I’m an Instructional Designer so respect me!

Instructional designers, like all workers, are treated in different ways by different people but a key question, which as yet remains unanswered, is are they respected?

Over the course of the last few years I have come across a number of instructional designers (who obviously have to remain anonymous) who bemoan the fact that the role they play in designing eLearning programmes is not respected or appreciated. Many of them feel unvalued, frustrated, demotivated, usurped and fed up. By nature, instructional designers are very good, if somewhat unassuming, team players, however for many a feeling of exclusion has become the norm.

So, what’s going on that has led to this sorry state of affairs? Well, I have managed to determine two causes which, singly or together, invariably lead to one effect.

Cause 1 – Project managers rule

For instructional designers who work in teams, alongside graphic designers, video producers and programers, there is usually a project manager ‘conducting’ the work and acting as the ‘go-between’ with the team and the client.

When a project manager is not and has never been an instructional designer, problems arise when they assume the instructional design mantle and seek to cut-off essential communication channels with the client and the lead/senior instructional designer.

In situations where the project manager is a control freak and/or will do anything to keep the client happy by agreeing to their requests, no matter how unwise, inappropriate, time-consuming or costly, then the lead/senior instructional designer becomes impotent and their vital role ceases to exist.

In the worst case scenarios, project managers have even been known to undermine the credibility, knowledge, skills and experience of instructional designers by dismissing the latter’s efforts and achievements to the client, as well as keeping the two parties well apart in order to retain their control.

Cause 2 – Authoring tools dominate

In this situation, the instructional designer is forced to work to the lowest common denominator ie the authoring tool or software. The instructional designer is told “We will be using ‘X’ tool, so you will need to design the programme accordingly.”. Depending on the tool, as some are not so limited as others, this can result in the instructional designer being severely constrained in how they can treat the content. Not only is this extremely frustrating, it is also very demeaning, somewhat akin to asking a top-notch organist who is used to having four manuals at their disposal to achieve the same musical outcome with only one manual!

In those cases, which sadly are becoming more and more common, where the instructional designer is also the programer, then the tool in question easily dominates most design considerations. The individual in question either forgets any instructional design knowledge and skills they may have or lets the tool dominate their design.

In either case, the outcome is one in which the ‘science’ and ‘art’ of instructional design plays very little, if any part. No small wonder then that many people are asking just what is an instructional designer good for!

Effect – Bottom of the heap syndrome

In an increasing number of cases, instructional designers are now being treated as second class citizens. In terms of an eLearning pecking order they are rapidly being relegated to the bottom of the heap. No small wonder then that so many feel unvalued, frustrated, demotivated, usurped and generally fed up.

A recipe for disaster

If this state of affairs continues then quality and fit-for-purpose eLearning programmes, irrespective of whether they are stand-alone, form part of a blended learning solution, or are used as a form of performance support, will rapidly become a thing of the past.

Sound and effective instructional design are the sine qua nons of all formal learning solutions, as well as for provision which is used informally for performance support. This is no more true than when, arguably, the most demanding delivery medium of all, eLearning, is involved.

We have got to do something to address this current lack of respect of instructional designers by, first, acknowledging that it exists, second, by bringing it to the attention of others and, third, by enforcing our role as indispensible L&D professionals. I sincerely hope that this post will make a positive contribution to the first two steps.

“I got to have (just a little bit) – A little respect (just a little bit)” (Aretha Franklin)

If you have had similar experiences to then please do use the comments box and tell me about them.

The Terror of Templates: an Instructional Designers nightmare!

In today’s world of rapid everything, particularly when it comes to e-Learning programmes, I have noticed and become a victim of a most disturbing trend: the scourge of templates.

Rapid e-Learning design has its place but not when instructional design is compromised. The use of templates is nothing new, where at the start of a e-Learning project it is agreed by the instructional designer in conjunction with the client, the graphic designers, and the programers, where specific assets can be placed on the screen.

Over the last few years though, I have noticed a most disturbing and counter-productive trend – one where templates become the sine qua non of all e-Learning design; effectively kicking instructional designers into touch. So, here’s my take on what is the good, bad and (the downright) ugly of using templates in designing e-Learning programmes.

Templates – the good

First of all, let me say that as an instructional designer I define and use templates. However, these are very simple and few in number. Generally, they just cover where graphics and text can go, to make life easier for other instructional designers in the team and for the programers.

