From Perfection to Progress: My Journey to Instructional Design

Shouldn’t creating your online course be straightforward? Not for most people Why? Because most people get stuck because their ideas feel unorganised and hard to structure. The best way forward, if this is you, is to use clear tools (like my Instructional Designer's starter pack 😜) that guide you through each stage. You will then know what your learners need, how the course fits together, and how the content should flow. But what is included in The Instructional Designer’s Starter Pack? 👉 A Design Booklet – capture exactly what learners need. 👉 A High-Level Design Tool – see the big picture with clarity. 👉 A Storyboard Planner – map your content into a flow that works. If you are a coach, consultant, or business owner and you’re ready to stop staring at a blank page and start building your course, head over to my website https://lnkd.in/eppjhDUJ

The Tip of the Iceberg in Instructional Design We often hear the phrase “Tip of the iceberg,” meaning what we see is just a small part of something much deeper. As an Instructional Designer, I feel this phrase perfectly fits the way we create storyboards. When I design a storyboard, I put a lot of thought into creating onscreen text that aligns with the narration, keeping it content-based, visually appealing, and well-supported with infographics and interactivities. But the two slides where I pour in the most thought and creativity are the Learning Objectives and Summary slides. Learning objectives slide This usually appears at the beginning of a course. The objectives are written as short, crisp lines, often not even full sentences. Yet, these few words represent the depth of the entire course. Each objective is like the tip of the iceberg, hinting at the larger ocean of knowledge that lies beneath. Summary slide At the end of the storyboard, we highlight key learning points again, just a few lines. But behind those short sentences lies everything the learner has absorbed, understood, and connected throughout the course, the vast part of the iceberg that remains unseen. In both cases, what the learner sees on screen is simple and clear, but what lies beneath is hours of analysis, design thinking, and creative effort. That’s the beauty of Instructional Design: It’s not just what’s visible on the surface, but what’s thoughtfully built underneath. #ID #Instructionaldesign #elearning #Learningobjectives #summary #keylearningpoints #tipoftheiceberg

Ever felt like you’re juggling 10 ideas while your SME keeps saying, can we just make it look fun? Welcome to the Design phase of Instructional Design — where structure meets creativity. Here’s what goes on behind the scenes: 1️⃣ Learning Objectives – Defining what learners should achieve 2️⃣ Instructional Strategy – Choosing how they’ll get there 3️⃣ Content Sequencing – Organizing info like a story, not a dump 4️⃣ Assessment Planning – Designing proof of learning 5️⃣ Media & Visual Design – Turning ideas into engaging experiences Actionable Tip: Before jumping into visuals, write a single line: After this module, learners will be able to… If you can’t fill that confidently, your design isn’t ready yet. The Design phase is where logic meets magic — plan well, then let your creativity flow. #InstructionalDesign #LXD #eLearning #ADDIE #LearningStrategy #IDTips

Yes, Totally agree with this! Instructional design requires strategy, empathy, and a deep understanding of how people learn not just aesthetic skills. Creating meaningful learning experiences takes time, collaboration, and a lot of invisible effort that often goes unnoticed. Being an instructional designer is so much more than just “making slides pretty.” It’s about navigating undervalued roles, endless scope creep, broken tools, disengaged learners, and the constant pressure for “innovation” that misses real learning goals!

Frameworks like TPACK and SAMR provide structure, but true design happens in the flow --> where theory meets curiosity and creativity. Instructional design isn’t about boxes and checklists; it’s about crafting experiences that engage minds and hearts. When teachers become designers, learning becomes transformative. Which design framework helps you bring structure without limiting creativity? #InstructionalDesign #LearningInnovation #EdTech #DesignThinking #LetsConACT

🎬The Power of Storyboarding in Instructional Design In this video, we see a fascinating sequence, a kid carefully bouncing a ball from one pan to another, each time adding a new pan to guide the ball’s path until it finally lands perfectly in a cup. ⚓ This simple act beautifully mirrors what happens in instructional design. Every effective educational material, whether a video, infographic, or lesson plan, needs a clear storyboard. ⚓ Just like the ball’s journey, a storyboard helps us plan the flow of learning , step by step, frame by frame. We decide where to start, how each part connects, and where we want learners to “land.” Without a storyboard, ideas may bounce in random directions, losing focus and impact. ⚓ A good storyboard ensures that every “bounce”, every visual, line of text, and transition, moves learners closer to understanding. It’s the invisible structure that turns creativity into clarity. 💭 Question to reflect on: If a ball can’t reach its target without a planned path, how can our learning content reach the learner without a storyboard? #InstructionalDesign #Storyboarding #LearningDesign #EdTech #TeachingInnovation #VisualLearning #DigitalPedagogy #Educators #LearningExperienceDesign

