Browsing Category

Design Strategies

A Guide for Working with Subject Matter Experts

I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.

– Albert Einstein

Introduction

This article is a guide on establishing and maintaining a productive working relationship with Subject Matter Experts (SMEs).

One of the joys of being a learning designer is the opportunity to learn new things, including things that we’ve known little or none about. A big part of this awesome learning comes from our experiences working with SMEs. Working with SMEs is an important task of our job as learning designers. But is this process always smooth, fun, and exciting?

January 31, 2021

Cognition, Design Strategies, eLearning, Learning Theories

Learning Snapshots: Cognitive Load Theory

Overview

The Cognitive Load Theory is a powerful tool in a learning designer’s toolbox. It has had many practical implications in my own learning design work. It has help me not have to walk in the dark when making many design decisions. The theory has been developed since 1988 by John Sweller, an Australian educational psychologist. It focuses on how learners’ cognitive resources are used during learning and problem solving and how we can design instructions and learning experiences to best utilise scarce cognitive resources.

August 31, 2020

Young beautiful woman sitting opposite futuristic virtual screen with graph bars infographics elements interface. View from screen

Design Strategies, eLearning

Basic Multimedia Learning Principles (With Printout)

These basic multimedia learning principles help guide learning designers in designing effective multimedia learning experiences. Using these principles, we aim to:

Reduce extraneous processing
Support essential processing
Encourage generative processing

April 13, 2019

Design Strategies, eLearning

Design links I love: Issue 12 – Special Issue on 2018 trends

Introduction

Welcome to the belated 2018 edition of Learning Design – related trends.

As we look at these trends, there are clear influences of technology and learner demand, e.g. how learners want to learn. Technology and learner demand do not only strongly influence the forms and ways that learning takes place, but also impact the possibilities and potential of what learning can be. Technology is developing at such a fast pace, organically influencing our working, learning and playing habits. This habit development happens gradually over time, and one day, we realise we have now formed new habits and needs. As learning experience designers, we need to understand these needs and be prepared and equipped to take on the learning design challenges in the new context.

June 11, 2018

Design Strategies, Processes

Introduction of a New Series: Instructional Design Patterns

“Christopher Alexander, an Austrian-born architect, had a simple, elegant idea. His idea was that people should name and describe solutions to common problems in architecture. He called this a ‘design pattern’.” – From Design Patterns – Coming Full Circles

Introduction

There are patterns all around us. In the technical world, there are design patterns in architecture, in software engineering, in user experience design, or in anything that we can create a solution(s) to common problems. In Instructional Design, at the course level, as an example, we find design patterns in instructional design theories and models.

June 5, 2017

Older Posts