Samantha Calamari

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.

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Every leadership brief asks for the same thing. "Make sure learners feel productive on day one." It sounds reasonable. It's actually the thing that breaks the course. Day-one productivity is a design choice with a cost. To deliver it, you front-load the new tool. You skip the substrate. You let learners run commands they don't understand on systems they don't have a model for. It feels great. For a week. Then the curve hits. The learner can't troubleshoot, can't extend, can't apply the tool to anything outside the demo. They blame themselves. They quit the course. The completion data tanks. Six months later, leadership asks why retention is bad. Productivity in week one is not the win it looks like. It's an early peak that mortgages the rest of the curve. Real productivity comes from understanding the substrate. That's slower to feel. It's also the only kind that lasts. The designer's job isn't to make day one feel productive. It's to make month three feel inevitable. #LearningDesign #InstructionalDesign #DesignLeadership

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I’m on the roll this month with new videos on my youtube channel and this one is for those of you who are considering instructional design as a career 😎 Many instructional designers didn’t start out as instructional designers, me included 🙋 Many of us came from teaching, training, education, academia. These roles are deeply meaningful, but not always sustainable as long-term careers. Roles where you give a lot, care a lot… and often hit a ceiling sooner than you expect. If you’re in education, or if you know how to explain complex stuff in simple words or enjoy enabling and empowering others with skills and knowledge, and wondering at the same time: 🔹 what else your skills could translate into, 🔹 whether there’s a way to stay close to learning without staying in the same role, 🔹 or if instructional design could be a realistic next step — this video is for you. I created it especially for people who are thinking about making that transition thoughtfully, not impulsively. People who want clarity, direction, and a realistic path forward. The link to the full video is in the comments! #InstructionalDesign #LearningAndDevelopment #LDCareers #JobSearch #AnnaPoli #iSpring #iSpringSuite

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Storyboard_V1.0: “Looks great!” Storyboard_V17.0: “Let’s just add one small thing…” Every instructional designer knows this story. You submit your first storyboard. Clean. Structured. Beautiful. ✨ Then the feedback starts rolling in: 👉 “Can we add this? It’s important.” 👉 “Let’s include one more example.” 👉 “Maybe a quick scenario?” 👉 “Oh… and a short video.” 👉 “And this compliance point.” Seventeen versions later… Your storyboard has officially entered its ✨ expansion era ✨ Welcome to the world of stakeholder feedback, scope stretch, and evolving learning requirements. But here’s the twist — this is where real learning design magic happens. 🧠 Because behind every “small addition” is: ✔ clearer learning objectives ✔ stronger business alignment ✔ better learner relevance ✔ richer instructional strategy Iteration isn’t the enemy. Unstructured additions are. 😅 The real skill? Turning feedback overload into structured, high-impact eLearning design. 🎯 Be honest… What’s the highest version number your storyboard has reached? 👇😂 #instructionaldesign #elearning #learninganddevelopment #storyboarding #corporatetraining #instructionaldesigner

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Over the past 3 years as an instructional designer, my relationship with AI has evolved significantly. 2023–2024: AI was my copilot. - Brainstorming partner - Reviewer - First-draft generator Helped me ship faster with things like MCQs and case/roleplay scenarios Tools I leaned on (and still do): ChatGPT/Claude, HeyGen/Synthesia, Napkin AI 2025: Agentic workflows hit… and “time savings” stopped being the only point. The real question became: How do I make AI + me > AI along / me alone? Here’s the model I use: (1) Human strategize: objectives, audience, quality bar (2) AI scales (with codified human expertise): outline → content (3) Human gates: review quality against criteria (4) Capture drift: capture what drifted and codify it into guidance so each iteration improves I believe the most valuable skill isn’t just knowing your domain + knowing AI. t’s being able to articulate what “good” looks like in your domain—so the human+AI system improves over time. Where are you on this journey right now—copilot, workflow, or system? Let me know any thoughts in the chat below! #InstructionalDesign #CustomerEducation #AgenticWorkflows #LearningOps #ContentStrategy (This info graphic was made with Claude)

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Are your learners actively applying knowledge or just absorbing information? Experiential learning bridges the gap between theory and practice. This article breaks down the key principles that drive meaningful, measurable results. A valuable read for educators, instructional designers, and L&D leaders looking to elevate impact. Link in the comments. #LearningDesign #EdTech #ProfessionalDevelopment #ExperientialLearning #smartsims #businesssimulation

A blind photographer using AI to frame a shot. A child who uses AAC gaining more agency in how she communicates. An engineer with dyslexia navigating code faster because the tool works with the way he reads, not against it. These are not distant possibilities. They are already happening. That excites me. It also gives me pause, because stories like these are still too rare. They happen when disabled people are included from the start, not invited in later as an afterthought. AI can help remove barriers. More importantly, it can open up entirely new ways for people to create, communicate, and participate. But technology alone does not guarantee progress. On Global Accessibility Awareness Day, the question is not whether AI can transform accessibility. It can. The question is whether we are building it in ways that people with disabilities can trust, influence, and truly benefit from. #GAAD #Accessibility #InclusiveAI Magic EdTech Bheeni Singh Dan Horch

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I take comfort in the idea that humans may have a small, temporary role cleaning up AI's horrible typography and formatting.

