Andrew Probert

Enhance the visual design of your eLearning in Intellum Evolve with these simple tips and tricks 🚀 Hey everyone 👋 The Evolve authoring tool allows you to rapidly create eLearning that is mobile-responsive. 📱 Ive put together an Evolve course with a couple of simple tips and tricks that I use to enhance visual interest in the courses I build with Evolve. 🎨 You can access it at the link below. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/gzZdAsDM If you're an Evolve developer, is there anything else you do to enhance the visual design and interest in your courses? Are you new to Evolve and have questions? Let me know in the comments! #eLearning #VisualDesign #InstructionalDesign #EdTech #LearningAndDevelopment #DigitalLearning

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𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗨𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀 𝗗𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗹𝘆 Traditionally, Instructional Designers (IDs) create detailed storyboards that outline the structure and content of eLearning modules. Developers then use authoring tools to transform these storyboards into published files. However, the need for IDs to directly input their content into authoring tools like Articulate is growing. Here’s why this shift is becoming increasingly important. 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗜𝗗𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗼𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝗗𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗨𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀? • Efficiency and Speed   • Enhanced Accuracy   • Increased Flexibility   • Better Collaboration   • Skill Development  𝗚𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀 Training: Take advantage of online courses and tutorials on tools like Articulate to build proficiency. Practice: Regularly experiment with different features and functionalities to become comfortable with the tool. Collaboration: Work closely with developers and other stakeholders to integrate feedback and refine your skills. 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 As eLearning continues to evolve, the role of Instructional Designers is expanding beyond traditional storyboard creation. Directly inputting content into authoring tools like Articulate is becoming essential for efficiency, accuracy, and creative flexibility. By embracing this shift, IDs can enhance their contributions to eLearning projects and stay ahead in the competitive landscape of digital learning.  

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Hey instructional designers, are you looking for guidance to put together your portfolio? Join me on June 12th for a 90-minute portfolio workshop where you'll learn the answers to these questions: • What should my portfolio include? • How do I structure my portfolio? • Where can I go for design inspiration? • What if I don’t have ID experience? • What if I can’t share my work publicly? • What tools can I use to build my site? • How often should I update my portfolio? You'll get tools and resources to guide you every step of the way. And, you can earn 1.5 APTD/CPTD certification or recertification points for this workshop. Use the promo code "Folio5" for an EARLY BIRD discount! https://lnkd.in/ec7gVhVu #InstructionalDesign #Portfolio #Workshop Text on Graphic: Learning Rebels: Learn Something New. June 12th, 11 am Central. Building an Instructional Design Portfolio, with Kayleen Holt.

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🚀 Rive has the potential to lift interactions in eLearning to a new level, but where do you start with learning how to use it? For those of you who don’t know, Rive is a design and animation tool for creating interactive assets. Let's see whats next: 🎯 1. Get Rive. Don’t worry; the first three animations are on the house. You can find it easily with a Google search. 🎓 2. Time to learn I taught myself to a certain point with the Rive 101 video playlist on their YouTube channel. (Full disclosure: I had some animation experience with After Effects, so some concepts were a bit easier for me to take in. Most beginners should be able to work through it). This gave me a baseline of skills, but I wanted to dive deeper and felt a structured course would benefit me, which is where Motion Design School comes in. Ive been trying out the first lesson of their Rive course today (for free, no less! Just create an account, I'll pop the link in the comments), and Ive learned loads more already. Check out the video attached to this post. 🎨 3. Get your creations into your eLearning There’s a few ways to do that, but Ive been using Kwantic.co to build courses with my Rive animations (check out my other posts to see one in action!) You can just drop your Rive files straight in there as an interaction, no coding is needed to make them work! (Kwantic also has 3 free projects and some cool AI tools, so give it a go!) If you have any questions about Rive let me know, or if you have ideas about how you could use this yourself, leave it in the comments! #instructionaldesign #learninganddevelopment #elearning #digitallearning

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I don't use templates for writing branching scenarios. I use templates for a lot of instructional design and elearning work, including design documents, storyboards, Storyline layouts and interactions. But I don’t use templates for branching scenarios, especially not for writing the scenarios and mapping out the branching structure. I do create and use templates for development sometimes once I’ve written the scenario, but that’s after I’ve already built out the structure and written all the text. Using templates for writing branching scenarios can limit the structure, reduce alignment with content, and waste development time. Instead of using templates, save time and effort by using a tool designed for nonlinear content like Twine. Read more on my blog: https://lnkd.in/gM89nZpZ

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AI and ID

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📢 Calling all Instructional Designers and course creators! 📚 I've developed a course design document template and am working on a free micro-learning course to go with it. What would you hope to find in these resources (specifically geared toward the design phase of the instructional design process)? A. Step-by-step guidance on writing clear and measurable learning objectives B. Tips for organizing and structuring course content effectively C. Guidance on choosing the most suitable mode of content delivery (e.g., text, video, interactive) D. Examples of effective course design documents E. Other (please specify in comments) 👇 Thanks y'all!