Knowing what the various options are, it’s relatively easy to look at some content and decide what screen layouts to use: graphics & text, text & graphics, graphics/text and so on.

What happens next though is left solely to the instructional designer, in terms of how the text, graphics and audio work with one another, and the interactions that are required. The instructional designer is therefore completely in charge.

Templates – the bad

Here, the programers, with minimal or even no input from an instructional designer, come up with 20 or so templates, all of which are to do with what they want to see in order to make their lives easier.

Very few, if any, of these has anything to do with what an instructional designer would have chosen or that will work best for learners.  They attempt, and generally fail, to describe everything, including interactions.  Their use serves only to provide boring and predictable e-Learning programmes.

In short, these types of templates become a strait jacket for the instructional designer, depriving the latter of any creativity or of using their considerable knowledge and skill of learning to produce high quality, effective e-Learning.

Templates – the (downright) ugly

OK it goes like this. An e-Learning provider (who will remain nameless) gives me a total of 80, yes 80, templates to use (and on pain of death if I didn’t use them correctly). Each one of these 80 templates is so complicated, so restricted, and so inane that I rapidly lose the will to live!

Being an inquiring soul, I ask why do all these templates have to control what I do? Answer: “Well, we are using an offshore company to keep the costs down and this is the only way we can control what they provide”.

So, the tail is wagging the proverbial dog. I tried, oh believe me how I tried, but after a few days I gave up, as I couldn’t work/dance to such a cacophony.

I also felt that everything I knew and was experienced in doing as an instructional designer had just flown out of the window.  In short I’d become the operator of a sausage machine!

Sweet dreams

If I am going to sleep well and perform at my best as an instructional designer, then the ‘terror of templates’ has to become a thing of the past.

I do wish more instructional designers who have had sleepless nights or, worse still nightmares, about this scourge of the templates would also speak out. The life of an instructional designer can, at the worse, be a fairly unthankful task but with all these templates, it is rapidly becoming an unworkable one.

As I always live and work in hope, can I now say ‘goodbye to the terror of templates as “Sweet dreams are made of this. Who am I to disagree?” (Eurythmics). I most sincerely hope so.

Getting into those important spaces

For the last few years I have read and heard so much about how trainers need to wise-up, get with-it, and embrace social media. This is undoubtedly true but how will people know what to do? The simple answer: by reading Jane Bozarth’s book ‘Social Media for Trainers’, that’s how.

For all you trainers out there, there is one book which should be on your ‘essential reading’ list: Social Media for Trainers: Techniques for Enhancing and Extending Learning, Jane Bozarth, 2010, Pfeiffer, ISBN 978-0-470-63106-5.

Why? Well, as Jane says in her book “It is critical, if workplace trainers intend to remain viable and credible, that they understand how to participate in the networks and use the social media tools to extend their reach and enhance the development of the employees they are charged with developing.” Surely, only luddites would tut at this and say that social media tools are not for them? Which means that if you are reading this blog, it would be reasonable to assume that you are not one of the ‘tutting’ brigade, so read on.

To start with, I felt I should support the technology focus of this book, so I downloaded it from Amazon and, using the Kindle app on my iPad, read it electronically. As a result, I realized that via this medium it wasn’t only a book but an interactive one at that, allowing me, via the many hyperlinks, to go straight to tables, diagrams, etc. in the book itself and to access straight away the valuable external website links provided; which really added that extra bit of something to what was a very pleasurable reading and learning experience.

The book opens with an overview of social media tools and current trends, both of which are covered superbly. This is followed by chapters dedicated to Twitter, Facebook and Other Communities, Blogs, Wikis, and Other Tools, each of which provides a long list of ideas for activities, discussion topics and formats, and exercises using the tool in question. I found each of these to be very informative, well thought out, and extremely valuable.  Even as a fairly experienced blogger and twitterer, I learned so much more and, although I was not a great fan of Facebook, I now see it in a much more positive light. The book concludes with an overview of the larger picture, ie social learning, along with suggestions for gaining organizational support for change – which nearly blew my socks off with the number of citations, examples, and case studies provided.

One of many meaningful messages in this book is as follows: “Research … indicates that as much as 70 percent of workplace learning is informal, occurring outside the classroom and in the spaces between formal training events. Social media is one way for the training department and the training practitioners to get into those spaces and reach employees between events.” – hence the title of this blog post.

As Jane says “In essence, training approaches incorporating social media strategies more closely resembles how we really learn in our day-to-day activities.” I could not agree with her more and, if you do too, then make sure you get and read this book. As I said to someone the other day on Twitter “you will not be disappointed” if you do.

