Instructional Designers Buried by Vague Expectations

“How has hybrid courses (50% in person/50% online) been working out for you? Please share your best practices for hybrid classes. What works or hasn't worked for you. With the limited time for instruction, any take is valued. submitted by /u/Trick_Following6639 [link] [comments]”

“Nice. Skills and template for template is really good approach. I have been standardizing skills based on type of project so it’s easy to switch between projects. [re: Adopting AI]”

“That curriculum outline is way more useful than most of the overpriced certificates floating around right now curious what you're using for the workflow mapping part, been trying to get some lawyers i work with to think in systems instead of documents and it's like pulling teeth [re: 40 year old law school grad looking to go back to school to get a handle on this AI thing. What specific AI skills/classes would help me?]”

“Hi everyone! I'm working on building a digital learning initiative focused on making learning more engaging, interactive, and meaningful. The idea is to create learning experiences that go beyond traditional presentations and training materials, including: Interactive learning games and gamification E-learning courses using Articulate Storyline and Rise Training videos, animations, and motion graphics Instructional design and training content development Interactive assessments, microlearnin”

“I just completed a recruiter screening for tech enablement role that supports instructional designer. They wanted me because i have both experience in tech and instructional design. Problem is i have done those separately and not in a combined manner. Is there a place I can go read about Tech Enablement for GTM. Where can i learn more about enablement? I am green in sales and goto marketing stuff. Mostly i have worked in academic courses and not in corporate space submitted by /u/mat”

“Suppose you receive an entire program to redesign, what are your biggest challenges? submitted by /u/Aromatic_Room1700 [link] [comments]”

“For context, I work in healthcare IT, and we have to stick to established templates, brand colors, and fonts, so there’s very little room for some creative freedom. Lately, I feel like my materials aren’t as visually engaging as I’d like them to be. I’ve seen some folks use AI, and I hate to admit the AI slop is pretty eye catching compared to my work. Any recommendations? 1. I currently follow Devlin Peck. 2. I refuse to use AI. submitted by /u/DragonRiderCrawl [link] [comment”

submitted by /u/Hot-Dingo-7053 [link] [comments]

“I work as a corporate designer of learning and while I am well aware of edits and re-editing I have a director who will micromanage our team to the point of redesigning work that we have done ourselves far into the process. The work is good, it has the information needed to serve its purpose but it’s to the point I am weary of making any design decisions because I know the director is going to change it or oppose it anyway. I’ve spoken to other directors in L+D in similar roles and they delegate”

“dude yes....at the earliest stage of your professional career, branding (and the precieved high level training that comes with it) is extremely important. Bigger name => max optionality. And as a youngester you want to be collecting options whenever available. Good luck!! [re: Is big 4 really worth it]”

“Hello everybody. I'm looking for an instructional designer to help me create courses and programs for an AI-powered online tutoring platform that we're building. We can start fractional, with ~20hs/week, and if we both feel it's a good fit, we can explore the option of coming in full time. We're looking exclusively people based in the US with experience in High School. We're a US-registered company. If you're interested, my email is: my username at gmail. Thanks! su”

“Hi everyone, I'm looking into the Ed.D. in Instructional Design and Technology at South College (the competency-based format) and I'd like to hear from people who have completed it, or are close to finishing. I'm especially curious about: What you were doing before the program vs. now (promotion, pay change, career pivot, new role) Whether you landed in instructional design, EdTech, corporate L&D, higher ed, or K-12 leadership How employers or hiring managers responded to the deg”

“Facilitating vILT sessions on Zoom/Meet and the hardest part for me is reading the room. In person you see the confused faces. Online it's 30 black squares and "any questions?" → silence. What I've tried: - Pulse polls every 10–15 min ("1–5, how clear was that?") - Asking people to drop a 👍 or ❓ in chat - Breakouts with a "bring back one question" rule These help, but I only find out after I've moved on. Curious what others do: - Any signals you watch i”

“Since you’re keeping your corporate job, I’d use the pilot to test your workload too. Try a short block of classes with one format, one audience and an existing equipped space. Track who pays, who comes back, and how many hours you spend on scheduling, cancellations, marketing and setup. Before starting, decide what results would justify another round. Repeat bookings at the intended price would tell you more than launch interest alone. Also try having someone else handle a session from booking”

