| Instructional
Design |
| The purpose of instruction is to
help users overcome a deficiency in their job skills or knowledge.
Instructional Design is the systematic process of developing
instructional systems.
Creating effective training to fill this need calls for the
application of Instructional Design skills along with processes
that produce authentic, well-organized, and engaging materials. |
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Instructional Designers
-- Instructional Design focuses on what the instruction should
be like, including look, feel, organization and functionality.
Instructional Designers work much like architects,
drawing up specifications and blueprints for a course
before actual construction begins. Sometimes Instructional Designers also
build what they design; in this instance, they are also the
Course Developer.
Development Process
-- A typical course development
process includes the following steps:
1. Training
needs assessment
2. Task analysis
3. Instructional design
4. Graphic/page layout design
5. Production of training
materials
6. Course evaluation |
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ADDIE --
ADDIE is one of the oldest and most popular models for Instructional
Design. ADDIE is used by both business and education because
it provides a systematic process for designing training materials.
Each letter of the ADDIE acronym represents a separate phase
of the training development process.
- Analysis
The Who, What, Where, When, Why and By Whom of the design
process
- Design
Creating the blueprint or structure for the training
- Develop
Applying the blueprint and creating the training product
- Implement
Deliver the training
- Evaluation
An end of the project phase, but also a part of each ADDIE
model phase
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| Books -- Libraries and bookstores
are replete with books about Instructional Design, so be sure
to check out some books on the subject in addition to the
online resources below.
Note: I apologize in advance for possible linkrot. I try keep the links on this site up-to-date, but URLs change often. |
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| Instructional
Designer Role |
| Course Development Teams
-- Web-based courses, particularly in the corporate arena, require
a team effort. The Content Expert (CE) or Subject Matter Expert (SME) is generally an engineer, programmer, developer,
owner, business analyst, or trainer. The CE or SME is well versed on the subject matter, and offers an outline of subjects that should be covered,
but rarely creates the course. Managers and supervisors are members of the team; these folks are responsible for alloting resources, assigning personnel, and
tracking the project, but do not actually assist with course-building
tasks. Because online courses can take months to complete and
test, various other stakeholders will belong to the Project
Team and have input regarding course content and presentation.
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| ID Tasks
-- Because different organizations place different expectations
on Instructional Designers and Course Developers, the people who build the course must be ready, willing and able to wear various different
hats during the course-building process. |
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Team Member -- As
a member of the course development team, Instructional Designers
may be expected to perform any or all of the following tasks:
- Manage the training and documentation process
- Maintain an open door policy to answer questions from
CEs as necessary
- Establish and maintain schedules and deliverable deadlines
- Communicate concerns or issues to management
- Schedule ad hoc 1:1s with CEs or 2:1s with CEs and writers
as needed to verify processes
- Come prepared to meetings to make the most efficient
use of the Project Team’s time
- Meet with content experts and the training specialist
on a regular basis
- Gather background and supplemental information as needed
- Understand processes and procedures completely
- Ask questions of the content expert and the training
specialist as needed
- Hold regular meetings with the training specialist and
CEs to:
- Give status updates
- Address concerns
- Meet project deadlines
- Ensure accurate, correct documentation according to rules,
styles, and templates established by the Training group
- Attend design reviews and demos
- Update course information due to changes in the business
processes
- Obtain document feedback and make updates as needed
- Meet with the CE or other primary stakeholder on a regular
basis
- Revise course text as necessary
- Schedule and perform usability tests with content experts
and the training specialist
Note: Instructional Designers who work as industry
contractors may need to take the initiative for clarifying which
tasks are expected of them during course development.
Instructional Design responsibilities will be different from company to company, district
to district. |
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| ID
Meetings with CE or SME |
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 ID
and CE Roles -- The role
of Instuctional Designer (or Course Developer) is not only
multifaced, but can change drastically from project to project,
from manager to manager. Sometimes the Instructional
Designer will assume the role of project lead while other
times the Content Expert (CE) or Subject Material Expert (SME)
will elect to nearly all aspects of course development.
Meeting process -- Either way, these two or three individuals
comprise the core of the course development team. The meeting
process between a Content Expert or Subject Material Expert
and the Instructional Designer or Course Developer may evolve
and proceed as outlined in the attached file. |
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To open the meeting outline, click the button. |
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| Naturally, all training stakeholders
are invited to review the course as testers.
Suggestions are often discussed by everyone on the team, but the course
owner makes the final decision and the Instructional Designer implements
the changes. |
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| More Change and Update Suggestions
-- After the course is released,
some students may suggest changes or updates. Generally, the
CE or SME receives these suggestions and hands them down to
the Course Developer for implementation. |
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| Usability |
| Basic Definition
-- Generally "usability" refers to how well users can learn to use a product or concept, how easily they can achieve their learning goals, and how satisfied they are with the learning process. According to ISO 9241-11: "Usability refers to the extent to which a product can be used by specified users to achieve specified goals with effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction in a specified context of user." |
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Usability Measurements
-- Sometimes "usability" can be replaced with "user-friendly." Usability is a combination of factors and considerations, including: |
- Ease of learning
- Efficienty of use
- Page and screen design
- Information architecture
- Interaction design
- Memorability
- Error frequency and severity
- Subjective satisfaction
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User-Centered Design -- User-centered design applies to websites as well as computer-based or Web-based training. If a website is not useful, or easy to navigate, it will not be visited, and if online training is not constructed with the user in mind, the training will not serve its ultimate purpose: to teach processes, procedures and skills to employees or clients. User-centered design considers how users think the website or training module should work. Taking the time to carefully plan online training before the building process begins will save much time in the end. Rebuilding training modules because users don't like it creates much extra work for everyone involved in the process (business analysts, SMEs, developers, instructional designers, writers, etc.) Considering usability factors ahead of time saves time, money and resources. |
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Usability Steps -- Follow these steps before, during and after building a website or online training:
- Plan
- Analyze
- Design
- Accessibility
- Test and Refine
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| Quality
Online Training |
Performance Improvement
-- Dr. Robert F. Mager has written nine books on training and
performance improvement and is credited with revolutionizing
the performance improvement industry. In Making Instruction
Work, Dr. Mager summerizes how he evaluates courses:
A course is effective to the degree that it accomplishes
what it sets out to accomplish.
It is efficient to the degree it accomplishes its purpose
with the least motion
(time, effort, money).
This book, now in its second edition, outlines numerous techniques
and procedures teachers and Course Developers can apply to make
instruction more lean, effective, motivating, and on target.
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 Web-Based
Training -- For the organization
funding Web-based training courses, determining just what
exactly constitutes a good, or an excellent course, can be
a daunting task. But online training departments must address
the problem of course evaluation to determine if financing
the WBT courses is worth the investment. In the business world,
managers need to show a positive ROI in order to secure continued
funding.
Course evaluation and feedback
forms are common tools for analyzing WBT courses, specifically
for identifying the effectiveness of presentation and design
features. See the links below for several training forms and
guidelines you can find online. |
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Usability