Finally, just take a moment to think about your own organization or those for which you provide training. Social media tools are here to stay, so why not incorporate their use into your training provision? Then, having read Jane Bozarth’s book, draw-up a plan of action for doing just that.

You can contact Jane Bozarth via her website www.bozarthzone.com on Facebook at Jane Bozarth Bozarthzone and via Twitter at @janebozarth.

The place of design in learning

Last Thursday (27^th May) I took part in a very interesting ‘LearnChat’ (#lrnchat) via Twitter about the place of design in learning. Since then I have thought a bit more about this topic.

#lrnchat

If you want to see the transcript of the latest #lrnchat or even join in next week then go to http://lrnchat.wordpress.com/ for full details of when the ‘chats’ take place and what you need to do.

The nature of design

I think it goes without saying that ‘design’ pervades all of our lives, whether it is in our homes, the architecture of buildings (as well as in them), the equipment we use, the layout of villages, towns and cities, to name but a few.

But so does or should ‘design’ pervade all aspects of what we provide to learners, irrespective of whether that provision is for training, development or educational purposes, and regardless of the means by which the learning is delivered (eg face-to-face, classroom-based, blended, e-Learning, paper-based learning and so on).

What is ‘design’

Whilst various definitions exist, here are two useful ones from a L&D point of view:

§ ‘a plan or drawing produced to show the look and function or workings of a building, garment or other object before it is built or made’

§ ‘purpose, planning or intention that exists or is thought to exist behind an action, fact or material object’.

Design in L&D

We already have and use the term ‘instructional designer’ which for me covers both definitions provided above and which explains why such a role is both a crucial and fundamental aspect all educational, training and development provision. However, whilst I am an instructional designer, I am not a graphic designer, an artist or, even, a programmer! Yet, I would contest that all these roles are examples of design in learning.

In all the forms in which learning takes place, the look and feel of what is, or should be presented to users must be a primary consideration. I’m not just talking about e-Learning here, I’m talking about all aspects regardless of their means of delivery.

A neglected area?

As far as I’m concerned, learning design per se has been a much neglected area and it continues to be so. From the ubiquitous ‘handout’ to the ‘e-Learning’ course, all elements and facets of design should figure prominently. Just as much most of us like and appreciate the aesthetic aspects of our world, the same is also true for our learning experiences.

Essentially, anything which helps me to learn, be it formally or informally, has to be good and this includes the design, in all its formats, which has gone into it.

The place of design in learning? It must be a given but I think we have some way still to go to prove it!

The Power of Social Media

The Power of Social Media

I’ve now gone past the ‘wow’ factor with Social Media (SoMe) to appreciate just what SoMe tools can do in the world of Learning and Development. Here are a few thoughts.

The tools

Well, for starters, there are so many of them and they are increasing on an almost monthly basis. If you want to see a list of some of them then look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_media which also provides a neat classification. Also Jane Hart (http://www.c4lpt.co.uk/) the UK’s leading SoMe guru (I hope she will forgive me for describing her thus) provides a ToolsZoNE area on her website, which lists over 2,000 tools in 12 categories.

But which ones are useful for L&D purposes? Again Jane Hart (http://c4lpt.co.uk/recommended/index.html) lists 100 top tools as voted for by 278 learning professionals worldwide in 2009. Interestingly ‘Twitter’ is ranked the number one tool. Delicious is ranked second with You Tube, Google Reader and Google Docs forming the top five respectively.

So, without a doubt, many SoMe tools are not only suitable for L&D purposes but they are also being used more and more by the profession.

The power

Although it is relatively early days with using SoMe tools for learning, particularly formal learning, there is a number of interesting reports from people who have embedded the use of these tools into their L&D programmes. One of the most recent reports from Jane Hart (I hope she doesn’t start to get a complex!) can be found at http://bit.ly/9XyYXL which details Jane’s experience of using Twitter in a face-to-face workshop. If you want to know ‘how’ just read her write-up as it’s excellent.

On 30 April the topic for #lrnchat was ‘Enterprise 2.0’. I expected the ‘chat’ to be about Enterprise 2.0 platforms but to my delight it focused on Enterprise 2.0 tools, i.e. SoMe tools. You can find a transcript of the chats on this topic at http://lrnchat.com/. It was interesting to discover that only a relatively few people had actually managed successfully to embed some of these tools into their current L&D programmes.

