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From K12 to ID: Navigating the Shift for K12 Teachers

  Introduction: Transitioning from a K12 teaching role to a career in Instructional Design (ID) is a move many educators consider. I work with many of these students in our relatively new Instructional Design and Learning Technology program at EKU where we have already helped several make the transition. While the allure of this profession may be strong, it's crucial to remember that each professional landscape has its unique challenges, nuances, and requirements. A Competitive Landscape: Recent layoffs in the tech sector, combined with the reductions in force at a few significant educational institutions like the Kenzie Academy at SNUHU , have made the ID field more competitive. For K12 teachers aiming to enter this domain, understanding the current job market's intricacies becomes imperative. The Risk of Shortcuts: Eager to make the switch, many individuals are resorting to shortcuts that may seem promising but can be pitfalls in disguise: ·    ...
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What Instructional Designers Do - What Clients and Instructional Designers Need

Intro I am essentially conducting my own personalized needs analysis relative to this project: Simply stated, I need to determine the tasks the average instructional designer completes most days and the tools and techniques they will utilize in order to complete them. Go back and read my first post if you would like to know what this is about. Suppositions Surely soliciting the feedback of other IDs would yield a more detailed result. However, I am operating under a couple of suppositions: Most IDs will tell me most organizations strongly prefer deliverables using only commercial ($$$) products. We currently have an orientation toward "edutainment." Style currently rules over substance in many settings.  ID Overkill? Anyone who is "classically" trained in ISD or worked in the field long enough knows as long as we follow "brain rules," and also soundly align the experiences, methods, and assessments to the learning objectives, the mediation of instruction ...
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The Open ISD Project

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Instructional Systems Design might be defined as leveraging what we know about human cognition, learning and learning theory, certain business processes, data analysis, multimedia development principles, and a host of other topics to improve learning and performance outcomes in a variety of settings.  In attempting to define what some consider an ellusive role/job/approach to learning,  I am really trying to say there are many, many ways to approach instruction. When people ask for my help in desining training and educational programs, I feel compelled to ask many questions. One of my teachers suggested I read Edgar Schein, particularly his books Helping and Humble Inquiry  As an adherent to Dr. Schein's principles, I am only truly helping people when I carefully listen to people who ask for my help, act in ways that are meaningful and helpful to them, and recognize that I must be humble when I am in positions of authority, seniority, or advantage over others in order to ...
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What I am Reading in December

I defended my dissertation last month. I have more time now than I ever thought possible, especially with the bubbling my family and I are doing to protect those we love, as well as the community at large and to also hopefully be able to share some time with my wife's parents who have also bubbled up very securely. What does this mean? Time for reading. It is time to go back and review many sources I have read in the past, as well as to make myself a regular reader of the journals in our field. That said, this is what I am currently reading: Clark, D. (2020).  Artificial Intelligence for Learning: How to use AI to Support Employee Development . Kogan Page Publishers.     I reccomend this book because it presents the role of advanced predictive programs and algorithms (computer code) in a conversational and practical manner. AI is not the stuff of wizardry and fantasy, but it has and will continue to change how society evolves and how training and education practices may b...
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