Are instructional designers doormats?
It's tempting to think we should never question clients' processes. However, we have a valuable outsider's perspective that can help our clients improve performance through every means, not just through a course. Read more

Are learners idiots?
Are you under pressure to treat your learners like clueless children? Here are some ways to manage a stakeholder or that voice in your head that wants to lead learners by the nose. Read more

Checklist for strong elearning
Action-packed elearning or boring information dump? This provocative checklist will help you evaluate and discuss your elearning materials. Rate the 14 factors, then glance down the central column to see which items are closest to the dreaded "information dump" and need the most work. Read more

Do they just know it, or can they USE it?
It's easy to write activities that test whether learners know something. How can we make learners use their knowledge as well? Let's compare two types of activities. Read more

How & why to design scenarios
I’ve added a substantial section about scenarios to the Elearning Blueprint. The section is open and free for everyone until March 31 to support my March 24th presentation at the Learning Solutions conference. The six parts cover: What are scenarios? (includes examples of different approaches) Why use them? Scenario ingredients: characters, decisions, and feedback What [...]

How action mapping can change your design process
Happy action mapping users say that the model helps them create lively elearning. But would it fit into your design workflow? Here's a look at the process from start to finish. Read more

How to create a memorable mini-scenario
Often we're told, "Put this information into a course." But what happens if we put the information into a job aid instead, and then design mini-scenarios that help learners use the job aid? Here's an example. Read more

Sample branching scenario + cool tool
Branching scenarios can be a pain to design. Happily, you can use a simple tool called Twine to easily draft the scenario and produce it. In this post we'll look at a scenario that I wrote to demonstrate Twine's basic features and to make a point about teaching through stories. Read more

Scenarios: the good, the bad, and the preachy
Decision-making scenarios work best when they require realistic decisions and avoid preaching. This post turns a typical fact-regurgitation into a more realistic scenario that helps learners practice making decisions in nuanced situations. Read more

Technical training: What do they need to DO?
If you don’t identify what people actually do with the software and design your training around that, you could create an information dump that helps no one and can’t justify its own existence. Identify what they need to do, not what they need to know. Read more