2 Reasons Instructional Design Is Important—Even With Easy-to-Use Apps

E-learning apps like Rise 360 and Storyline 360 are so user-friendly that anyone can create courses—not just instructional designers. So does that mean that instructional design is no longer necessary? Of course not!

In this article, we’ll look at two reasons instructional design is just as important as ever.

1. It Makes Learning More Efficient

Some people wonder why we even build training anymore. After all, information has never been so easy to access! Anything and everything you need to know is just a Google search away. 

That might be true, but have you ever noticed how much time you waste sifting through unrelated content when you’re researching something on your own?

Now imagine if someone did the curating for you—so you could skip right to the important stuff. That’s what instructional design is for—streamlining and structuring content to make learning fast and easy. 

2. It Makes Learning More Effective

Could you just copy and paste a bunch of content into an authoring app and call it a day? Sure! But would that strategy ensure your learners achieve the desired learning objectives? Probably not. 

“Content dump” courses are ineffective for a couple reasons:

• There’s way too much information, so learners can’t discern what’s important. This often results in them feeling overwhelmed or bored and not retaining anything.
• The information isn’t put into context, so learners don’t understand how it relates to their job or how to apply it.

On the other hand, when you spend time up front thinking about your learners’ needs and designing a course accordingly, chances are the training will not only be more efficient, it’ll also be more effective. After all, what’s the use of training if it doesn’t help people gain the knowledge and skills they need to be successful?

The Bottom Line

Even though easy-to-use apps can help you create courses more quickly and easily, it’s still up to you—the course creator—to design courses that are both efficient and effective.

Does this mean only instructional designers can create courses? Not at all. It just means that if you’re going to design courses, it’s a good idea to know some basic instructional design principles.

If you’re new to instructional design—or helping guide someone else—get up to speed with this article: Instructional Design Basics for E-Learning Development. And if you’re interested in diving deeper, here are a few additional ones to check out:

• All About Learning Objectives for E-Learning
• What To Do When Your Course Has Too Much Content
• Coherence Principle: Less Material for Better Learning

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