. They fail because of the learning design. Common problems I see when auditing LMS training programs: - Unclear learning objectives - Long content modules with no interaction - Assessments that test recall instead of understanding - Confusing/limited LMS navigation Tools like Articulate Rise or Storyline don’t fix these problems. Strong instructional design does. Good training isn’t just content, it’s a learning experience. https://lnkd.in/eUDga4gt #InstructionalDesign #Elearning #LMS #LearningAndDevelopment #needsanalysis #learningstrategy

8

1 Comment

Thanks to Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) for helping us get the word out about our Fundamental Skill Sheets! Our favorite feature? Videos that demonstrate implementation fidelity (and non-examples with not-quite-correct implementation) for both elementary and secondary classrooms!

108

#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

2

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

You Can’t Scale Innovation Without Scaling Design Support Many institutions want innovation: new programs, new credentials, new delivery models. But innovation doesn’t scale on vision alone. It scales through systems. And instructional design is one of the most overlooked systems in higher education. Too often, one or two instructional designers are expected to support an entire institution while new initiatives continue to pile up. New programs are launched quickly. Faculty are asked to teach online with limited preparation. Courses are copied term after term with little opportunity for refinement. Eventually, quality becomes uneven—and students notice. This isn’t a failure of effort. It’s a capacity problem. When design support doesn’t scale with institutional ambition, the consequences ripple outward: faculty burnout increases, course quality varies widely, accessibility becomes reactive instead of proactive, and student engagement suffers. Over time, these cracks show up in retention data, student feedback, and reputation. Institutions that are navigating this well take a different approach. They prioritize where design effort has the greatest impact. They standardize course structure where it reduces friction. They involve instructional designers earlier in program planning instead of later in cleanup. Most importantly, they recognize that design capacity is infrastructure, not overhead. Scaling innovation responsibly means asking hard questions: Where does design support matter most? What can be standardized to protect quality? How do we support faculty without exhausting the people meant to help them? Growth without design strategy isn’t innovation, it’s risk. 💬 How is your institution aligning design capacity with its goals for growth and innovation with new programs and course redesign? #HigherEd #InstructionalDesign #ScalableLearning #OnlinePrograms #FacultySupport #RetentionStrategies #CourseQuality #AcademicLeadership #TheBabbGroup

1

Life of an Instructional Designer is full of chaos: • MGD pings about a new issue • A junior needs guidance on tasks • Voice-overs need fixing • LMS uploads lined up for the week • SME onboarding calls • Configuring recording tools on the SME’s system And in the middle of all this… we somehow remain calm. #LifeOfInstructionalDesigner #InstructionalDesign

12

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

6

Did you know you can Vibe Code for Articulate Storyline as well? Create custom games and interactions with AI that work perfectly inside of your eLearning course? I have talked a lot about getting something you #VibeCoded into the #Rise code block but had someone ask about how to use the code inside of #Storyline so wanted to create a video walking you through how to take something from Claude #AI and use it as a fully functional page inside of Storyline. There are a couple of extra steps to do but I do hope that Storyline implements something like the Rise code block in the future where you can just copy and paste in the code or just import a zip. This however opens up a lot of possibilities still within Storyline, being able to create customizable interactions without complex triggers or logic. I took the game I vibe coded last week and got it fully functioning inside of Storyline. Full video here: https://lnkd.in/gQJt-hEX

43

10 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