Learning is a continuous process, and learning and training methods keep changing. Accommodating these changes requires the entire training module in your company to be redesigned on occasion to make use of best learning practices so your learners can effectively grasp and retain the information. Herein lies the responsibility of the instructional designer.
The role of instructional designers is crucial to the learning process. They are entrusted with devising new curricula, revamping existing ones, and producing training materials. With the widespread adoption of eLearning courses, career options in instructional design are expanding daily across almost all industries.
The usual practice is hiring an instructional designer or contacting instructional design consulting firms that help you navigate the course creation process. But the challenge is to know how you can make the collaboration work. What practices can you adopt to ensure effective coordination and communication between you and your instructional designer?
In this article, we bring you a few tips that you can use to effectively work with your instructional designer and curate an outstanding eLearning course.
How To Effectively Work With Your Instructional Designer
Here is how you can make the most of your partnership with your instructional designer:
#1 Know What Problem Your Online Course Is Trying To Resolve
A 'Needs Analysis' plays a significant role in the work of instructional designers, and you must help them conduct it. It entails understanding the project's objectives, specifications, and audience type before selecting the most efficient delivery technique.
You can ask yourself the following questions:
What problem is this course trying to solve, or what behavior change in the audience is it seeking?
What organizational goals will this course meet?
What are the constraints we are working with?
What delivery methods are we open to?
Once all these questions are answered, you will have enough information to conclude your needs analysis and decide what you need your course to entail and what delivery method you wish to use.
#2 Distinctly Define The Scope Of Work
Before signing the contract, you must work out every minute detail of the course development process with your Instructional Designer. It is better to stack up resources beforehand. Then decide who takes up what task.
Different designers offer different skill sets and services. Make sure you both understand what the instructional designer will be doing for you so you can include those duties in their scope of work when it comes to negotiating a contract.
Consider these points:
Do you require assistance with need analysis?
Is the new course's content being created from scratch, or is it based on an existing program?
Will the designer be required to create all the content, or will the subject matter expert provide it? Who is organizing that conversation, and who is leading the project?
Who is responsible for copy editing, graphic/visual design, and LMS content uploads and testing?
What schedule do course updates follow? Can you produce them independently? Will you require the instructional designer's help?
It would be best to sort things out every time you hire an instructional designer. Do not assume anything. Clarify every step and every task.
#3 Sort Out The Tools Inventory
Make a list of the equipment and tools the designer can use in your company. For requests involving integrated learning, this is crucial. For instance, it makes no sense to request an eLearning course if you don't have a learning management system or learning experience platform to host, play, deliver, and track SCORM-built eLearning courses. Therefore, it is essential to make your tools inventory first.
Instructional designers can take advantage of suitable delivery technologies and processes that your firm already has on hand. This could include various video conferencing and communication tools.
#4 Assign Project Leads
The staff member who organizes and coordinates the entire project with the team and the instructional designer is the project lead or project manager. You will need a project lead from your side and one from the instructional design company (provided they are not a single consultant but a firm).
These project managers will keep the project on track by monitoring its development. The company's project lead will be responsible for tracking your team's contributions and progress from the instructional designer's side. They ensure that the subject matter experts and other team members (staff and/or members) are held accountable for making decisions on time, carrying out their duties, and meeting deadlines and expectations.
Choose the optimum method of communication between the two project heads, and hold frequent meetings to assess progress and address problems.
#5 Communicate Regularly
To ensure that problems are dealt with promptly, the project lead and the instructional designer must communicate regularly. Proactive communication saves a lot of projects from failing, so you should define appropriate communication channels you will use throughout the project. You can choose your office's platform or collaboration channel.
The project lead will also give regular updates to team members and stakeholders.
Make sure meetings have a purpose before you start them. Keep in mind that this project can be challenging for some of the crew members. If attendance isn't vital, don't force them to join in. When necessary, use alternative routes of communication.
#6 Take Reviews
Most associations now use an agile approach to course development by reviewing, receiving feedback, and making adjustments as modules develop. It will help you bring in and implement new ideas. Your instructional designer will also appreciate this approach.
Celebrate these advancements with the entire project team as milestones are met. Such celebrations tend to strengthen team bonds and offer a little extra inspiration when the going gets tough.
#7 Know Your Constraints
An expert instructional designer should respect your budget and other logistical and operational concerns. It could sound like a good idea to collaborate with subject matter experts from every division of the firm, but after doing the math, you'll discover that it would affect front-line staff.
Therefore, be open to working with them to choose the optimal deliverable before you hire an eLearning expert. Outlining your objective and financial constraints, and then allowing your consultant to work within them, will yield better results. You'll get more value for your money if you let your instructional designers select the deliverables that best meet your learning objectives.
Conclusion
Your partnership with an Instructional designer will yield excellent results in the form of your online course if you follow these tips mentioned above. The trick is ensuring that the process is convenient for you and your consultant. You can find more ways to ensure that and see how it changes the course of the process.