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📣 Calling all Instructional Designers 📣 Do you use these accessible technologies in your work? Many of these technologies are used cohesively and interchangeably. Here's a bit more information: Screen readers: Are you tabbing through your documents and eLearning to assess if they are being read properly? Alt text: Descriptive captions for images, giving them a voice for screen readers. Closed captions: The on-screen subtitles for videos, a must-have for deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers. Keyboard navigation: No mouse? No problem! Navigate websites and apps smoothly using just your keyboard. Voice control: Speak your commands! This feature allows hands-free interaction with devices and applications. Color contrast: Highlighting text and images with clear contrast against the background ensures readability for everyone. Font size and styles: Clear, readable fonts in appropriate sizes make information clear and legible. Don't forget these bonus considerations! Reading Order: Using those accessibility checkers to confirm information is read by screen readers in a clear and logical order. Seizure safeguards: Flashing lights or animations can be avoided to protect users susceptible to seizures. Do you use any of these accessibility enhancing technologies? Save this post for later so you can incorporate them on your design. #InclusiveDesign #AccessibilityBingo #DigitalAccessibility Want to learn more? Follow for more tips! 🌐alphabeth.me

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Learning junkies, this is for you! Our intent with our Human-centred Design for Instructional Designers YouTube playlist is to support others in the industry to take their instructional design and eLearning skills to the next level by sharing some examples of how we apply a human-centred design approach to our learning projects.⠀ ⠀ Please share this post with fellow learning junkies that want guidance on things like:⠀ - empathy mapping⠀ - creating personas⠀ - conducting user observations⠀ - conducting user testing⠀ - pitching your HCD project⠀ - understanding your learner’s mindset⠀ - conducting user interviews.⠀ ⠀ 📺 Watch on our YouTube: https://buff.ly/35PpfxB ⠀ We are inspired to share this approach with others in the industry, so that you too can experience the results that we do and ultimately meet your project goals.⠀ ⠀ 💙💜⠀ #advancedinstructionaldesigntraining #instructionaldesign #elearning #elearningtips #elearningcompany #corporatetraining #elearningtraining #belvistastudios #learningdesign #trainingdesign #freelanceinstructionaldesign #elearningdesign #freelanceinstructionaldesigner #learninganddevelopment #traininganddevelopment #elearningdevelopment #employeeexperience #learningexperiencedesign #freelanceeLearning #instructionaldesigner #elearningdeveloper #humancentreddesign

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If you're looking for guidance to create your instructional design portfolio, don't miss this week's blog post! In it, I discuss six steps to creating a standout portfolio—and I'm giving you an amazing toolkit that answers frequently asked questions, walks you through the design process, and compares some of the most popular website builder tools. This is a resource you'll want to save and share! https://lnkd.in/gXWxRKb4 Graphic description: Winding road with six steps marked as locations and icons representing each step: 1. Visualize Your Dream Job. 2. Select Your Samples. 3. Plan Your Design. 4. Choose a Tool. 5. Build It. 6. Test It. #InstructionalDesign #Portfolio

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🚀 Unlock Your Instructional Design Potential with Free Resources! 🎓 Are you an Instructional Designer looking to elevate your craft? Whether you're just starting out or are a seasoned pro, I've got you covered with a collection of FREE resources designed to help you succeed. 🔍 What's Inside? Templates: Streamline your projects with easy-to-use templates. Guides: Step-by-step instructions on best practices. Tools: Essential tools to enhance your eLearning designs. And much more! 👉 Get Your Free Downloads Now: https://lnkd.in/gyNMGb88 Don't miss out on these valuable resources that can take your instructional design to the next level. Feel free to share this with your network—let's grow together! #InstructionalDesign #eLearning #FreeResources #LearningAndDevelopment #LifelongLearning

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Inclusive design benefits everyone. One way to improve eLearning is to use high color contrast between text and foreground. I explain how to do this here > https://lnkd.in/gJqrEF4g

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I need to create new portfolio pieces. This weekend I'm beginning this journey. I'll be using Tim Slade's eLearning Challenges as one way to build portfolio pieces. I really love the way his challenges list learning objectives and give folks ideas via constraints. I'm going to show my work by posting about my design process from writing learning objectives, content outlines, to sharing how I would show business results. I'll share the link to the challenges in comments. #instructionaldesign #elearning #learninganddevelopment #learningexperiencedesign #learningdesign #customereducation #SaaS

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Have you ever encountered the unwritten rules of instructional design? It's hard to imagine there's anything about instructional design left unwritten in 2024, I know 😀 But anyway, there are two things that have boggled my mind for quite some time, and I wish I had understood them earlier: 📍 For instructional designers, the term "design" doesn't actually mean "design" (unless it does). For example, designing learning content is a phase that is followed by the development phase, but design is also a part of the development phase. However, that's a different design than the one mentioned previously.😵‍ 📍 Instructional designers and e-learning designers are two completely different roles. Yet, many instructional designers only do e-learning design, and many e-learning designers call themselves instructional designers.😖 Have you encountered any other L&D-specific rules during your work that you wish you had learned earlier?

