What will Instructional Designers be called in the future? In this episode, I revisit a fun question from a recent webinar that got me thinking. Our field has gone by many names over the years, from training specialists and curriculum developers to multimedia designers and learning engineers. These shifts often reflect the trends, tools, and technologies of the time, from Gagné’s Nine Events to the rise of LMSs and now AI. So, what’s next? While job titles may continue to evolve, our core compet...
Mar 21, 2025•19 min•Season 1Ep. 122
In this episode, I sit down with Anna Lebedinets, a researcher and instructional designer exploring how empathic listening and culturally nuanced communication can transform language learning. Her and her colleagues recent study examines how integrating psychological and sociocultural components within the 4C/ID model can bridge performance gaps and enhance students' preparedness for real-life cross-cultural interactions. We discuss why traditional language teaching often falls short in developi...
Mar 05, 2025•31 min•Season 1Ep. 121
What's it like working as an instructional designer in higher education? Let's talk about it all: the day-to-day, rewards, growth, compensation, politics, etc. 👉 Mentioned Links: Transcript and Blog 👉 Recommendations: 🎓 Take your instructional design skills to the next level 🙌 Collaborating and Building Relationships with SMEs course 📚 So, you want to become an instructional designer? 📙 My Book 👉 Connect with me: LinkedIn YouTube 👉 Support the Channel! Check out my favorite LMS: Brightsp...
Feb 20, 2025•34 min•Season 1Ep. 120
What happens when you upload 30 shorts in 30 days? Here's what I learned and what you can pickup from doing these kind of timed challenges. 👉 Mentioned Links: Transcript and Blog 👉 Recommendations: 🎓 Take your instructional design skills to the next level 🙌 Collaborating and Building Relationships with SMEs course 📚 So, you want to become an instructional designer? 📙 My Book 👉 Connect with me: LinkedIn YouTube 👉 Support the Channel! Check out my favorite LMS: Brightspace...
Feb 06, 2025•25 min•Season 1Ep. 119
In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Matt Kinservik, a literary expert and professor, and Rachel Lapp, a self-proclaimed Taylor Swift expert and instructional designer, as they share the behind-the-scenes journey of co-creating a one-of-a-kind college course focused on Taylor Swift. Together, they discuss how their distinct expertise combines to craft an innovative curriculum and how they not only marketed the course with social media, but how they let students use Gen AI. Swifties and educators...
Jan 22, 2025•56 min•Season 1Ep. 118
👉 Mentioned Links: Transcript and blog post Breaking the Humdrum of “Post Once & Reply to 2” Online Discussions 👉 Recommendations: 🎓 Take your instructional design skills to the next level 🙌 Collaborating and Building Relationships with SMEs course 📚 So, you want to become an instructional designer? 📙 My Book 👉 Connect with me: LinkedIn YouTube 👉 Support the Channel! Check out my favorite LMS: Brightspace...
Jan 09, 2025•17 min•Season 1Ep. 117
In a recent poll, I asked educators (instructional designers, professors, teachers, developers, etc.) if they had a side hustle. 578 educators voted and 56% said yes. What opportunities are out there for educators though? In this episode, I'll share with you common side hustles for educators. 👉 Mentioned Links: Transcript and blog post Collaborating and Building Relationships with SMEs course Dr. Tom Tobin's Episode Christy Tucker's Episode Dr. Jason Gulya's AI Services Dr. Nicole LEtoile's New...
Dec 12, 2024•18 min•Season 1Ep. 116
As instructional designers, we have our go to models for designing learning experiences. What do you do though when you have to pivot? On today's episode, I'll share with you a crazy project I worked on where I had to heavily modify the backward design model. Also, Happy Thanksgiving! 👉 Mentioned Links: Transcript and blog post 👉 Recommendations: 🎓 Take your instructional design skills to the next level 📚 So, you want to become an instructional designer? 📙 My Book 🎤 My interview platform r...
Nov 27, 2024•26 min•Season 1Ep. 115
Let's dive into immersive learning today and explore some real world examples! 👉 Mentioned Links: Transcript and blog post 👉 Recommendations: 🎓 Take your instructional design skills to the next level 📚 So, you want to become an instructional designer? 📙 My Book 🎤 My interview platform recommendation (Riverside) ✍ Backwards Design Course 👥 Join our Group 👉 Connect with me: 👨💼 LinkedIn 🐦 Twitter 👨💻 Blog 🙌 Support the Channel! Check out my favorite LMS: Brightspace...
Nov 15, 2024•21 min•Season 1Ep. 114
What can Disney World teach us about instructional design? Well, quite a bit! Here are some insights from the most magical place on earth. 👉 Mentioned Links: Transcript and blog post WCAG Dr. Nicole's New Course New YouTube Video on SMEs 👉 Recommendations: 🎓 Take your instructional design skills to the next level 📚 So, you want to become an instructional designer? 📙 My Book 📗 The Do It Messy Approach: A Step-by-Step Guide for Instructional Designers and Online Learning Developers (IDOLs) �...
