Instructional Designers In Offices Drinking Coffee

Learning Engineer may sound like a fancy new title for instructional designers, but it's so much more than that. The current state of our "industry" is spread quite thin across many domains. There is art, science, technology, humanity, politics, business, and so much more all part of the work we do as corporate training professionals of one form or another. Learning Engineering finally brings it all together under one banner.Jim Goodell is the editor of the new book The Learning Engineering Toolkit. He joins us to talk about the growing number of practitioners adapting to this more complete understanding of the work we do and services Learning Engineering provides for the enterprise.This conversation will appeal to everyone in the L&D, and corporate training industry. And whether you're new to Instructional design or a seasoned professional you'll benefit from understanding the future of Learning Engineering. The Learning Engineering Toolkit is everything you need to get started.You don't want to miss thi

So much changed in the spring of 2020. In our L&D world there was a massive shift to online learning to deal with the elimination of in-person events.Two-and-a-half years later online virtual and hybrid sessions are still a highly popular way of delivering training. Our industry has had time to settle in with tools like Teams and Zoom – but how many of us have actually been able to shift to using them in the most effective ways possible?In this week’s session we’ll talk with Jo Cook to discuss her research with Jane Daly, Behavioral Scientist specializing in evidence-based culture and capability transformation.Jo and Jane are this week releasing the results of their research report on the use of virtual and hybrid learning for organizational training.Jo was with us last December to discuss early insights of this research a year ago, so we’re excited to have her back to learn more now that the report is out in full and see what has and hasn’t changed in the past 12 months!Become virtual friends with the ID

DevLearn is always filled with new solutions, forward thinking conversations, and great people. This episode of IDIODC will be a special DevLearn episode to discuss the most exciting new trends in eLearning. Most of these trends will be on display during the event, so it's a great opportunity to discuss and experience the future of eLearning.You may be wondering why we don't have a guest listed. Well, we expect several guests to be joining Brent in the foyer outside the expo, as well as special guests invited to join us online to engage in the conversation.What's different this year is Chris will not be at the event. He will be hosting the event from dominKnow HQ in Canada. However, Brent will be there hosting the IDIODC booth and managing co-hosting duties for the Wednesday morning episode.You may also have heard that we have our own booth and lots of topics to discuss throughout the expo. So, if you're going to be at #DevLearn22 we hope you'll stop by, say hi, and take a selfie pic with Brent at booth #227.

There are many frustrations working in Corporate Learning & Development. And there are many opinions as to why Learning & Development, and training departments struggle to be recognized as important parts of the business.Mark Oehlert joins us with what may, or may not, be one of the most controversial reasons why L&D struggles. And could it really be as simple as how the accounting department accounts for our existence?But wait! This conversation is surely not as boring as accounting sounds. Trust me, it won't be. Mark is not your typical eLearning geek. He's a deep thinker with unique insights into many of the cultural struggles that have plagued enterprises for decades.  And as an anthropologist and historian he brings a very different thinking process to our industry.This is sure to be an enlightening and entertaining episode... especially if someone will do me a favor and ask in the chat why SCORM was his fault. Save your spot in crowdcast so you're notified with a reminder. Become virtual fri

Designing and developing instruction is a creative and fun process.  But it can also be filled with boring and frustrating details and "administrivia". In the not so distant past automating simple workflow processes meant learning to code and programming sequenced tasks, or worse, doing them yourself, over and over again, manually. But not any more.Mike Taylor joins us to talk about no-code tools that can help you improve your workflow and make you more efficient. If you're not sure what no-code tools are and how they can help you, then this episode is perfect for you. We'll start with the basics and work up to more advanced no-code tools.Become virtual friends with the IDIODC gang on Twitter. Remember you can always stay in the loop by searching through the #IDIODC tag:Brent: @BSchlenkerChris: @Chris_V_WIDIODC: @TeamIDIODC Brent Schlenker is dominKnow's Community Manager. Chris Van Wingerden is dominKnow's Sr. VP Learning Solutions. Want to join us live? Follow us on Crowdcast: https://www.crowdcast.io/domin

