How I made that job aid: Maximizing with minimal space

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In my previous job I designed instructional materials for clinicians learning the electronic medical record (EMR), the majority being nurses.  We would start classroom training about 8-10 weeks prior to implementation.  The switch was flipped and the system went live.  During those first few weeks, my team provided on-site support at the hospital, continually making … Read more

Yes Luke, George is your Father

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I ran across this quote from George Lucas a while back.  I really like how he describes the Star Wars universe and his role in it.

I am the father of our Star Wars (1977) movie world – the filmed entertainment, the features and now the animated film and television series. And I’m going to do a live-action television series. Those are all things I am very involved in: I set them up and I train the people and I go through them all. I’m the father; that’s my work. Then we have the licensing group, which does the games, toys and books, and all that other stuff. I call that the son – and the son does pretty much what he wants. Then we have the third group, the holy ghost, which is the bloggers and fans. They have created their own world. I worry about the father’s world. The son and holy ghost can go their own way.

What the heck is an instructional designer? – Part 1

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Being thrown back into the job hunting market has made me acutely aware of the fact that nobody understands what I do.  Methinks it’s time for an intro to my world and what it is I actually do.  I do not design software.  I do not fix computers.  I do not produce marketing materials.  And I am not restricted to only working in the industry of my last job (healthcare).

I am an instructional designer.  What exactly does that mean?  I get a lot of blank stares and misinterpretations about my profession.  First question posed to me: So, you are like an architect/interior designer?  Half the time it’s architect, the other half it’s interior designer.  Not so much.

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On being an ID: A cautionary tale

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I am an instructional designer. I am a multimedia developer. I have my Master’s degree in Instructional Design & Technology and have been working in the field for five years. I’ve seen plenty of learning examples, from paper to CBT to rapid e-learning and everything in between. I think I have a pretty good sense of what works stylistically and from a UX point of view. I have a fairly good grasp of the technology and the theory behind instructional design. With that being said, it’s hard sometimes not to be a little smug and sit on top of my Vygotskian throne dispensing wisdom to the inept SMEs who cross my path. “You want to do THAT? Oh, well, {insert choice learning theory here} states you should do THIS…”, or “we tried that approach 4 years ago and they didn’t get it” (as if it is the exact same approach with the exact same learners, tools, time frame, etc.).

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