It’s that time of year again, for reflection, predictions, top posts, etc. Well, actually it’s the first time for Instructional Design Fusions, since I’ve only been blogging since June of this year.
Instructional Design Fusions: What’s in a name?
I started this blog for the same reason many probably start blogging, to make sense of the increasing onslaught of information and tech tools out there. I wanted to make my personal knowledge management tools more about learning and reflection than about tagging and bookmarking web pages to read later.
While I wanted to have an impetus to kick the tires of potential learning tools, I wanted this blog to be more about tech, hence the “Instructional Design” part of this blog’s title. I’ve used the blog to explore learning theories and design approaches and to consider how some of the older approaches have morphed in the 21st century.
The “Fusions” part of the blog title is a reflection of my general view of the world. I think that there’s an absolute necessity to cross disciplines and connect with others who have different approaches yet may face similar problems you do. As someone who was once a scientist and then an IP attorney, I’ve seen time and time again that innovation comes from exploration and a willingness to be open-minded. It’s rather useless to become adamant about the rightness or wrongness of a particular design approach. Take from the best approaches that fit your context (having first obtained a good understanding of that context) and move on. Learn from your successes and from your mistakes.
The “Fusions” part of the title also reflects how tech is increasingly becoming a part of creating learning experiences. Although I believe that tech tools are the peripherals of instructional design, I don’t see them as mere accessories. Once you’ve done a thorough performance and task analysis and decided that a particular tech tool enhances a learning experience, you should fully understand how that tool can be used to enrich the design and create a more meaningful instructional experience. Tech tools give you certain powers; use them for good, not for evil. The tech becomes integrated into your design process, not a thoughtless add-on. Being aware of different tech tools just means that you have a wider understanding of your potential powers. Don’t use a tool because people have touted it as the next big thing, understand why people see it that way, and use it only when it fits your learners’ needs.
Paying it forward
There are many amazing educators, trainers, designers (instructional, graphic, and web designers), and health care advocates that I’m continually learning from. Some of the blogs I follow:
- elearning and instructional design blogs
- mlearning
- ehealth and health care and social media
- games, serious and social
More of my serious games and gamification resources are here.
I hope through my blog to pay this forward by creating materials that can be of some use to people.
Where do LiveBinders come in?
So on that note, I’ve included some blog posts in a LiveBinder, a great tool for creating both a collection of resources and for making sense of them.
Since you’ve been patient enough to read this far, I now have an excuse to share some great tips from the LiveBinders folks on how to make LiveBinders and how to use them collaboratively (a new feature of this platform).
Your LiveBinders toolkit
I’ve written about LiveBinders in a previous post, but I wanted to make people aware of this great toolkit binder full of tips and tricks for using LiveBinders you can find on the LiveBinders’ site. Just a note that the “Search” tab in the edit menu is now “Insert Media.”
Instructional Design Fusions 