Apart from IT issues, such as IT departments/controls which block or act as a negative influence on the use of such tools, there are some other factors which, seemingly, are limiting their use. Factors such as getting buy-in from the ‘hierarchy’, the ability of learners to use the tools, a limited vision as to how these tools can be used effectively and not just because they are available, and how to ‘manage’ their use by the L&D profession, appear to be some of current constraints.

However, in the next year or so I expect to see the increasing use of SoMe tools in L&D as current constraints are overcome. It is their power and potential which will come to the fore and survive, believe me!

Many thanks to my growing network of L&D folk, without whom I would not have been able to write this post.

The Tidal Flow of Technology

Just like the tide, the effects of technology also ebb and flow. What was yesterday’s hot topic can become tomorrow’s has-been. However, is this always the case?

The tidal flow of social media

When the concept of social media first burst on the L&D scene, I bet I was not alone in thinking that it might become another one-minute technology wonder. Last November, I was asked by the British Institute for Learning and Development (the BILD) to give a presentation at one of their Connect meetings on ‘Web 2.0’. I entitled my presentation ‘The New Face of Learning?’ – here’s the link to the slideshow for you so you can see what I talked about. Note, the ‘?’ mark in the title as that is particularly significant.

or click here

Recently I have been thinking some nine months on whether what I said on that occasion was still current or not. I must admit that my approach then was one of caution, not in terms of actually using Web 2.0 applications but more about the impact their use is likely to have on organisations, instructional designers and end users.

The impact issues which I raised then are still very current, if any thing they are becoming even more important. For example only the other day I read about an organisation which had banned its employees from using Twitter in the workplace – a trend which I think is likely to grow rather than to recede! Even in one’s private life the use of things like Twitter and Facebook needs to be done with due care and consideration if one’s professional life is not to be compromised. I know that every time I twitter I am extremely careful about what I say, unlike some people whom I couldn’t possibly name!

So, how do things stack up now? Has the social media tide flowed and ebbed or is it still flowing? My considered view is that it is still very much flowing and that there is a lot more flowing yet to come. I think that in the next few years the use of social media is going to result in a mixture of pleasure and pain; probably in roughly equal measure.

… and in case you are not convinced, then just remember this: “The secret of success is learning how to use pain and pleasure instead of having pain and pleasure use you. If you do that, you're in control of your life. If you don't, life controls you.” Anthony Robbins.

Jack of ALL Trades?

There is a fast growing and disturbing trend which is becoming apparent in the e-Learning world – no longer is it good enough to be an instructional design specialist, you now have to be a graphic designer and a programer as well!

Jack or Master?

I have spent years (14 to be precise) perfecting my specialism as an instructional designer of blended learning. However, only the other day someone rang me and said “Hi there Judith, I’ve got the perfect job for you. We need an instructional designer for 20 days to get an e-Learning programme produced. I assume that you can program in Articulate?”.

My reply to this was along the lines of “... err, sorry, no, I’m not a programer, I am an instructional designer. I have written scripts which were to be programed in Articulate, so I know how the suite of tools work, but as I have said already, I am not a programer and neither am I a graphic designer. I know and specify what graphics I want but I couldn’t design them to save my life!”.

Now, if this was a one off, then OK, but it wasn’t. I’ve had and seen numerous job opportunities recently for the ‘Jack of all instructional designer trades’, which makes me wonder what on earth is going on and, far more importantly, what effect this trend is going to have on the job which I do and, from what others tell me, do very well.

Becoming a top notch instructional designer takes years of experience and I’m still learning and developing in this role. I haven’t the time, skills or inclination to stop my learning and development to learn how to program, even if the authoring tools to be used are in the ‘Rapid’ category. We need more quality instructional designers and not ‘Jacks of all Trades and Masters of None’! Each to their own, that’s what I say. There are plenty of people out their who are ace at graphic design and others who just love programing – so let them get on with it, that’s what I say.

So, what lies beneath this worry trend? The answer my friend, is ignorance and greed! Ignorance of what instructional design is all about and greed in wanting to get something produced as quickly as possible and as cheaply as possible. Just as I thought we were finally turning the corner in the production of quality e-Learning programmes, it would seem that we are now in real danger of turning the clock back by expecting people with real instructional design skills and experience to become something they are not.

My dilemma now is, that in order to earn a living, should I learn how to use authoring tools such as Captivate and Articulate? I hope, most sincerely, that the answer is ‘NO’!