Visual design is a big part of building successful learning experiences. Whether you’re an instructional designer producing training or an ID that manages a team that creates your vision, you have to be tuned into the presentation of visual information. How slides are laid out can make, or break, the learning experience.Rachel Allen Dillon returns to IDIODC with more powerful visual designs that enhance your instructional designs. By following just a few simple visual design rules an ID can strike the right balance when presenting material to make it efficient, effective, and engaging. The first step is knowing how the brain processes new information. Then, recognizing common visual design mistakes that slow down the learning process. And also, which design principles can be applied to minimize visual distractions.Join us for all of Rachel's tips on visual design and avoiding cognitive overload by saving your spot in the crowdcast event. This is a show you don't want to miss.Become virtual friends with the ID

What happens when experienced Hollywood professionals join the corporate training industry and begin to solve real world safety and training problems? I get very curious. That's what happens. And when I find out they're creating successful training using Hollywood storytelling skills instead of instructional design methods, then I invite them to be on IDIODC to talk about it.Jim Piechocki is part of a growing group of entertainment professionals taking advantage of new technologies like VR/AR/MR to deploy training solutions with high quality storytelling, production value, and game elements. Jim has successfully completed projects for major corporations like Microsoft, Amazon, META, and more. We'll discuss those projects as well as the market landscape for VR hardware and software and the general state of the eLearning industry.Join us for this broad ranging, eye-opening, conversation and discussion that is sure to impact the direction of your career.Become virtual friends with the IDIODC gang on Twitter. Rem

Storyboarding is only one part of the instructional design process.  But storyboarding is a craft that's been around for a very long time, and used in the design process of many creative endeavors.  There are many different techniques for storyboarding as well.  Some IDs will start with pen and paper sketching out their concepts.  Others use templates in digital applications.  And many designers who also develop will storyboard directly inside their authoring tool.Tim Slade join us to help everyone get started with storyboarding no matter how you choose to do the work.  We'll talk about learning the process of storyboarding as different from your instructional design work. But also take full advantage of your efforts designing instruction to help in the storyboarding process.It's a seemingly simple part of your work as an instructional designer, but not everyone creates them as part of their eLearning development process. And if you're new to instructional design, you may have never been taught a simple story

Nudge-Learning. Is it micro-learning? Is it slow-drip learning? It is work-flow learning? Whatever it is, it's become another hot new term being used amongst instructional design communities.  It's a new one for me, so of course we needed to learn more about it.  I reached out on LinkedIn, commented on an article about it, and found Amy Parent from Salience Learning.Amy is an experienced and passionate instructional designer and learning technologist who loves to experiment with new ideas, concepts, and trends.  She's been experimenting with nudge-learning and so we asked her to join us for a discussion on the topic.We'll cover everything we can from beginning to end.  What it is. What it isn't. What are some current ideas for implementation. And what Amy has discovered during her experimentation.Please tune in for this insightful discussion.Become virtual friends with the IDIODC gang on Twitter. Remember you can always stay in the loop by searching through the #IDIODC tag:Brent: @BSchlenkerChris: @Chris_V_WI

Communicating clearly is probably the most difficult thing anyone can do in business.  Our job as Instructional Designers is often to make better communication happen under the guise of "we need everyone to be better trained on _______". It doesn't matter what level you are at within your training team or the overall organization.  Everyone from the new intern to the experienced CLO needs to improve their ability to communicate complex ideas and concepts in order to influence others into action.  This is where Visual Language Theory comes into play. Kevin Thorn joins us to explore concepts on how to better communicate ideas and transform those ideas into a visual language. One of the most important aspects of this process (and coincidentally in our ID work) is extracting you and your stakeholders' ideas and converting them into a universal visual language that your target audience will clearly understand.  We'll discuss the entire process using old school "pen & paper" so that it's accessible to everyone

