Today it’s been 13 years since I got my first Instructional Designer job, and as I joke with some friends, you don’t choose to be an Instructional Designer; Instructional Design chooses you. Because of that, I have had the opportunity to work with colleagues from all different backgrounds, some academics, some from the technology world, the management world and many others.
Independently of their previous professional background, they all bring immense value to their teams with their expertise, but in my opinion, what makes an Instructional Designer standout, especially in the comparative environment, is curiosity and willingness to learn new technologies.
ID methodologies and basic learning methodologies are, of course, necessary, but I will not discuss them in this post.
When saying that, I believe that the more exposure to new technologies an ID gets, the more cards they collect to play when facing a challenging project.
- Learn basic programing:
Very likely, our final product will be a digital product or at least hosted on a digital platform. Learning a computer language, for example, Javascript will help you find better and more creative ideas for your training; you will be able to do automation better and troubleshoot your training and even your LMS.
- Learn basic UI/UX design:
Big tech companies invest thousands of hours in UX research and UI design to create the most intuitive and seamless experience for their users. However, if you are creating a digital training experience, your training experience (Learning material, LMS, Communication, etc.) will be compared to theirs by your learners. Unfair? Yes, I know, but they set the expectations and create the new standards. We just need to understand the basics of their theories and try to get as close as possible.
- Be curious and scavenge the internet:
Every day a software/app/service that will revolutionise the way you work is created. It’s impossible to try everything. But there any many blogs, youtube channels that make that easier for us. Make it a habit to reserve some time during your week to look at some of them and see what is new and if or how it could help you to improve your training. I promise it’s worth the time invested.
I have recently been playing with AI images and audio generators. It’s amazing how much it has improved in the last few years. The value only these two things can bring to your project is immense.
Instructional Design career (especially comparative) is under constant evolution, but our Authoring tools and LMS are not catching up that fast, so by learning new skills, you can fill this gap with creative ideas and workarounds to overcome technical limitations and create much better training experiences.
I am curious to know what you think about it.
Leave your comment below, and happy learning!