Oct 31, 2024•19 min•Season 1Ep. 113
Don't you just love when you're working on a project, and suddenly your SME ghosts you? You have no idea why or what happened, but what you do know for sure is that your project is dead in the water until you hear from them again. So, how do you reengage? In today's blog and podcast, I'll share five tips to help you get things back on track. 👉 Mentioned Links: Transcript and blog post 👉 Recommendations: 🎓 Take your instructional design skills to the next level 📚 So, you want to become an ins...
Oct 16, 2024•17 min•Season 1Ep. 112
Google's NotebookLM can generate a podcast about your material in a matter of minutes. What does this kind of technology mean for instructional design, online learning, and higher education? On today's episode, you'll hear a sample of what an AI generated podcast sounds like and we'll break down the pros, cons, and things to mindful of in the future. 👉 Mentioned Links: Transcript and blog post Notebook LM Example of NotebookLM 👉 Recommendations: 🎓 Take your instructional design skills to the ...
Sep 26, 2024•39 min•Season 1Ep. 111
Let's say your beloved project has become a total dumpster fire. What do you do? How do you handle this situation? On today's show, we will talk about steps to help you and to put out that fire. 👉 Mentioned Links: Transcript and blog post 👉 Recommendations: 🎓 Take your instructional design skills to the next level 📚 So, you want to become an instructional designer? 📙 My Book 📗 The Do It Messy Approach: A Step-by-Step Guide for Instructional Designers and Online Learning Developers (IDOLs) ...
Sep 13, 2024•15 min•Season 1Ep. 110
What can you use a GPT for? Under the right circumstances, these can be fantastic to help you and your students. On today's episode, I'll share with you three real world cases for how I'm using custom GPTs. 👉 Mentioned Links: Transcript and blog post 👉 Recommendations: 🎓 Take your instructional design skills to the next level 📚 So, you want to become an instructional designer? 📙 My Book 📗 The Do It Messy Approach: A Step-by-Step Guide for Instructional Designers and Online Learning Develop...
Aug 30, 2024•28 min•Season 1Ep. 109
Let’s say you’re an instructional designer and you’re trying to get promoted. How do you achieve this goal? Well, there are a few ways you can go about this, and on today’s podcast, I’ll share with you 10 tips on how to get promoted as an instructional designer. 👉 Mentioned Links: Transcript and blog post 👉 Recommendations: 🎓 Take your instructional design skills to the next level 📚 So, you want to become an instructional designer? 📙 My Book 📗 The Do It Messy Approach: A Step-by-Step Guide...
Aug 15, 2024•18 min•Season 1Ep. 108
There are certain types of phrases that can trigger an instructional designer. Learning styles, using “understand” in learning objectives, cognitive overload, last minute stakeholder changes, and more are enough to drive the best instructional designer crazy. Over the years, I’ve had to channel these grievances into more productive ways with sharing best practices. But even now, there are still some things that pop up where I shake my head and pray for divine intervention. So come commiserate wi...
Aug 01, 2024•18 min•Season 1Ep. 107
Are you planning on going to a learning conference soon? I just came back from D2L's Fusion and it was amazing. There were a few changes I made compared to my normal conference routine and it made a huge difference. On today's episode, you'll hear my top 5 tips on how to get the most out of your next conference. 👉 Mentioned Links: Transcript and blog post 👉 Recommendations: 🎓 Take your instructional design skills to the next level 📚 So, you want to become an instructional designer? 📙 My Boo...
Jul 17, 2024•14 min•Season 1Ep. 106
How do amazing concepts turn into disasters? Well, I can think of quite a few reasons. On today's show, you'll hear about some real-life examples and blunders about how ideas can quickly take a turn for the worse. 👉 Mentioned Links: Transcript and blog post 👉 Recommendations: 🎓 Take your instructional design skills to the next level 📚 So, you want to become an instructional designer? 📙 My Book 📗 The Do It Messy Approach: A Step-by-Step Guide for Instructional Designers and Online Learning ...
Jul 03, 2024•23 min•Season 1Ep. 105
Joseph Diaz joins the show to shares his insights on networking on LinkedIn and how to do it effectively without feeling slimy. On this episode, you’ll hear about: 👉 Key Takeaways: · Engaging with Other People's Content: Emphasizing the importance of engaging with other people's content through comments. Discussing the strategy of starting meaningful conversations. · Curating and Sharing Valuable Resources: Curating and sharing valuable resources in carousels to spark discussions. · Benefits of...
Jun 20, 2024•56 min•Season 1Ep. 104
In graphic design, web design, and user experience design, portfolios are essential, but what about instructional design? They were once considered a nice-to-have, but I think we are moving towards portfolios being required. Let's chat today about the ID landscape and why you should be thinking about a portfolio. 👉 Mentioned Links: Blog post for this episode So, you want to become an instructional designer How to design an instructional design portfolio Instructional Design Fundamentals course ...
Jun 06, 2024•16 min•Season 1Ep. 103
On today’s episode, we are joined by Dr. Nicole L’Etoile! Nicole is a business owner, LMS specialist, and an instructional designer, who is passionate about accessibility. We just so happened to record this episode on Global Accessibility Awareness Day! In this episode, we discuss about what accessibility means, tools to help designers, strategies for working with stakeholders, success stories, where AI fits into accessibility, and more. If you are an instructional designer, teacher, or any kind...