The Organization Enablement movement is coming. But what is it? And how does this impact our role in corporate training learning and development?Since corporate culture starts at the top, here's a few questions to ask yourself.How are you facilitating growth in your organization? Do you define growth based on revenue? Or maybe it's based on the number of people in your organization.What if you defined it based on how your people are growing? Growth in fulfillment. Growth in satisfaction. Growth in impact.And what if you could enable, facilitate, create, and develop this growth?Mike Simmons joins us to answer these questions and help your organization make the transition. He will help us understand how organization enablement happens at the intersection of people, process, and technology. With a design oriented, customer driven approach, you can align process tools, so that your team thrives, customers thrive, and your business thrives.Become virtual friends with the IDIODC gang on Twitter. Remember you can al

Our Drink'n'Draw host, Kevin Thorn, recently took his family to Disney World and he sketchnoted the entire experience.  Of course he did.If you think this doesn't have any relationship or impact on your work, well, you'd be wrong.Analyzing business processes is a mandatory part of L&D work.  We listen.  We ask questions.  We watch. And then magic happens... poof... instructional objectives are written.While that may be how your stakeholders see it, we all know the invisible magic is often a struggle in organizing data and working through business processes that often don't make sense.  Most often these processes are trapped inside a SME's head and it's your job to get it out.  Understand it.  Document it. And then ask if that looks about right?You might already use a spreadsheet and outline the process, or maybe a flow charting app.  But have you ever just wanted to sketch it out and get the first draft visual done quickly in order to get their feedback?Kevin Thorn joins us and offers an opportunity for y

The corporate 9 to 5 isn't for everyone, and never has been. In a post-pandemic world nobody is even really sure what "work" looks like any more. Are you going back into the office? Maybe, you're in the office for half the week and working from home the other half. Or maybe not. It's been a frustrating experience for many, and a liberating experience for others.Why liberating? Well, some IDs used their "pandemic time" to work on making their dream of freelancing become a reality. And you can too. It's never too late. But before you up and quit your corporate gig, you might want to think this through a little more deeply. You should at least start by freelancing on the side. Doing that can open all kinds of possibilities and prepare you for what's in store.We've asked Cara North to join us and help everyone figure out and plan their future in freelance. It's a road traveled by many, but few are truly successful. Cara has 5 Tips that will get you started on the right path, with the right mindset, before you tak

Did you know the same percentage of employees who quit due to pay also quit for not having career advancement opportunities (63% - Pew Research)?We talk a lot about the technologies and processes used by instructional designers, but have you ever thought about how important your role is in providing career opportunities for others? It's easy to focus on the details of our work, and it's important to do so.  However, looking a little further down the road at the great impact of our work for other professionals will help us all see the greater importance of what we do.Don't think of your course development as just another training course. Think of it as building an opportunity for someone to improve their career, and their life, and those around them.Matthew Daniel, Principle for the Career Mobility Center of Excellence at Guild Education, joins us to talk about what it takes to improve talent mobility on the frontline and create meaningful career and life opportunities for essential workers.Matthew has a broad

If you're new to Instructional Design, or a more experienced L&D professional, you've probably seen the need for our skills spike recently.There has never been a better time to be an Instructional Designer. Job growth is predicted to be at the top of the list of professional careers. Emerging technologies and a systemic migration of our definition of a learning space has created a wave of innovation like nothing before. The talent and creativity necessary to perform this work has never been more demanding, and sometimes unforgiving.As we think about the future, and our role as instructional designers we are often left wondering where technology and good design best intersect. Is the latest fad in technology worthy of our interest, or just another one-hit wonder? In this new wave of learning design, this tension only gets more pronounced.Joining us this week is Chuck Hodell to talk with us about riding the ISD Wave. We'll focus on how to find the best design solutions for our learning populations based on

