eLearning Design Process

My Mosaic Learning Design Process is in Beta!

I am intrigued about the methods behind creative and effective eLearning. It seems as though everyone I admire and respect uses some sort of iterative process. Allen Interactions uses SAVVY, Cathy Moore suggests Action Mapping and many others are beginning to use Agile Design. This got me thinking about how important it is to develop learning through a technique that incorporates tweaking and testing along the way. For all of you (current and former) classroom teachers out there, have you ever designed a lesson and had it work perfectly the first time you taught it? I never did. Good instructional designers might argue that my lesson probably had some holes in it. I have to agree--it did, and testing it in front of a group of students was the fastest way to figure out the holes. When designing great eLearning (or any learning, in fact), if testing and iterations can be worked into the process, the client will have a much better idea of what the product will look like in the end. 
I've been playing around with an approach that I like to call Mosaic Learning Design. It came about when I realized that when I design a learning event or product, my process isn't always linear. In the background, I am moving toward completion, but all around that progression, there are spatters of thoughts, activities, and re-imaginings that amp up the end product. I didn't mean to call it a Mosaic process--when I began to put my ideas down on paper, it originally resembled a flow chart. As I began to brainstorm in different colors, however, it turned into a mosaic. Some of this has been tested, but I won't deny that it's in Beta right now! I also won't disagree that many of these ideas sound familiar because all of the leaders in this industry have proven that this is a good way to go. Mosaic Learning Design owes them a great debt.

University of Me?

Self-directed possibilities?

For anyone who has talked to me recently or read my blog (Christy Tucker, I am honored to know that you read my last post!), you know I have struggled with whether to pursue more formal education. Three months ago, I thought it was the best approach to breaking into a new field, but now I'm not so sure. I think the key is to figure out what skills I am missing, and where I can best get them. I'm one of those nerdy souls who love formal education. I thrive in that environment, and I deeply enjoy being pushed by faculty and my fellow students. I am wondering, however, it is time that I  move past this comfort zone and design a learning program that suits me where I am now. I've already downloaded Moodle and Captivate to my desktop, and I've almost hit the "subscribe" button on lynda.com at least three times. This self-directed learning along with my daily obsession with my colleagues on Twitter and LinkedIn has informed me in a way that a university program could not. To make matters more complicated, many of the training and development professionals I respect the most (Cathy Moore, Cammy Bean, Trish Uhl and others) have found themselves in this field through circuitous routes. 
If I were able to design my own learning program, I know exactly how I would do it. I would make it structured and project-based, and it would be transparent. I would blog along the way, and keep my learning resources close at hand on Delicious. 
I'm not afraid of self-directed learning. My only fear is that I won't end up with the proper credential for my dream job at Kineo....

Exceptional Instructional Design Models

During the last few days, I have taken some time to explore various models of online learning. Many of you in the design community will be familiar with these two examples, but I feel that it is worth it to reiterate how effective this type of instruction can be. The first example by the company eLearnerEngaged, uses Articulate (with other software) to create Broken Co-worker. Cathy Moore ("Let's save the world from boring e-learning!" is her tag-line) has posted her company's work for the U.S. Army. This Flash example called Connect with Haji Kamal is one of my favorites because each of the characters are well-developed and have their own input. 
What I like about both examples is that they are both visual and scenario based. Each demonstrates the use of the "branching" concept to teach interpersonal communication skills. By allowing users to make decisions which change the outcome of the learning scenario, both are effective in teaching a skill that is difficult to convey in the online learning environment.