“u/Unique_Mark6357 's urban planning try shows the gap you asked about: the course step reads like a catalogue because nothing ties a course to a missing skill. For SkillHarbour, label each course with the one skill from that role's list that it covers, put foundations first, and hide any course that matches no gap. Three ordered courses with a reason for each will feel more useful than twelve options. By the way, I make ThreadFox: your AI researches, writes and publishes Reddit outreach”

“I'm an educator who is looking to change to ID. I know about theories and how people learn. I have software skills. I can communicate difficult concepts into easy to understand language. What I don't know is what the stuff prior to creating looks like. I just bought Map It! by Cathy Moore, so I'm hoping that will give more insight, but as someone outside of corporate, I feel like any job I see I'd be going in blind, which keeps me from applying. So, what kinds of things do organi”

“Hi all! My name is Maggie and I’m a graduate student at SUNY Empire working on my M.Ed in Curriculum & Instruction and a graduate certificate in Ed Tech. For my instructional design course, I need to interview a current education-focused instructional designer about their experiences in the field. This interview would be over Microsoft Teams and would take ~30 minutes. I am able to work with pretty much any time this weekend. Please shoot me a quick PM with your name and current company/orga”

“Hi all! My name is Maggie and I’m a graduate student at SUNY Empire working on my M.Ed in Curriculum & Instruction and a graduate certificate in Ed Tech. For my instructional design course, I need to interview a current instructional designer about their current experiences in the field. This interview would be over Microsoft Teams and would take ~30 minutes. I am able to work with pretty much any time this weekend. Please shoot me a quick PM with your name and current company/organization i”

“I'm trying to design a small seminar-like course for freshmen. The idea is not to make a traditional seminar where they read some papers and discuss. My goal is to try to spark an interest/appreciation for my field of study (chemistry) by exploring how it is involved in our everyday lives (cooking, clothing, cosmetics, medicine, etc.). My problem is: how can I move away from simply lecturing on topics? I want to give students a way to shape the seminar, to put forth their own interests to ex”

“Im lecture more than pming on edtech products nowadays- and feel like we are running towards a ux eliminated curriculum. It’s bugging the hell out of me. Yes we are dinosaurs! [re: Genuine question: why does no one care about UX anymore when they’re still building for users?]”

“Hi everyone! I'm a multimedia designer with extensive experience developing eLearning courses, animations and interactive learning materials. However, most of my experience is on the development side rather than the instructional design side. I'd like to transition into a more well-rounded Instructional Designer role, but I want to build a solid foundation first. I'm particularly interested in learning more about: - Training needs analysis and identifying performance gaps - Instructi”

“Fellow instructional designers and l&d professionals. I have a tricky question and a situation, so am in l&d as an ID we are currently opreating as a seperate entity, we handle product related trainings, sales emablement, internal head office compliance trainings, upskilling, management development programs, personal training requests of employees, if they want to be sent on a off site training event we handle that as well. We not only handle ID function but design training plans, design”

“I just applied to the program and I am already working in the field. Just wondering if anyone knows how much does it cost in addition to the tuition? Books and fees? My employer will cover the tuition but not the fees. Thank you! submitted by /u/Zoikh [link] [comments]”

“Just wondering if there is a market for this, I’d love to run some workshops but I don’t know if there’s enough interest to do this. Have any of you taken classes for storyline before? submitted by /u/che_vagari [link] [comments]”

“Hello there. I am currently working in Enrollment in higher education and I have a master's in education. I am getting burned out and looking into Instructional Design. I am considering a second master's in it since we get free tuition but I want to know it it's really worth the time and stress? I have been following Devlin Peck and looking at cert programs. I understand learning theories and such but need to gain skills to develop a portfolio, etc. Devlin listed a few certificate pr”

please. You can private message me or if need more info let me know! Interview Questions Can you tell me about your current role and what your main responsibilities are as an…

I ended up using the curriculum as my framework. The curriculum was blah.