May 23, 2024•54 min•Season 1Ep. 102
Holly is back on the show! On today's episode, she talks about her journey from being a teacher to instructor to instructional designer at Amazon. We also take a deep dive into what a typical day looks like for her. If you have been thinking about wanting to work at an organization such as Amazon, this episode is for you. 👉 Mentioned Links: Holly's LinkedIn EdUp EdTech Podcast 👉 Recommendations: 🎓 Take your instructional design skills to the next level 📚 So, you want to become an instruction...
May 09, 2024•1 hr 11 min•Season 1Ep. 101
Well, we did it! 100 podcast episodes in the books. Whether you just started listening or you’ve been with me since day one, I can’t thank you enough. On today’s episode, I’ll share with you my biggest takeaway after 100 episodes. 👉 Mentioned Links: Transcript and Blog Harvard Study 👉 Recommendations: 🎓 Take your instructional design skills to the next level 📚 So, you want to become an instructional designer? 📙 My Book 📗 The Do It Messy Approach: A Step-by-Step Guide for Instructional Desi...
Apr 25, 2024•25 min•Season 1Ep. 100
Our society is stuck in a fast-paced go-go-go mode. Overworking is celebrated. Multitasking is expected. Do you know one thing you can’t rush though? The learning process. Today, we are talking about the benefits of slowing down by utilziing reflections. 👉 Mentioned Links: Transcript and Blog 👉 Recommendations: 🎓 Take your instructional design skills to the next level 📚 So, you want to become an instructional designer? 📙 My Book 📗 The Do It Messy Approach: A Step-by-Step Guide for Instruct...
Apr 07, 2024•17 min•Season 1Ep. 99
I need to take you behind the scenes for a moment to discuss a huge issue within the instructional design field. There is a disconnect between instructional design degrees and real world expectations. It’s been a trend I’ve been monitoring for years, and it only seems to be getting worse. Students are graduating with these degrees and don’t know how to apply the lessons into the real world. They aren’t ready and don’t feel confident to take their next steps. When asked why, I hear that they spen...
Mar 21, 2024•21 min•Season 1Ep. 98
What does the day in the life of a senior instructional designer look like? Let's talk about it! 👉 Mentioned Links: Transcript 👉 Recommendations: 🎓 Take your instructional design skills to the next level 📚 So, you want to become an instructional designer? 📙 My Book 📗 The Do It Messy Approach: A Step-by-Step Guide for Instructional Designers and Online Learning Developers (IDOLs) 🎤 My interview platform recommendation (Riverside) ✅ Backwards Design Course 👥 Join our Group 🤝 Connect with ...
Mar 07, 2024•16 min•Season 1Ep. 97
Yikes! Let's talk about some of the worst advice out there on how to become an instructional designer. 👉 Mentioned Links: Transcript 👉 Recommendations: 🎓 Take your instructional design skills to the next level 📚 So, you want to become an instructional designer? 📙 My Book 📗 The Do It Messy Approach: A Step-by-Step Guide for Instructional Designers and Online Learning Developers (IDOLs) 🎤 My interview platform recommendation (Riverside) ✅ Backwards Design Course 👥 Join our Group 🤝 Connect...
Feb 22, 2024•15 min•Season 1Ep. 96
Today's episode is all about learning environments! You'll learn about the four different spaces and how making small changes can lead to huge results. 👉 Mentioned Links: Transcript 👉 Recommendations: 🎓 Take your instructional design skills to the next level 📚 So, you want to become an instructional designer? 📙 My Book 📗 The Do It Messy Approach: A Step-by-Step Guide for Instructional Designers and Online Learning Developers (IDOLs) 🎤 My interview platform recommendation (Riverside) ✅ Bac...
Feb 08, 2024•20 min•Season 1Ep. 95
Should we think of students as customers? On today's episode, I'll share with you 5 reasons why this shift in thinking can make a drastic impact. 👉 Mentioned Links: Transcript 👉 Recommendations: 🎓 Take your instructional design skills to the next level 📚 So, you want to become an instructional designer? 📙 My Book 📗 The Do It Messy Approach: A Step-by-Step Guide for Instructional Designers and Online Learning Developers (IDOLs) 🎤 My interview platform recommendation (Riverside) ✅ Backwards...
Jan 25, 2024•16 min•Season 1Ep. 94
On today's episode, I'm going to break down why cohort based learning is so effective for adults. I'll cover my best tips for creating cohorts for your learning experiences and share the pitfalls to avoid. 👉 Mentioned Links: Transcript 👉 Recommendations: 🎓 Take your instructional design skills to the next level 📚 So, you want to become an instructional designer? 📙 My Book 📗 The Do It Messy Approach: A Step-by-Step Guide for Instructional Designers and Online Learning Developers (IDOLs) 🎤 ...
Jan 10, 2024•19 min•Season 1Ep. 93