Damn it, Jim! I'm an Instructional Designer! Not a scientist!That may be so, but it doesn't mean you can't perform experiments. Testing things out is how we learn. You can ask experts, consultants, and thought leaders, to give you all the answers, but you'll never truly know what will work until you do it.  So, let's learn how to experiment within L&D.Trying things out first is how we gain the confidence to make decisions.  And the biggest decision you need to make is how can you improve your work, your team, your training designs, and your career.Shannon Tipton joins us to talk about the insights she gained doing research with Laura Overton. In the middle of 2020 they asked 32 practitioners/thinkers from around the globe "How can L&D emerge stronger from the pandemic?"It turns out that the ability to experiment, try something new, fail fast and learn faster has been a characteristic of high performing learning teams throughout the disruption of the pandemic. Experiments in L&D are under-utilised

Building a learning culture is the latest trending priority within many organizations. It's a daunting task. However, it's not impossible. Even the smallest shift in the corporate culture towards a learning culture can offer significant outcomes. But where do we start?The most important step is to define a culture of learning within your organization. While there will be significant similarities at the strategic level for many companies, the systems, processes, and resources will be unique in each case. Once you've defined what the future learning culture should look like, then you should assess your current culture. You never know, you might already have a learning culture but it's just hidden beneath a tyranny of bureaucracy. So, let's start this conversation.Andrew Barry joins us to discuss his approach to developing learning cultures. You can read more and prepare for what to expect, at his substack: curiouslion.substack.com.Become virtual friends with the IDIODC gang on Twitter. Remember you can always s

In this episode of IDIODC we have the pleasure of talking with the founder of the 5 Moments of Need, Dr. Conrad Gottfredson.Dr. Gottfredson recently released a white paper titled EnABLE: The 5 Moments of Need Instructional Systems Design Methodology.  And if you missed it, or have not downloaded it, I would encourage you to do so prior to this amazing episode of IDIODC.The brief white paper introduction describes it best:"When it comes to instructional design, most corporate learning programs still focus on knowledge rather than performance. Although gaining and retaining knowledge is an appropriate primary focus in academic institutions, the real world of work calls for a performance-first approach to Instructional Systems Design (ISD) where knowledge requirements are driven by what people need to do. With that in mind, we have spent the last four decades evolving traditional ISD practices into a performance-based instructional design methodology that we call EnABLE.EnABLE is the 5 Moments of Need instructio

Building measurement skills is critical for corporate training professionals who seek to align their L&D programs to business outcomes for organizational success.Achieving measurement maturity is a change effort requiring commitment and discipline. Understanding your current capabilities and gaps is an essential first step followed by determining where your organization wants to go in this area. Once both are achieved, you will be able to develop your desired measurement and reporting strategy—the bridge between where you are today and where you aspire to be.David Vance has co-authored The Measurement Demystified Field Guide to be that bridge. And he joins IDIODC to discuss how to improve your measurement capability and advance the measurement maturity of your organization. We'll discuss, and refresh our minds, on the talent development reporting principles framework and measurement strategy. Did you even know about the Talent Development Reporting principals (TDRp)? Well, now you do.  And you should lear

As an aspiring, or new, instructional designer, PowerPoint is okay to start building eLearning graphics. But at a certain point you'll need to level up your skillset in graphics creation by moving to Photoshop.After all, you're a professional now.  It's time to start working like one and using professional-grade tools. Photoshop is a powerful tool that will support you in designing and creating learning solutions of all types.Mark Lassoff, Founder of Tech Learning Network, joins us to share his top Photoshop features that instructional designers need to know and can't do in PowerPoint.Here's a few we plan to cover:- Creative Coloration for Dramatic Effect- Compositing One Image From Several Sources- Cutting Elements out of a Complex Background- Cleaning up a Messy Image with Content AwarenessWe are a community and should all be helping each other raise our collective level of professional skills.  Tune in with a friend!Become virtual friends with the IDIODC gang on Twitter. Remember you can always stay in the