“They need coaching to be taught the ‘product’ in product designer. Not your responsibility really, they need a designer leader to coach and up skill,”

“With AI rapidly taking over routine content production in learning and development, such as storyboarding, scripting, quiz writing, and template-based course assembly, I want to understand where learning designers, learning developers, and instructional designers should be steering their careers. Which roles are most future-proof and which are most at risk, and how do options like learning experience design, learning engineering, learning analytics, performance consulting, and AI enablement comp”

“Hi everyone! I’m currently doing my first ECE practicum and it has honestly been a pretty stressful experience. I’ve had some issues keeping up with assignments and documentation, even though I actually enjoy being with the children and participating in the classroom. Today my field liaison came to visit me and told me that she doesn’t think I’m ready for my next practicum yet. Honestly, after thinking about it, I think she may be right. I’m disappointed, but I also think I need more time to bui”

submitted by /u/Mike_Patterson [link] [comments]

The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson

“Hi everyone! I’m sharing my portfolio and would really appreciate some feedback from people working in Instructional Design and Learning Experience Design. I’d especially love feedback on: How clearly my portfolio communicates my LXD/ID skills Whether my projects demonstrate relevant skills for the field What you would improve or strengthen I’d really appreciate any honest feedback. Thank you for taking the time to have a look! LINK: PORTFOLIO SOFIA submitted by /u/SOFANDREACCHI [lin”

“I’m asking because I’m a former lecturer at a public university, and when I was teaching (10 yrs ago), I often sourced YouTube videos to help explain how things worked. (Please excuse me if my understanding of ID industry is not upto date, but considering we’re all part of the broader learning industry I figured I’d ask this question outside of academia) Often the right video made a difficult concept much easier to understand, but finding something that was accurate, clear, and engaging for my s”

“Question for anyone who runs a real quality pass before a course ships, not just a proofread. After 15 years in instructional design I have a mental checklist I run every draft through, and my own first drafts still fail a couple of these more often than I'd like: Are the objectives measurable, or do they say "understand" and "be aware of"? Does every quiz question map to a stated objective, at the same level? Do learners practice before they're assessed? Do the scree”

“Do teachers want to be able to have someone else create the visual aspects of lesson plans? Just gathering the information together seems already like a ton of work. I love to create slide shows or presentations and make them look good or fun or engaging its like my whole thing. submitted by /u/Casulex [link] [comments]”

“Thank you for the source visual pipeline and the recent improvements to Mastery Path identity, assessment repair, and durable learning evidence. I would appreciate prioritizing the complete learning workflow built on those foundations: explain selected material, practice with its actual figures, receive reliable feedback, and carry accurate evidence into the next study session. This is a focused follow up to 1543, whose closing comment and documentation leave visual exercises and mastery updates”

“Hello! I started my career as a graphic designer 4 years ago and over time took on more and more training and development responsibilities for our design team until it became my full time job. I started graduate school this year to help me get a better understanding of learning and the non-visual side of design, and I’m already learning so much information I can apply at my job. For one of my assignments, I am looking to interview a current working instructional designer about their design proce”

“I’m an instructional designer in a corporate environment, and lately I’ve been feeling pretty discouraged about my work. I’m curious whether other IDs experience this or if it may be more specific to my environment/audience. I genuinely care about making training useful. I try to respect people’s time, keep things relevant, avoid unnecessary training, and design around what people actually need to be able to do. But I sometimes feel like I’m working with an audience that is already annoyed that”

“I get this. Keeping this light under a bushel does little for your fellow human. Teaching them to rely upon expert systems, and denying human perspective in the teaching/learning exchange is hardly a way to share and expand knowledge. I certainly do not think you could make a case that Obsidian and the business rules it encodes is easily understood. If you wanted to try, though...”

“For example, I’m Senior Instructional Designer (the only one in my department), at a corporate office (company of 3000+ employees) and the following are my responsibilities. I’m curious how this compares to others. - Partner with SMEs for needs assessments - Content design and development (eLearning courses, videos, job aids, ILT guides) - LMS Management - Facilitation of Leadership Classes submitted by /u/Proud_Sound2835 [link] [comments]”

“I couldn't find the rule#5 sticky post mentioned in the warning. I hope this is okay and specific enough. I'm trained as a graphic designer, working across most different media for a bit over a decade, but I've spent the last few years doing fully remote instructional development for an industrial training consultancy. The IDs do the needs analysis, script, storyboard, docs, assessments, whatever, while I do: templates illustration (maps, piping diagrams, light process animation) Sto”

“I'm the only ID on my team and struggling to bring my thoughts together on how best to approach quiz questions for an industry regulated Certification course. After each scenario (there are 3), learners need to answer three questions. They also need to have the ability to move back and forth between these questions and change their answers before submitting. I am running into the issue of Storyline forcing a submit interaction when using a quiz slide. Is there a way to allow leaners to move”

“I recently had an interview for a learning designer role. During the interview, one of the interviewers said if I had considered working as a "learning architect" instead. I felt pretty good about the interview. A few days later HR called and said they wouldn't move forward with my application. They have no time to train me to work as a "learning designer", however they feel that I am more suited to work as a "learning architect" instead. My question is, if I ca”

“The assignment was more around idea validation and defining the MVP. Building and UX refinement would have been the next steps.”

