Danielle Moffat EDCI 660B

1

Career Pathway – Personal Reflection

Video Summaries and Discussion

Jennifer Randall of Maestro E-learning

This video was of a seminar given by Jennifer Randall, a director and owner of Maestro E-

learning. The talk described the type of work undertaken by the company, which mainly delivers

traditional e-learning solutions to the medical sector, giving an overview of its instructional

design process. Ms Randall explained that Maestro’s instructional design process starts with a

discovery phase in which the client requirements are identified. She stressed the importance of

aligning with customers and understand their specific needs. Ms Randall then described the

development phase in which graphic designers and programmers are employed to actualize the

joint vision of the instructional designers and client. During the talk, Ms Randall outlined the

structure of the company which is comprised of an internal team and contractors.

I found it very interesting to see how instructional concepts are presented to the client via a

storyboard. Ms Randall provided a comprehensive explanation of how the storyboard is created

and used to help the client to visualize the end product. I have seen storyboarding experience

stated as a requirement on job postings when I have researched positions in my area of interest,

E-learning Content Development, in the past so it was helpful to be able to see what one looks

like.

Throughout the talk, Ms Randall showcased some of the work that her company has

undertaken for its various clients. Having watched the video and visited Maestro’s website, I am

now drawn to the idea of working for a smaller company specializing in bespoke e-learning

solutions as I wish to be exposed to as wide variety of work as possible.

Danielle Moffat EDCI 660B

2

Erin Kenney of Tier1 Performance Solutions

This video was of a seminar given by Erin Kenny, who is a former Purdue LTD program

student now working as an instructional designer for Tier1 Performance Solutions. Ms Kenny

described her company’s approach to the process of devising performance solutions, giving an

overview of the different teams (navigation, learning and development, technology and creative

teams) that are involved and their respective roles. She then specifically focused on the tasks

undertaken by the learning and development team, within which she works. The talk gave me a

view of how instructional designers fit in to a company with a wider product remit. Ms Kenny

also highlighted some of the real-world applications of the theories we have been looking at on

the LDT program, such as ADDIE, by setting out the courses she studied at Purdue that she

found to be particularly useful when she first entered the profession. She advised that the

foundational courses – specifically dealing with learning theory – had been very helpful to her

which highlighted to me the importance of ensuring I lay down a solid theoretical knowledge

during the Masters from which to springboard my career.

Instructional Design Rules of Thumb – Learning from the Pros

This video comprised 6 sections in which experts in instructional design gave their thoughts

on a variety of topics, namely providing a brief overview of the field, how to first approach an

instructional design problem, potential challenges, the use of technology, rules of thumb and

advice to novices. I found it interesting to consider the, sometimes opposing, points of view of

the different experts about what makes a good instructional designer. I realize from the same that

there are many different approaches to designing instruction and, it seems, you have to find one

that works for you (which I suspect will be a career-long endeavor!). The final section, giving

advice to novices, was especially helpful to me as a newcomer to the field. The experts

Danielle Moffat EDCI 660B

3

recommended negotiating the scope of any new project upfront, rather than just accepting it ‘as

is’ as well as recognizing your limitations and being honest about them. One expert emphasized

the need for the instructional designer to always study, learn and find principles that are general,

important and critical to learning. This impressed upon me the importance of taking

responsibility for my own professional development by ensuring that I continue to keep up with

developments in instructional design and related fields such as new technologies in our rapidly

expanding and changing area of practice.

Sir Ken Robinson: TED talk – Bring on the Learning Revolution!

This video is a humorous and inspirational TED talk given by Sir Ken Robinson in which he

makes a case for personalized learning. He argues that we have to move from the traditional,

linear model of education based in the industrial age to one that is based on principles of

agriculture in which we create the conditions within which human talent can flourish. Sir

Robinson believes that educators should personalize education, and calls for a movement in

education towards that within which people develop their own solutions with external support

based on a personalized curriculum. He puts forward the idea that technology provides the

opportunity to revolutionize education, a view with which I wholly agree.

Competencies & Job Skills Folder

I found Chapter 12, The Professional Designer, in Real World Instructional Design

particularly useful resource as it gave a comprehensive overview of the roles available in the

field of instructional design as well as the variety of different employers hiring in the field. In

particular, I was interested to note the suggestions, at page 283, for promoting recognition of

your contributions as an instructional designer within a company. I am not yet employed as an

Danielle Moffat EDCI 660B

4

instructional designer but these suggestions led me to consider ways in which I can start to build

an online presence in the field at this stage – for example by blogging and writing short articles

on LinkedIn – which might help me stand out when interviewing for my first position.

The Monster.com postings in the Competencies & Job Skills folder relate to positions in the

US so I conducted my own research into positions in the UK that would be of interest to me. A

few examples I found are as follows:

http://madisonbridge.co.uk/jobs/elearning-designer-london-up-to-35k/

http://www.hyf.co.uk/job/instructional-designer-jobid-instructionaldesignerlondon

http://www.cwjobs.co.uk/JobSearch/JobDetails.aspx?JobId=61611988

Having reviewed the requirements for the types of position I aspire to be hired in to in the

future, I realize that I must now focus on gaining more practice using HMTL and CSS as well as

experience in managing a VLE platform, such as Moodle, rapid e-learning authoring tools such

as Articulate or Captivate. I am able to concentrate on the former in my own time at the moment

and, in terms of the latter, I have secured some work experience with a group of international

schools here in China which will provide me with some hands on exposure to Moodle. The

group is also considering purchasing a rapid e-learning software suite as they intend to produce

their own in-house professional development modules, a project that I hope to be involved in in

due course.

Relevant Professional Organizations and Additional Resources

I have identified a number of professional organizations in the field that are of interest to

me:-

The E-learning Guild: http://www.elearningguild.com/

Danielle Moffat EDCI 660B

5

The International E-learning Association: http://www.ielassoc.org/

UK Association for Learning Technology: https://www.alt.ac.uk/

I am a member of several instructional design field related groups on LinkedIn, which I

follow to keep abreast of developments and opportunities in the field including E-learning 2.0,

eLearn – An eLearning Training Group, Information Technology Professionals, Instructional

Design & E-Learning Professionals’ Group, Instructional Design and e-Learning Performance

Solutions and Instructional Design Central.

An additional resource that I found particularly helpful was E-learning Industry’s article, Top

10 eLearning Content Development Companies for 2014. The article sets out each company,

giving a brief summary of what they do, as well as linking to their websites. I explored the

various websites which gave me a glimpse into the huge diversity of projects that are being

undertaken by companies operating in my area of interest. I am excited about embarking on what

I have every expectation will be an interesting and challenging career!