INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN

Get to know your instructor, explore the course objectives, and get a sneak peek at the final project. This is your roadmap for the journey ahead — let’s make sure you’re all set to start strong.

• Meet your instructor
• Housekeeping rules
• Course objectives & flow
• Final project & assignments overview

Get ready for the essentials. By the end of this class, you'll know what makes learning stick, how instructional design has evolved, and what it takes to be a top-notch instructional designer in today’s world. Plus, you'll get the lowdown on how different industries use these skills to shape learning experiences.

• What is instructional design?
• The evolution of instructional design
• Instructional designer’s role & responsibilities
• Types of instructional design: corporate, academic, and EdTech

Gain the tools to turn any learning experience into an engaging journey. From nailing down Gagné’s 9 steps to picking the right design model, learn how to craft lessons that make learners sit up and take notice.

• Group Discussion: Personal learning experiences
• Learning theories
• Gagné’s nine events of instruction
• Development strategies: ADDIE, SAM, etc.
• Learning modalities
• ROPES Framework

Assignment #1: Choose Your Course Project Topic
Pick a focused topic you can teach in a 15–30 minute session. Keep it small in scope – for example, how to cook your favorite meal, how to drive a car, how to organize your closet, etc.

Start crafting training programs that hit the mark by pinpointing your audience, identifying their knowledge gaps, and designing sharp, measurable objectives that actually drive results. Let’s make sure your training doesn’t just work — it works.

• Defining the target audience for a training program
• Conducting a cognitive gap & learning needs analysis
• Bloom's taxonomy & its application
• Creating clear and measurable objectives
• Workshop #1: Writing learning objectives based on Bloom's taxonomy

Assignment #2: Target Audience & Learning Objectives
Define your target audience and write 3-5 learning objectives for your project.

Learn how to confidently create spot-on assessments that actually reflect what learners have picked up, using both quick progress checks and big-picture evaluations. Plus, get hands-on practice aligning assessments with real-world learning goals.

• Methods to quantify learning objectives
• Formative & summative assessments
• Designing effective assessments
• Workshop #2: Creating an assessment aligned with learning objectives

Assignment #3: Assessment
Create five assessment questions for your final project.

By the end of this session, you’ll be mapping out training projects like a pro – from deciding between Agile or Waterfall, to creating foolproof timelines and budgets. Explore tools like Trello and Asana to keep your projects on track and your teams in sync.

• Training development process steps
• Agile vs. Waterfall approaches
• Planning timelines, resources, and budgets
• Project management tools for instructional designers

Learn how to speak stakeholder. Grab the best insights from SMEs, and keep everyone in line with RACI charts. You'll walk away with conflict-busting skills that’ll keep your projects on track, no matter how chaotic things get.

• Effective communication strategies and techniques
• Gathering and validating content from SMEs
• Creating RACI/DACI charts for stakeholder collaboration
• Navigating challenges and conflicts in collaboration
• Workshop #3: Simulating an SME meeting to plan out collaboration

Assignment #4: Kick-Off Meeting Plan
Plan a kick-off meeting with an SME to design training for a new product. Outline your agenda to gather key information for the project.

By the end of Class 7, you'll be able to structure a killer course outline, storyboard, and weave in storytelling techniques that make your content pop. Plus, you’ll add some interactive flair with gamification to keep learners hooked.

• How to create a course content outline
• Reviewing a storyboard template
• Storytelling techniques for content development
• Incorporating gamification & interactive elements
• Workshop #4: Storyboard creation for a sample training module

Assignment #5: Content Outline
Develop a ROPES outline for your final project.

Explore authoring tools and LMS, and discover which ones fit your training needs like a glove. We'll explore the coolest tools out there, from Articulate 360 to Canva, and get you ready to create content that shines in any job or project.

• Difference between authoring tools & LMS
• Overview of key authoring tools (Articulate Storyline, Articulate Rise, Camtasia, Adobe Captivate, Vyond, Canva, etc.)
• Overview of LMS options
• Selecting the right authoring tool and LMS for your training needs

Roll up your sleeves and learn how to create a basic training module while exploring the interface and picking up essential skills along the way. Turn those ideas into interactive learning experiences.

• Instructor-led step-by-step demo in Articulate Storyline

Assignment #6: Course Draft
Using your content outline, design your course in Articulate Storyline/Rise. Submit it for review.

