Week 6 - Prep of ID and Podcasts

I read chapter 7 - Developing Design Expertise and thought that it was the message that I have been waiting to read in this course. Fortney clearly makes the case that there needs to be better development of Instructional Designers in the educational programs, which I can agree with 100%. What is interesting, though, is that I happen to feel that I fall more on the creative side of ID with the desire to question, find creative ways to engage, and looking at problems and solutions in more than one light. What I'm learning in this program is that there are actually models and systems and "rules" to follow as an Instructional Designer. While that may be the foundational knowledge necessary, it's certainly important that instructional designers have the ability to create and solve in the real world. I particularly liked Fortney's explanation of Norman's three levels of design: visceral level, behavioral level, and reflective level. Design that appeals to both our rational and emotional selves. I think this speaks to the root of why I desire to further my ID education. I am passionate about exciting and engaging training, and development in the workplace. I also appreciate the response from Boling clarifying that there have been significant advances in the education programs for instructional design. While the programs are expanding, there is still an opportunity for existing ID practitioners to get more involved.

Since Elizabeth Boling authored the response to Fortney's chapter, I thought it'd be fitting to read Boling's chapter 10 - Teaching the Complex Performance of Instructional Design. A reoccurring theme in these chapters is how instructional design cannot be taught in one standard approach of models, theory, and data because it limits the student's ability to tap into how to approach real-world problems and solutions. There has to be a way to bridge the gap between the standard methods of instruction and teaching students to be "prepared-for-action, not guided-to-action" (Stolterman, 2008).

I chose to create a podcast this week instead of finding one to listen to. I have a hard time staying focused long enough to listen to the podcasts so I did a short, 5-minute first episode of my podcast, HR Advocate. I am an HR Business Business Partner and like to share with others some of the challenges I face in the workplace.