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Blog. Learn.

7 Instructional Design Types: Who's Best for Your Business?

4/5/2019

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I’ve been lucky to work with many instructional designers from a variety of backgrounds—each brought a valuable skillset to their work, and some had specific strengths or focus depending on the career path they followed to become an instructional designer.
 
Let me start by saying that I’m a strong advocate for only hiring qualified instructional designers to design training or learning. As most instructional designers and learning consultants come from many backgrounds, some may be more suited for your project than others. Hiring the right one means knowing how to pick the right person based on the skillset your project needs. Ideally, you might successfully hire someone who has combined experience or background in these fields. You can do this by asking them to describe past projects, asking for work samples, or by following my other tips for finding the right learning consultant.
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The following list is based on my observations—there will always be exceptions to these! You’ll likely encounter instructional designers from all walks of life, which will only enrich their work! 
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1. Graphic Designers
Graphic designers turned instructional designers will have a solid background in colour theory, composition, and visual design. They will excel at projects requiring rebranding eLearning, modernizing job-aids and creating a consistent look and feel for learning assets. Most instructional designers with a graphics design background work collaboratively with content specialists or more experienced instructional designers who can bring solid learning methodology or cognitive science background to a project. 
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  • Ideal for: Rebranding projects, eLearning redesigns, modernizing training resources, improving user experience (UX/UI).
 
 2. Videographers
Skilled at writing impactful scripts and quick at editing, audio, music and composition, videographers can easily branch out into learning videos, interactive video, video tutorials, and YouTube or TED talk videos. They’re effective storytellers that can create an emotional impact in a concise format (and emotions are a key part of the neuroscience behind how the brain learns best).
  • Ideal for: Learning that can show (not just tell), scripting, and producing high quality, high resolution videos with a dual marketing and learning purpose.
 
3. Marketers or Communications Professionals 
Learning consultants with a background in communication are often the best at tone, voice, narration, and scripting. They’re also well-versed on making large amounts of content consistent, relatable, and on-brand. Many instructional designers are also copy editors.
 
Some even come with a digital marketing background in website content, digital analytics or graphic design, so they have an innate ability to gather, monitor, and use learning analytics to inform their work and meet the organization’s goals too. They are also skilled at measuring ROI.
 
These professionals sometimes benefit from partnering with educators or formally trained instructional designers who can confirm learning objectives and evaluate content using educational principles and adult learning methodologies.

  • Ideal for: Human resources training, employee training, content-heavy topics, tone or brand training, and all types of courses about communication skills.
 
4. Educators​
IDs with a background in teaching or education tend to have ample experience in designing learning activities, facilitating curriculum, and creating unit and lesson plans for the classroom.
 
Educators come with a solid academic background in education methodologies, and most have a Bachelor of Education as a minimum if they worked in the public school system.
 
Educators are excellent at chunking large concepts, engaging learners, and explaining concepts in ways learners respond to best. Although most educators are trained in pedagogy (children and youth focused methods) they may not necessarily have formal training in andragogy (adult education). Many will find their existing qualification and skills highly transferable to adult learning settings and add adult education to their professional development with certificates, courses, and conferences. Read my other post about why teachers make great IDs.

  • Ideal for: Projects or courses you're building from scratch, working with large groups of subject matter experts, designing engaging classroom and blended learning courses.
 
5. Developers​
Developers, coders, software students or junior engineers are excellent at configuring learning systems and finding workarounds to common delivery problems.
 
Learning consultants with backgrounds in Software as a Service (SaaS) or general development backgrounds excel at delivering course authoring builds or customized course functionality. They usually collaborate with instructional designers on the content itself or build eLearning courses storyboarded by Instructional Designers who worked with subject matter experts on the content in a previous project phase.

  • Ideal for: application programming interface (API) and experience API, system integration, or complex course authoring builds that require complex functionality (i.e., more robust use of software like Storyline, Captivate, etc.)
 
6. Technical Writers
Instructional designers with a technical writing background know how to translate complex IT processes into user-friendly steps. They are excellent at developing and maintaining knowledge bases, visualizing information, and are usually thorough, systematic and detail-oriented.
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  • Ideal for: User guides, infographics, job-aids, systems training and documenting process.
 
7. Business Analysts
Some of my favourite learning colleagues to work with used to be Business Analysts: By definition, all Instructional designers design for behaviour change, and business analysists know a lot about using business intelligence to solve business problems. They’re excellent at conducting audits of your Learning Management System (or learning records in general), evaluating effectiveness or measuring training impact, and providing project management for large learning initiatives or programs.
 
Both Marketers and Business Analysts have deep and practical knowledge of analytics, qualitative and quantitative data, and using data to drive business decisions and map your return on investment. This means they’ll have your goals in mind at every step of the project.

  • Ideal for: LMS administration review, database audits, learning reports and metrics analysis, and troubleshooting eLearning issues.
 
 
Remember: We can't expect someone to know all and be all— there are no ‘unicorns’ out there! Finding someone with experience relevant to your project’s goals and deliverables will mean looking for that special skillset. The best way to find this is to contact the consultant directly and ask them to provide examples of a client list and samples of recent work similar to your project. Read my other tips on what to look for in an instructional design consultant, or get in touch with me to see if I've got the right skillset for your next project!
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5 Tips for Hiring the Right Learning Consultant

4/5/2019

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5 tips for hiring the right learning consultant
Bravo! You know you need an instructional designer or learning consultant for your organization—you’re already well on your way to success. This post will help you choose the right learning consultant for your project—because not all instructional designers are created equal.
 