Understand how to apply UX principles, play with color theory, and optimize layouts to create visually satisfying and accessible content that everyone can enjoy. We want to make learning engaging for all.

• Principles of UX design & accessibility in e-learning
• Fundamentals of color theory
• Developing multimedia (images, videos, voiceover)
• Fonts & layout tips

Assignment #7: Visual Design & Accessibility Feedback
Review the "How to Clean a House" course and provide 1-2 pages of feedback on design and accessibility, highlighting strengths, areas for improvement, and actionable recommendations.

Class 11 equips you to professionally evaluate training, from measuring impact with Kirkpatrick's Levels to crunching those all-important ROI numbers. Turn training data into eye-catching dashboards and spark continuous improvement in your programs.

• Kirkpatrick’s levels of evaluation
• Calculating training metrics & ROI
• Creating dashboards to visualize training data
• Continuous improvement in training design and delivery
• Case Studies: ROI calculation examples for different types of training

Assignment #8 (Extra Credit): Training Effectiveness
Explain how you will use Kirkpatrick’s levels of evaluation to measure your training’s effectiveness.

Let’s make your career aspirations a reality! From ace interview tips to networking hacks, we’ll help you elevate your social media game and equip you with the skills to snag that dream ID role.

• Creating an outstanding resume, cover letter, and portfolio
• Interview tips
• Social media presence (including LinkedIn)
• Networking strategies
• Additional skills to gain a competitive edge

Assignment #9: Final Project
Submit the final version of your training module, incorporating feedback from the draft version.

Explore AI and machine learning basics, break down how these tools can level up each stage of course design, and tackle the ethical side of AI — because being smart about tech is just as important as using it.

• Definition and core concepts of AI & ML
• Breaking down key stages of the AI-assisted ADDIE process
• Ethical and legal considerations in AI
• Case Study: Real-world use cases of AI technologies in Instructional Design

By the end of this class, you'll be crafting prompts that actually get AI to work for you in instructional design. We'll dive into what makes a prompt click, how to spot and fix bad ones, and get AI creating top-notch learning materials in no time.

• Importance of prompt engineering & what it is
• Key elements of effective prompts
• Good vs. poor prompts
• Optimizing prompts for better outputs 

Assignment #1: Prompt Development Exercise
Pick one instructional design task: Generate learning objectives for a course of your choice or develop a training session outline on a topic of your choice. Create an initial AI prompt, refine it, compare outputs, and write a short reflection. Submit your work.

Use AI to craft laser-focused learning objectives that hit the sweet spot between what learners need and what your organization wants. You’ll tap into AI-powered insights to set goals that actually make a difference — no fluff, just results.

• Using AI to gather and analyze learner data
• Setting measurable learning objectives with AI support
• AI tools for aligning objectives with learner needs and organizational goals
• Workshop #1:Designing competency-based learning objectives with AI

Automate your content creation using AI to whip up written materials, design engaging outlines, and even create multimedia. Think less time on grunt work, more time on creativity.

• AI tools for written content creation
• Creating content outline with AI
• AI tools for creating engaging multimedia content (images, videos, voicover)

Assignment #2: Mini-Lesson with Visual & Video Content
Pick one learning objective related to your chosen topic. Use AI to write 1-3 sentences introducing the topic. Find and enhance an image using Craiyon or MidJourney. Submit both the original and enhanced images, and share your prompts. Create a video using VideoGen, including the outline, prompts, and final video.

Harness AI to make assessments smarter and more personal. From crafting quizzes to automating feedback, you’ll discover how AI can make the process faster and more effective — helping both you and your learners succeed.

• Developing assessment content
• AI tools for automated assessment and feedback
• Assessment customization with AI

By the end of this class, you'll have a solid grasp on how to weave AI into learning environments to boost engagement and streamline content delivery. Brainstorm and explore AI tools that transform the way learners interact, from virtual tutors to automated grading systems.

• Workshop #2: Integrating AI into ADDIE process stages
• Overview of AI-enhanced learning management systems
• AI tools for content delivery
• AI-assisted virtual tutors & chatbots
• Strategies for integrating AI into learning environments

Assignment #3: Final Project: AI-Enhanced Learning Module Outline
Pick a familiar or passionate topic, like time management, team collaboration, or writing effective emails. Develop a learning module outline and use AI for at least two of these processes: content generation, assessment creation, content personalization, and engagement features. Submit a learning module outline and explain how AI was used in the two areas above. Include both the outline and descriptions of your AI integration.