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How Instructional Design Makes Learning Purposeful A riddle I posed to students sparked lively debate: "If we learn daily through experience, why design instruction?" Some argued learning happens naturally. But here's what we concluded - directed learning is needed to achieve goals. Non-directed learning is hit-and-miss. We absorb culture casually. But as designers, we sculpt experiences purposefully. We make efficiency our aim and effectiveness our measure. Instructional designers curate environments where learners thrive. Through engagement, analysis and iteration we cultivate understanding aligned with objectives. Our methods eliminate guesswork, guiding discovery along focused pathways. This focused approach transforms random acts of learning into strategic accomplishments. Skills are built. Careers are advanced. Impact expands. And all because learning is no longer left to chance, but placed in capable hands who know how to unlock any mind's potential. Did this discussion ignite new perspectives? How else can instructional design maximize what's learned from any lesson? Your takeaways could help others achieve more.🤔

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Instructional Design is often misunderstood within Learning and Development (L&D) contexts, which can lead to ineffective practices and diminish the impact of learning and training programs. In my new article, published on eLearningIndustry, I explore 10 common myths about Instructional Design, discuss each one, and explain how we can address them to improve our instructional design efforts. Enjoy reading !

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The other day I read a post by Rosanna Campbell about “boring” content. While Rosanna is a B2B SaaS content writer, she said one thing that is very relevant for instructional designers: “IKEA instructions are boring until it's just you, a weird metal hook thing, and a big pile of wood. Then they become GRIPPING.“ Sometimes, it can be tempting to create eLearning full of interactivity in an attempt to create "fun" and "engaging" learning materials. But if we're not careful, this can result in gimmicky eLearning that doesn't add real value to the learner. Now I certainly am not here to advocate for boring learning materials. But I am here to advocate for USEFUL learning materials. And useful learning materials aren’t necessarily eLearning courses. They might be as simple as downloadable process or technical documents that employees can access as and when they need it. No authoring tools. No expensive LMS. No fuss. No frills. Just CLEAR, CONCISE materials that help employees do their job better. I love creating these types of learning materials because I know how valuable they are. Want some help creating technical or process documentation and learning materials? I still have some free space in my calendar this month and I would love to discuss how we can work together. Send me a DM, comment on this post, or email me to chat: veenstramy@gmail.com And to the learning designers out there - what are some useful, non-eLearning materials that you are proud of creating? #freelance #learningdesign

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Something which was always in the background is now apparent. We need to evolve and adapt.

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Beyond the Big Mac: Unveiling the Hidden Potential of One-Size-Fits-All eLearning One-Size-Fits-All elearning is the Big Mac of workplace training. Most people use it because it’s quick and cheap, it generally gets the job done, but if you think about what you’re consuming for too long, it will ultimately leave you wanting. But, just like Big Macs, One-Size-Fits-All (OSFA) elearning has its place. So let’s look at how we can use it to our advantage. LEVERAGE ITS BENEFITS OSFA elearning is popular for a reason - it gets the job done quickly, cost effectively and consistently. It can be deployed with short runways and is generally compatible with existing technology systems. For those in a training procurement position, there are loads of wins to be had with OSFA elearning, but how can you ensure that what you’re procuring is impactful enough and materially moves the dial on your training goals? USE IT FOR WHAT IT’S WORTH Customise it. Take the OSFA product and bend it to your needs. Building an elearning module from scratch is expensive and involves a lot of heavy lifting from your internal stakeholders. A smarter way to deliver impactful training is to find a high quality off-the-shelf content and tailor it to your business so that it represents your brand, communicates your key strategic messages, and shapes culture and behaviours meaningfully within your business. BUILD CHANGE VIA THE LEARNER EXPERIENCE (LX) JOURNEY TBH, a singular elearning event is a drop in the digital ocean for learners. I would say that it’s unrealistic to expect meaningful behaviour change from a learner after a single 20-min elearning module. The elearning module should be just one piece of a much more comprehensive web of learning and communication. Start thinking about the Learner Experience (LX) journey as a whole and look to see where the learning and communication opportunities lie. I’m a fan of One-Size-Fits-All elearning because we love building content with mass appeal. But, we’re also dedicated to content that shifts the dial and does what you say it needs to do. Come work with us if you feel the same way. 

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