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Instructional Designers and L&D professionals: elevate your learning programs with Gagné’s Nine Events of Instruction, a structured, evidence-based framework rooted in cognitive psychology. From capturing learner attention to enhancing retention and transfer, each event strategically supports the learning journey. Learn how to apply this approach effectively in modern eLearning environments in our latest blog. https://lnkd.in/efyVtY5S #InstructionalDesign #Elearning

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After the initial embarrassment settles (No DNA , just RSA💛) , I have to agree with Sioux McKenna - As the expression goes "A little knowledge is dangerous" - We need a deeper understanding and to critically engage with AI. This needs to be developed not only at Universities, but in our schools, in our communities, in our workplace, in our leadership...

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Stop calling instructional designers 'course creators.' That's why L&D keeps getting cut when budgets get tight.Real instructional design isn't about building more courses. It's about solving performance problems that impact revenue. Last month, one of our IDOL Academy graduates saved her company $2M by redesigning their sales onboarding. She didn't create a single new course. Instead, she identified that reps were failing because they lacked real-world practice scenarios, not information. She built a simulation-based learning experience that reduced time-to-productivity by 40%. That's strategic business work, not course development. Yet most companies still hire instructional designers like they're hiring content creators. They focus on software skills instead of business acumen. They ask about Articulate experience instead of performance consulting capabilities. This disconnect is why talented career pivoters struggle to break into corporate L&D, and why L&D teams struggle to prove their value to executives. The best instructional designers think like business consultants first, learning professionals second. They speak ROI, not learning objectives. They measure behavior change, not completion rates. This is exactly what we teach inside IDOL Academy – how to position yourself as a strategic business partner, not just someone who makes training pretty.Are you being viewed as a course creator or a performance strategist in your organization?

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2 Alternative Approaches For Creating Screencasts For Your eLearning Project "So, if you have a problem coordinating onscreen action with live voiceover, the screenshot capture method is best for you." https://lnkd.in/gWZ4xePS

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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

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AI won’t replace instructional designers. It already did. The ones who didn’t adapt, at least. I’ve been an instructional designer for years. And in the last 12 months, I’ve watched the job change more than it did in the previous decade. Here’s what AI actually replaced: → Writing first drafts of storyboards from scratch → Spending 3 hours formatting quiz questions → Manually sourcing stock images and icons → Building basic knowledge checks one click at a time Here’s what AI can’t replace: → Knowing why a learner is stuck (not just what they got wrong) → Designing scenarios that feel real, not robotic → Reading the room when an SME gives you garbage content and calling it gold → Making a compliance course that people don’t want to click through as fast as possible The IDs who are thriving in 2026 aren’t the ones who fear AI. They’re the ones using it to skip the boring stuff and spend more time on what actually matters — making people learn. I’m starting a 30-day series on instructional design. One post a day. No fluff. Just real stuff I’ve learned building courses for a living. If you’re an ID, want to become one, or just want to build better training — follow along. Day 2 tomorrow: The biggest mistake new instructional designers make (and how to fix it in 10 minutes). #InstructionalDesign #eLearning #LearningAndDevelopment #AI #CourseCreation

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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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Accessibility isn't automatic in Articulate Storyline. You can pass every built-in check and still have a course that is impossible to navigate. The Focus Order panel isn't just about compliance. It's about storytelling. Screen readers move through your content in the order you set. If that order is a mess, the learner's experience is a mess too. THE PROBLEM: You open the Focus Order panel and see "Rectangle 1, Text Box 3, Oval 7, Layer 1." Good luck making sense of that. WHAT MOST PEOPLE DON'T REALIZE: You can run Storyline's built-in Accessibility Checker, get zero issues, and still have a Focus Order that makes no sense to a screen reader user. The checker can't evaluate the flow of a story. Only you can. MY FIX: I name every object on my timelines and slide layers that I want included in the Focus Order to reflect the natural narrative order. • Base slide objects: Base 1, Base 2, Base 3 (foundational elements) • Slide layers: Named by narrative order (One, Two, Three) • Objects within each layer: One 1, One 2, One 3 (items in sequence) THE BONUS: If I see "Rectangle 1" or "Text Box 3" still in my Focus Order panel, I know it either needs to be named or removed. Unnamed = unreviewed. It's a built-in QA check. Now, when I open Focus Order, it reads like a clean outline from top to bottom. No guessing. No digging through layers. Just a simple drag into place. Accessibility isn't a box to check. It's how you ensure every learner gets the story you're trying to tell. What's your system for managing Focus Order? Or is it still a bit of a mystery? #Storyline360 #Accessibility #InstructionalDesign #eLearning #eLearningDevelopment #ArticulateStoryline #LearningAndDevelopment

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