Let’s play a fun little game called: “How long can I wait for my SME to send me the content?” Day 1: You send the email. Day 3: You send a polite follow-up. Day 7: You start doubting your career choices. Day 14: You’re considering contacting a medium. 🔮 Here’s the thing...your SMEs aren't going to show up one day with a neatly packaged PowerPoint deck, perfectly formatted and instructionally sound. (And if they do, it’s probably from 2011 and has Clip Art.) That’s not how this job works. As instructional designers, our job isn’t to wait for the content fairy to deliver everything on a silver platter...it’s to go get it, extract it...and sometimes create it ourselves. Ask better questions. Build drafts and MVPs to spark discussion. Create content when it doesn’t exist. Keep projects moving, even when things are stuck. Because instructional design is less about waiting…and more about making sense of chaos and turning it into learning that works. 🔗 If you want some additional tips and advice on all of this, check out this post: https://lnkd.in/g-R8iY5E What’s the funniest excuse you’ve ever heard from an SME for not sending the content? Share your experiences, tips, thoughts, and questions down in the comments! Have a great week, ya'll! 👋 —Tim #InstructionalDesign #LearningAndDevelopment #eLearning

One of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned in instructional design? Iteration. It’s almost impossible to get everything right the first time, whether it’s a project idea, a visual mockup, or a prototype. There are just too many moving parts! You have to consider stakeholders, learners, organizational goals, and even personal preferences and aesthetics. Add to that the rapid pace of technology, and the fact that instructional designers are deeply connected to that progress, and you’ve got a never-ending cycle of build → evaluate → revise → repeat. And honestly? That’s what makes the work so rewarding. Every iteration brings you a little closer to something that truly works. What’s your process for handling iteration? Do you love the refinement stage, or find it the toughest part of design? #LxD #eLearning #Storyline #ID #LearningDesign

🎬 Episode 1: Becoming an Instructional Designer. Let’s Talk About Presentations! The word presentation instantly reminds me of those group project slides. Or at work, “Can you make a few slides for the team?” Or the classic request: “We need slides to pitch this product.” Almost immediately, the room goes silent… then comes the murmuring: “I am not good with slides.” “I will just copy the notes and read them out”(Somewhere in the audience, we all wish the presentation ended before it even began 😅). Over time, some people try to improve. They might use a fancy template but add a corporate building while presenting on customer satisfaction. Others find PowerPoint Designer and give each slide a different color scheme and patterns, creativity at its wildest! Still, even with all this effort, something often feels missing. Many presentations end up as reports in disguise, filled with text and a read-along pace. However, the real secret to effective presentations is clear communication that leaves a lasting impression. I have learned that storytelling through slides transforms the learning experience: it relaxes learners, makes ideas relatable, and helps information stick. That is where visual thinking comes in. While design principles are key, blending them with visuals and narrative flow turns ordinary slides into real learning experiences. In the pictures below 👇, I created three slide styles: 1️⃣ Title & Content layout( Conventional) 2️⃣ Process layout (breaking down the definition visually) 3️⃣ Storytelling (simple but relatable) Each layout serves a different purpose, and together they illustrate my main message, however, blending structure and storytelling is key to creating engaging and memorable presentations. Which one resonates most with you? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments! 💬 #InstructionalDesign #PresentationDesign #VisualThinking #Storytelling #LearningDesign

🌍 Designing for a Global Audience One of the most rewarding challenges in instructional design is creating learning that resonates with everyone — across languages, roles, and industries. Recently, I have been working on a course that needed to prepare adults from very different fields to apply a shared emergency management framework — whether responding to a small kitchen fire or a large-scale flood. The goal? To make complex systems feel approachable and actionable through clear narrative storytelling, pop-up glossary terms, and scenario-based examples that scale in both demand and complexity. Along the way, accessibility continues to stay front and center — from closed captions and alt text to plain-language explanations and both inclusive and purposeful visuals. Because when your audience spans the globe, the best design isn’t the flashiest—it’s the clearest. Inclusive design isn’t a box to check — it’s how learning connects. 💡 #InstructionalDesign #LearningExperienceDesign #Accessibility #GlobalLearning #eLearningDevelopment #IDCommunity #InclusiveDesign #DigitalLearning #AccessibleEducation #UniversalDesign #WCAG #OnlineLearning