Instructional Design – What is it?

I hear it all the time when I’m working with people or talking to friends.  What is it you do?  I am an Instructional Designer.  What is that?  I usually fumble around with a response even after ten+ years in the field.  Why?  Because depending on the project I am working on my role as the instructional designer can mean I have different responsibilities.  I might be doing a combination of project management, LMS implementation and support,  design, writing, software development, training, intervention, and the list goes on.  As you can imagine communication is key, and content is king.  Staying organized is easy at first, but daunting as the project accelerates.  To stay on top of things it is wise to have a good set of tools handy.  I will be offering tools for sale in the following categories:  Assess, Project, Produce, Launch, Evaluate – yes I do have my degree in education – the mnemonic is APPLE.  My first tool will help you communicate with your SMEs.  The tool will give the SME the spark to begin thinking about existing content and will give him/her a place to record the identified resources.

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Instructional Design Tool – SME Content Collection Form