Instructional Designer (or ID) is one of many titles you’ll encounter if you’re searching for a learning or training consultant. There seem to be more and more for hire every day.  The eLearning industry is growing rapidly, and so are the consultant ranks. This means you’ll have more choice, but it also means you might experience more confusion when hiring.
 
Here are 5 things to consider when looking for the most appropriate instructional designer for your needs:

1. Check for project management experience
Are you expecting your learning consultant to provide a project management framework s (in addition to designing learning deliverables)? Then you’ll want to look for someone with proven experience in managing projects or coordinating project deliverables. Save yourself a lot of time by choosing someone who can provide the structure needed for your project, or who can easily work within an existing one.

2. Think Goldilocks, not unicorns
Too much or too little? You want someone who is just right for your business and your team.
As with the project management tip above, choose someone who has a similar working style as your team. Try to avoid looking for the “unicorn” candidate—that non-existent person who would have a magical (but perhaps unrealistic) set of ideal combined qualifications and experience.
 
For an example of what just right might look like, consider how they interact with you through email, over the phone or in-person. Are they long-winded or to-the-point? Are they responsive or do you need to follow-up before hearing back from them? Choose a consultant who will align with your organization’s frequency, amount, and style of communication.

3. Listen carefully—they should ask you these questions
The needs analysis stage is an essential one. Nobody can create the perfect learning for you without understanding your objectives. If they seem to zero in on the project details too soon, you may not have found the right person. A good instructional design consultant will build a needs analysis interview (similar to a ‘brief’) into the first steps of the project, and ask questions like this:

  • Who is the audience and how do they best respond?
  • How can we measure success?
  • What business goals can this learning support?
 
4. Analyze samples of their past work
Always ask to see samples of their work or their instructional design portfolio. Better yet, ask for 2-3 specific samples that are related to your project. For example, if you’re looking to hire someone to configure or administer your Learning Management System, ask for workflow documentation samples or other operational or strategic work.
 
If you’re looking for an eLearning designer, ask for a variety of eLearning samples. If you’re hiring an ID to create eLearning modules, ask them for project samples and get them to define their contribution to the project (%) and what they would do differently if they had more time and money. This is the best interview question in my opinion, and one of key questions I was asked by Limestone Learning (and they know their stuff—they’ve worked with hundreds of consultants throughout Canada)!
 
Tips for analyzing work samples:
  • Don’t fixate too much on the ‘look and feel’ of course materials (eLearning or instructor-led)—aesthetics might have been client-driven by branding or other requirements. Look for design that’s clear, doesn’t distract from the content, and demonstrates solid adult learning principles. Something might look pretty but not have much learning methodology or neuroscience backing the content.
  • Notice which verbs they use in their learning objectives: If you see the verb “understand” anywhere in the course goals or learning objectives—run away! A good instructional designer will always choose measurable learning objectives.
  • Don't forget that many good learning consultants might not be able to provide recent work if they’ve signed client NDAs. If their portfolio seems sparse, that doesn’t necessarily mean they haven’t been busy at work!

5. Ask them to analyze your work
This step is a sure-fire way to identify the best candidate. As some point in the selection process, give the consultant access to one of your current courses (in various stages of completion). Ask them questions like “What would you change? What would you do differently?” and then gauge if their responses align with your needs.

Takeaway
There’s no single formula for hiring the right consultant, but how well the candidate matches your organization’s culture and their experience designing similar deliverables will indicate if they’re the right fit for your project.
 
All in all, don’t hesitate to ask for proof of the skillsets you’re looking for in a learning consultant—we’re used to it! I always welcome the opportunity to share more about my work.
 
Good luck on the hunt!
Contact me to see if I'm the right fit!
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Why am I blogging?

3/13/2019

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Hi there! I’m a learning and development consultant and I love my industry. I go by many titles: Instructional Designer, Educator, Learning Technologist, Learning Strategist—but any way you put it, I love learning, I love technology, and I want to share helpful insights with others about the ins and outs of this profession.
 
I’ve created this blog to support organizations and companies of all sizes with tips for hiring and collaborating with learning consultants. If you’ve never worked with instructional designers or learning technologists, but want to get familiar with this ever-changing but wonderful industry, this blog is for you! And if you’re a learning professional who’s just starting out in the industry, you’ll benefit from this blog as well.
 
The eLearning and learning technology industries are in the midst of a huge boom. There are more options, trends, systems, and innovative choices for organizations than ever before, but this come with challenges too. Which system should you choose? How can you attract the best candidates when demand for Instructional Designers is high? How do you hire a qualified consultant when more and more are claiming the title of eLearning specialist or Instructional Designer?
 
Many organizations know they need a new course or revised learning strategy, but don’t have the in-house resources to make these happen. Others might have internal learning and development teams, but aren’t sure how to optimally approach or work with them. These blog posts will provide steps you can take to move forward.
 
My goals:
  • Make it easier for you to hire the right consultant for your project by providing helpful information.
  • Explain learning industry jargon in clear and simple terms. (It’s easy to be confused!)
  • Share insights with future or transitioning instructional designers. (Come join this great industry!)
  • Reach out and connect with others (potential clients or other consultants).
 
So, welcome to my blog! I hope you’ll find these posts useful. If you like what you read, please post these on social media and tag me as well.
 
Here’s to making learning stick, together,
 
Leah Chang
Instructional Designer and Learning Technologist
Owner of Leah Chang Consulting

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    Leah Chang is a learning consultant with 17+ years of experience designing online and classroom learning. In her spare time she goes on self-propelled travel adventures and tries to grow vegetables. 

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