Getting into Instructional Design

Someone just emailed me about getting into instructional design. There are a number of programs and academies have have sprung up for this (of variable quality), but it’s always good to start with free resources while you are just exploring, so here are few things that are available. Connie Malamed created a free resource for … Read more

Nerdy Shop Talk – xAPI

It’s baaaack. We took a summer break from Nerdy Shop Talk that lasted until December (yes, we know it hasn’t been summer for a while). Topic: xAPI…huh…what is it good for? xAPI (the specification formerly known as Tin Can) has been available for a while, but what can instructional designers actually *do* with it? If … Read more

Design Better Learning

I’m delighted to announce the first course in my new project — Design Better Learning. It’s an online course library to help people learn to create better learning experiences. The first course available is Sticky Learning – Learning Design for Attention and Engagement! It’s a self-study course for instructional designers and anyone designing learning experiences. … Read more

Complex Skill Development

Hey folks, I’ve long thought that the instructional design toolbox is more focused on knowledge and procedural learning, and has less specifics to offer for complex skill development. I’m working on parsing some guidelines based on types of skills and problem context. This is a talk that I’ve done at a few of the elearning … Read more

Talking about Feedback and Habits

Have participated in a few podcasts lately: The Disruption Debate podcast, talking about feedback and why it matters, and how to get more feedback into learning systems: https://www.totaralms.com/blog/disruption-debate-julie-dirksen-why-feedback-matters The Learning Circle podcast, talking about digital habits and how to encourage good habit formation: http://www.dau.mil/learningcircle/default.aspx There are a few more coming up soon, including an interview with Learning … Read more

Social Games & Community Development

So I’ve been doing research for a chapter on social and informal learning that I’m adding the second edition, and I’ve been taking a look at some of the resources on social gaming because they know a *lot* about community development. This is collection of some of the best resources I’ve found. Core Concepts for … Read more