Forum Discussion

KellOrding's avatar
5 months ago

Help Us Choose Future Group Topics!

I'm exploring the idea of offering short-term, topic-focused groups in the community. These groups would run for a few weeks and focus on connecting with peers, learning together, and supporting each other as you grow in your skills and career. 

I'd love your input!

👉🏼 What topics would you want to explore with a group?

Here are a few examples to spark ideas:

  • Working with SMEs
  • Building an e-learning portfolio
  • Freelancing/consulting
  • Being the only instructional designer on your team
  • Working in your first instructional design role

Comment below with any topics you'd be excited to explore alongside others! ✨

13 Replies

  • StefanPark's avatar
    StefanPark
    Community Member

    Building accessible eLearning (keyboard and screen readers specifically)

    • Creating a mobile app from Articulate content (not LMS). Tools and methods*
    • Building an e-learning portfolio and how to host it
    • Being a freelancer/consultant
  • Love this
     Many companies are hiring Graphic Designers as Instructional Designers thinking they are the same thing. Maybe something to help them out like:
    Instructional designing - Beyond the layout 

    • StefanPark's avatar
      StefanPark
      Community Member

      Nice idea, and in particular as Instructional Designers are expected to also be Graphic Designers as part of the role. 

  • Know your learners

    • Why
    • How 
    • Examples of the same information designed for different learners 
  • thomas_h's avatar
    thomas_h
    Community Member

    I mentioned this in the recent survey Articulate sent out, but I'll state it here again (because I struggle with it daily).

    I would be interested in a cohort that explores design principles for eLearning designers.

    In my role, we crank out multiple eLearning courses monthly that educate our independent contractors - customer service reps. My company launches 1 or 2 new products monthly, and each new product gets its own course (and other assets my team creates).

    With the frequency of course releases we experience, it's hard not to duplicate an existing course, input the new product facts, and hit publish.

    It would be wonderful if I had the skill set to design visually stunning and inviting learning content for our ICs. I know it's even harder for them to consume new info enough to properly support customers when they call.

    All the more reason the content they need to help them perform at the highest level should grab them and not let them go ... not because it was so "ho-hum" but rather it was so freaking awesome.

    • ODA_matthew's avatar
      ODA_matthew
      Community Member

      This isn't a design principles cohort (a great idea, btw), but here are a few resources you might want to check out if you haven't already:

      ⭐ Don't make me think, revisited : a common sense approach to Web usability by Steve Krug https://search.worldcat.org/en/title/859556499.

      Usability is usually associated with pure website design, but I believe the underlying principles and guidance are applicable in a much broader context. Anyone designing content that'll be accessed and consumed on a screen, including eLearning developers, trainers, technical writers, bloggers, etc., should read this book.

      WorldCat description: Hundreds of thousands of Web designers and developers have relied on usability guru Steve Krug's guide to understand the principles of intuitive navigation and information design. Witty, commonsensical, and eminently practical, it's one of the best loved and most recommended books on the subject. It's a core foundational book that every Web designer must internalize to make their designs truly effective. In this substantially revised edition, Steve returns with fresh perspective to reconsider the principles he originally laid out--commenting, amending, amplifying, and offering fresh new examples to underscore their importance. This edition adds an important new chapter on mobile as well as integrating coverage of mobile throughout.

      Slide:ology : the art and science of creating great presentations by Nancy Duarte https://search.worldcat.org/en/title/229024760.

      This is the book that first got me thinking about the importance of applying graphic design principles to presentations & training.

      WorldCat description: No matter where you are on the organizational ladder, the odds are high that you've delivered a high-stakes presentation to your peers, your boss, your customers, or the general public. Presentation software is one of the few tools that requires professionals to think visually on an almost daily basis. But unlike verbal skills, effective visual expression is not easy, natural, or actively taught in schools or business training programs. slide:ology fills that void. Written by Nancy Duarte, Principal of Duarte Design, the firm that created the presentation for Al Gore's Oscar-winning film, An Inconvenient Truth, this book is full of practical approaches to visual story development that can be applied by anyone. The book combines conceptual thinking and inspirational design, with insightful case studies from the world's leading brands ... Millions of presentations and billions of slides have been produced - and most of them miss the mark. slide:ology will challenge your traditional approach to creating slides by teaching you how to be a visual thinker. And it will help your career by creating momentum for your cause.

      Presentation zen design : simple design principles and techniques to enhance your presentations by Garr Reynolds https://search.worldcat.org/en/title/406138786

      WorldCat description: In his internationally acclaimed, best-selling book 'Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery', presentation master Garr Reynolds gave readers the framework for planning, putting together, and delivering successful presentations. Now, he takes us further into the design realm and shows how we can apply time-honored design principles to presentation layouts. 

  • I would love to learn more about how to "remodel" interactions for accessibility. I have a set of old courses that I'm updating to be accessible and they all have numerous interactions. Most have been pretty easy to tweak or re-build into something that is fully accessible. However, there are a few that have me stumped. 

  • DavidGoodman's avatar
    DavidGoodman
    Community Member

    Learning about some leading edge usage within Articulate specifically AI integration, neuro based instructional design and social/app based learning design and development.