“Do you mind sharing your work? I'm interested to just learn! I'm a ux designer so I can provide you with some feedback from ux perspective. I think that Will make your solution more holistically well thought of”

“I spent almost 10 years at one company, starting in customer service and working my way up into training, then instructional design. The last almost 6 years were dedicated ID work: e-learnings in Rise, process simulations in Storyline, informational videos (Powtoon, later Vyond), and job aids/QRGs. I don't have any formal ID education or certifications- everything I know is from hands on experience in that role. Unfortunately, my company went through a massive layoff, and I was impacted. Now”

“That’s exactly what I’m trying to figure out before building too much. My current thought is visual-first explanations + small labs + troubleshooting scenarios instead of long lecture-style lessons. But I agree that “simplified” alone isn’t enough differentiation. What would you personally want to see that existing CCNA resources don’t do well?”

“So I am currently working in a private school as English teacher. I was searching on what other jobs I can opt for if I have a background in Education. So this instructional designer thing popped up. So if someone is working in that field can you tell me what it is and how does one secure a job in it like what qualifications it requires.... submitted by /u/Intellectuallyrotten [link] [comments]”

“Hey everyone, I’ve been following this sub for a while and figured I’d finally post and get some advice. I have about 5-6 years of experience in instructional design and corporate L&D. Most recently, I was the sole Training Developer at a large aerospace and defense company. I developed training for enterprise systems, onboarding, internal processes, and different software/tools used throughout the company. I worked mainly with Storyline/Rise, Camtasia, Vyond, Cornerstone LMS, SharePoint, an”

“One thing worth narrowing down: are you trying to study execution as in strategy implementation, or more like the day-to-day operational discipline side? Those are pretty different bodies of literature and knowing which one you mean would help people point you in the right direction”

“For those who are now in an "AI Enablement" position within ID, what does your work and daily tasks look like? submitted by /u/BoldMoveBoimler [link] [comments]”

“what are the best websites for CE classes that are genuinely interesting and useful? do these exist? submitted by /u/Master-Region-5494 [link] [comments]”

“I think this misses the point, which is that you write a design doc to really 'understand' the problem in depth. With a website, asking myself what's the number of users, changes my architectural design. And there is still a cost to changing it all later, as you don't want to be refactoring core systems later and having to re test everything. Post AI projects without proper planning always turn into slop”

“I’m curious to hear from people already working in the field. Given the current ID landscape, which sector do you think offers the most interesting opportunities right now: higher ed, corporate L&D, EdTech, government, healthcare, or something else? I’m also curious about how expectations have changed across these sectors. What skills or types of portfolio projects do you think carry the most weight today? With the ID job market and AI changing the field, I’m especially interested in how you”

“I have an interview coming up with an automation company, and the technical round involves demonstrating my storyboarding skills. For those of you currently working in Instructional Design/e-learning, could you walk me through your storyboarding process at a high level? I’m trying to understand what the current industry standard looks like. A few things I’m wondering: Do you typically storyboard in PowerPoint, Word, or a dedicated tool? Are there any standard templates or formats you usually fol”

“We're building out a library of patient education content for healthcare clients. Looking for a handful of instructional designers to help write and structure the content. What you'd do: Write clear plain language scripts Structure content for conversational experiences Work within a defined content review process What we're looking for: Strong instructional design or health education writing for a general audience English fluency required; additional languages a plus Experience work”

“I’m in a catch all role where I’m the sme, designer, and facilitator. I struggle so much with creating course content and designs. My work is noticeably subpar and it hasn’t me worried that this role may not be for me. submitted by /u/Special-Design1090 [link] [comments]”

“Hi everyone! I recently joined a company that develops and sells training courses for other companies. One of our requirements is that the courses need to work well on both desktop and mobile devices, including vertical/mobile layouts. I’ve been using Adobe Captivate 13, but honestly, it has been quite frustrating. I’ve encountered several issues, especially on iOS, and after publishing, some courses don’t display correctly on Mac screens—for example, the background shifts or moves to the right.”