Working as an Instructional Designer

What's it like to be an Instructional Designer?  Well, you are often underpaid, held in low esteem, ignored, expected to churn out sausages and used as a scapegoat.  But you can also find yourself treated with respect and courtesy, listened to at all times and, most importantly of all, getting a tremendous amount of satisfaction from a job well done.

For me, working as an instructional designer is the job I most want to do whenever I get the chance.  Some people might think that I must have masochistic tendencies by admitting to such a thing because they have tried instructional design and found it to be a most disagreeable experience.  In particular, when working as an e-Learning instructional designer the art and science of the job are so often pushed to their limits, which is either a good thing if you are good at what you are doing or a really bad thing if you aren't!

In an ideal world the instructional designer is someone who is respected and who takes the lead on what learners need to be able to do, how content will be structured and sequenced, what delivery media will be used, and how assessment will be used.  When e-Learning is either a part of or the whole solution, instructional designers should also take the lead on how assets will be used, the look and feel of the GUI, and the use of navigation and function buttons.  Why?  Well, it's because they know about such things and how they can be used best to help people learn - they need to be the leaders of the team and not the tea-makers.

However, all too often reality is far removed from the ideal world.  Far too often, even with nearly 14 years instructional design experience, I have found myself being dictated to by graphic designers and programers, most of whom have very little idea about instructional designers and how people learn.  If you pay peanuts then you usually get monkeys but more and more instructional designers are expected to work for extremely low rates of pay.  They are often kept in the dark, a bit like mushrooms, only to be let out into the light when it's far too late.  Their advice is not heeded and when the inevitable happens they get the blame for a poor programme or end result.  If this wasn't bad enough, they are also expected to mimic a sausage-making factory, by churning out designs, learning materials and scripts to order in a robotic, machine-like fashion whilst working in an environment akin to a sweat-shop!

The environment in which instructional designers work is incredibly important to them if they are to produce quality stuff.  The more experienced the person the more they will know what works best for them.  For example, I simply cannot do instructional design work in an office, surrounded by a whole load of people.  I'm far too nosey for a start and easily get distracted by what those around me are doing!  To produce quality work I need a conducive environment, one which is quiet and where I feel most comfortable.  I need time to reflect and my own space in which to feel inspired because I don't churn out sausages!  Yet I am constantly amazed at the number of clients who insist that instructional designers work on-site at all times - how 20th Century is that?

If a client wants an experienced, mature instructional designer then why do they insist on treating them like children who can't be left to their own devices and who have to be under the watchful eye of the project manager or whomever at all times?  In addition, I wonder just how many clients have missed out on employing quality instructional designers on short, fixed-term contracts because they expect them to commute many miles each day to be on-site?  Somehow we need to get over to these people that we are now in the 21st Century with reliable and powerful communication technologies at our disposal and that their 'Victorian' attitude is doing no favours whatsoever to the provision of quality and effective learning solutions.

To this end I am currently engaged in trying to convince recruitment agencies of the futility of this outmoded and draconian approach, in the hope that they will be able to help turn the tide so that working as an instructional designer becomes far more of a pleasure instead of a pain.  Wish me well!

The place of design in learning

I have dithered for a while about doing this but I can't put if off any longer, even if my main reason is that everyone else I know is already doing it - blogging I mean.

There is so much going on at the moment in the L&D world about which I feel strongly and with which I am actively involved, that I am now humbled into thinking why should I keep it all to myself?

On Tuesday, at a British Institute for Learning and Development Connect meeting, I decided that the time had come to 'publish'. The meeting was concerned with Learning Design ( a subject about which I am immensely passionate) and Web 2.0 applications. Whilst I write articles regularly for a well-known publisher, these are only read by those who subscribe to the publication. One of the strengths of blogging is to publish your views for anyone to read and, more importantly, to comment on.

The use of blogs, wikis and social networking were all covered in the meeting from both technological and learning perspectives. As one of the speakers, I did my best to look at these applications from a learning perspective, as I have never liked seeing the technology tail wagging the learning dog and there was certainly a lot of wagging going on I can tell you!

I've now got to get to grips with this blogging technology, so my apologies if my early posts are somewhat on the basic side but I will try to improve in this regard. I am also aware that, in the fullness of time, I might decide that the decision I took on Tuesday was the equivalent of some glorified ego trip, in which case my blogging days will be over - I really hope that it doesn't come to this though.

Judith