The Adventure Begins
My long-awaited choice to embark on a new career in learning design and technology is finally here! As a classroom teacher for the past seventeen years, I thought I would stay in the classroom forever. I loved working with students and finding creative ways to intertwine technology into their learning, and I enjoyed creating lessons that helped my students master curriculum standards. One of my last years of teaching was online in 4th grade. I jumped at the opportunity to be an online teacher because I spent the past five years studying and piloting various EdTech in my classroom as a Google Ambassador for my campus. Being an online teacher helped me realize my love of learning design. I researched ways to reach my students remotely using technology while also finding ways to make course content online engaging and relevant for my 4th graders. Learning designers help facilitate an environment that is most optimal to a student's needs because they can access learning from anywhere and at any time in an environment, they feel most comfortable. Learning designers remove many of the barriers students face in a traditional classroom. Ellen D. Wagner states, "As learning designers, we have profound opportunities to develop conditions, strategies, resources, tools, and platforms to keep learners engaged and inspired. We can help people make new connections and meanings, spark new interest, and develop new abilities so that new learning will occur." (Wagner, 2021) The world of e-learning is the future, and its expansion, thanks to new technology, will help make learning accessible to people around the globe.
Two years ago, I decided that I wanted to begin a new career in learning design. That long-term goal has now become a reality, and thanks to my participation in this course, I have already learned what specific area of learning design I want to specialize in. I want to continue to develop my skills in creating engaging, relevant, learner-centric courses so that students feel seen and can meet their professional and personal goals. When I began to study a career in learning design, I spent time researching the skills needed in the profession, and reassuringly, I found many of the skills required were skills I had gained as a teacher in the classroom and through my master's degree program in curriculum and instruction. I also learned there were a lot of new skills I needed to acquire, not only regarding the technological side of the profession but also in the learning models used to reach adult learners. My professional long-term goal evolved into wanting to find a specialty beyond the "instructional designer" title I saw in job postings on Indeed. The world of Learning and Development seemed massive, and pinpointing where I would fit was a bit overwhelming. In the article, Nuts and Bolts: The ID (Job Description) Bucket Overfloweth, Jane Bozarth captures the overwhelming job descriptions found for postings titled "instructional designer" by stating, "The title has become a catchall for anything related to creating, launching, delivering, or even facilitating instruction in any capacity, and at any level of complexity." (Bozarth, 2019) That article put my mind at ease and helped me examine the learning and design career sphere more deeply.
Recently, I chatted with my A.I. Mentor, Amanda Nguyen, in ChatGPT and asked her to explain the different areas of the learning design profession. After reviewing the information she provided, I realized that my interest lies in becoming a learning experience designer in higher education. I plan to bridge my teaching and mentoring experience within this long-term career goal by creating online courses that support teachers and pre-service teachers. My A.I. mentor inspired me to consider ways I could influence the future of learning design by using immersive learning experiences in classroom management and instruction. Employing this type of technology would allow pre-service teachers to "apply theoretical knowledge in a risk-free practical setting" (A.I. Mentor: Nguyen, 2024).
Now that I have pinpointed my long-term goal, I have begun to create short-term goals that will support my future endeavors. In this course, I look forward to becoming more familiar with the technology learning designers utilize while understanding the instructional design process models such as the ADDIE and ASSURE. Ellen D. Wagner summarizes the importance of understanding human learning, "We should expect each other to be familiar with the major schools of thought that explain the phenomenon of human learning. We will need to know about the steps, stages, and processes that constitute the various phases of learning. We need to understand how learning outcomes may change under different conditions and how conditions change in different populations, at different ages, under different kinds of support structures." (Wagner, 2021)
The following short-term goal I have been pondering is to learn more about UX principles and leverage my project management skills to drive successful learning design outcomes in higher education. A.D. Ritzhaupt, S. Kumar, and F. Martin state, "Instructional designers in higher education are often assigned to either manage or participate in multiple projects on any typical day of their work." (Ritzhaupt, Kumar, Martin, 2021) By having an understanding of applying various project management skills to a learning experience position, I will be better prepared to join a higher education institution within the learning design profession.
Being new to the field of learning design, I needed to familiarize myself with any current influencers or pioneers in the industry; however, after speaking with my A.I. mentor, I learned the names of major players in the industry and researched their contributions and philosophies. The two influencers I connected most with are Michael Allen and Cathy Moore. My A.I. mentor, Amanda Nguyen, stated, "Michael Allen pioneered the field of interactive e-learning design, and his model is widely used by learning designers around the globe." Nguyen further affirmed that "his focus on creating engaging and interactive learning experiences aligns nicely with my interest in multimedia and simulations." (A.I. Mentor: Nguyen, 2024) It's inspiring to learn that Allen has pioneered a design model that can immerse students in situations that create real-world simulations of the skills they seek. This technology and design model provides the safety of the classroom with the feel of performing the learning task at hand in a relevant manner.
Another designer in the field that I connected to was Cathy Moore. Nguyen shared, "Cathy Moore's work can guide designers in creating learning experiences tied to measurable outcomes and help learners apply knowledge practically." (A.I. Mentor Nguyen, 2024) Analyzing data has become a massive part of my lesson design and student intervention planning as a teacher. Analysis of and evaluation of learning data provided invaluable information that allowed me to help students meet their learning objectives and goals while also providing me with the knowledge needed to support the development of students' future learning opportunities. Ellen D. Wagner expresses: "Formative and summative evaluation can help us determine whether or not the designs we provide will achieve the results we hope to achieve." Analysis and evaluation are applied differently in learning design; however, the end goal remains familiar: we work to improve student success outcomes by refining the delivery of learning content in an e-learning environment.
In conclusion, before I complete this program to become a learning experience designer, I want to have the opportunity to explore the design thinking process, strengthen my understanding of accessibility standards and UDL principles, and learn more about the tech used to create immersive learning experiences. Connecting to professional associations while preparing to enter the job market will play an integral part in developing these areas of exploration. The support of belonging to a professional community will help me meet my career goals. As time progresses, I want to give back through my participation in professional organizations by becoming a mentor and support for others. I plan to become an advocate of learner-centered design and inclusivity. Working in higher education will provide me with the opportunity to collaborate with other educators and designers so that I will stay at the forefront of new trends. A.D. Ritzhaupt, S. Kumar, and F. Martin describe the benefits of working as a designer in higher education, "Working as an instructional designer in higher education provides many growth opportunities." (Ritzhaupt, Kumar, Martin, 2021) As a learning experience designer in higher education, I look forward to the opportunity to create content that removes the barriers created by the brick-and-mortar classroom. Learners will reach their future goals by accessing learning content from anywhere. I look forward to working with others to develop content that is not only informative but also engaging. I can't wait to focus on the learners' experience by incorporating feedback and data analysis in my day-to-day work and innovating curriculum content while supporting and collaborating with students, faculty, and staff. I am excited to be joining this ever-evolving, fast-paced profession. The sky's the limit!
References
Bozarth, J. (2019, April 2). Nuts and Bolts: The ID (Job Description) Bucket Overfloweth. https://www.learningguild.com/articles/nuts-and-bolts-the-id-job-description-bucket-overfloweth/
ChatGTP A.I. Mentor & Nguyen, A. (n.d.).
Ritzhaupt, A.D., Kumar, S., & Martin, F. (2021). The Competencies for Instructional Designers in Higher Education. EdTech Books.
Wagner, E. D. (2021). Becoming a Learning Designer. EdTech Books.
