Category Archives: Instructional Design

Navigating the space between process and excellence. Is your organisation agile enough?

Posted on May 16, 2013 by

Process will get you so far: it will get you precisely too the edge of the abyss. I’m increasingly interested in the disconnect between formal, abstract, ‘knowledge age’ training and the requirements of the dynamically connected and agile Social Age. … Continue reading →

Posted in Adaptability, Agile, Challenge, Change, Collaboration, Community, Culture, E-Learning, Formal Spaces, Informal Spaces, Instructional Design, Knowledge, Learning, Learning Culture, Learning Design, Productivity, Social Learning, Training | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Building a rocket to fly to the moon: are your learning blueprints complete?

Posted on May 15, 2013 by

Commander Hadfield is the archetypal Social Age hero: rugged but personable commander of the International Space Station, cult hero on Twitter and lead musician in the first ever terrestrial/orbital concert performance. Which, naturally, makes me want to build a rocket … Continue reading →

Posted in Agile, Attention to Detail, Challenge, Change, Complexity, Culture, Design, E-Learning, Information, Instructional Design, Learning, Learning Design, Social Learning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

How to design great e-Learning: ask the right questions

Posted on May 13, 2013 by

It has to be said that i’m a rather amateur gardener, much preferring the ‘BBQ on a summer evening‘ end of the event to the ‘months of digging holes and spreading manure‘ part of the process. On those occasions when … Continue reading →

Posted in Agile, Context, Demonstration, Design, E-Learning, Effectiveness, Engagement, Footsteps, Instructional Design, Learning, Learning Design, Learning Methodology, Learning Styles, Meaning, Narrative, Social Learning, Stories, Storytelling | Tagged , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

The co-creation of meaning in social learning: adapting our view of learning

Posted on March 26, 2013 by

One of the strongest ideas i’ve taken out of my research into music in learning is that of co-creation: the ways that we work together, taking specialist roles and consulting within our community (be it a learning group or band) … Continue reading →

Posted in Adaptability, Agile, Assessment, Blended Learning, Challenge, Collaboration, Communication, Community, Community of Practice, Control, Conversation, Culture, Dialogue, E-Learning, Education, Effectiveness, Informal Spaces, Instructional Design, Knowledge, Learning, Learning Design, Meaning, Social Capital, Social Learning | Tagged , , , , , , | 9 Comments

The architecture of learning: methodology and mortar

Posted on March 25, 2013 by

On the train this morning heading to the airport and i’m struck by the variety of architecture around me in the industrial district: glass, steel and stone arranged into a wide variety of imaginative and often playful designs. They’re not … Continue reading →

Posted in Creative, Design, E-Learning, Effectiveness, Engagement, Experience, Instructional Design, Integrity, Learning Design, Learning Methodology | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Social Learning: from theory to practice

Posted on March 18, 2013 by

Formal learning is abstract, defined by time and place, divorced from our everyday reality. It can be academically interesting, it can be fulfilling and all consuming, it can be delivered badly or delivered well, but unless it’s social, it’s incomplete. … Continue reading →

Posted in Agile, Authority, Blended Learning, Choreography, Community, Context, Demonstration, Footsteps, Formal Spaces, Informal Spaces, Instructional Design, Knowledge, Learning, Learning Culture, Learning Design, Learning Technology, Legacy, Meaning, Narrative, Reflection, Scaffolding, Social Capital, Social Learning, Theory | Tagged , , , , , | 16 Comments

Tone of voice in learning: curating the experience

Posted on March 8, 2013 by

When i look along my bookshelf, i see academic textbooks, graphic novels, fiction, autobiography, books i’ve read multiple times, books i’ve never touched since they landed, every flavour and style you can imagine. Each one presented with it’s own tone … Continue reading →

Posted in Adaptability, Agile, Authority, Conversation, Curation, Experience, Identity, Instructional Design, Language, Learning Design, Message, Narrative, Rapport, Tone of Voice | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

How do we communicate? A song about the languages of learning

Posted on February 27, 2013 by

I’m editing my new book on ‘music in learning‘ and trying to draw out my thoughts into some practical models around the subject. Part of this involves trying to characterise how we use different the different languages of learning to … Continue reading →

Posted in Aesthetics, Agile, Art, Creative, Effectiveness, Experience, Graffiti, Haiku, Instructional Design, Learning, Learning Design, Meaning, Media, Message, Music, Narrative, Performance, Poetry, Songs, Stories, Storytelling, Twitter, Voice, Words, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Understanding the Triumvirate of Mobile Learning

Posted on January 25, 2013 by

Mobile learning is about much more than just technology: it’s about a mindset, about a relationship between ‘people‘, ‘technology‘ and ‘subject‘ and how we maintain a balance between the three of them. ‘People‘ are our audience and we have to … Continue reading →

Posted in Change, Design, Effectiveness, Everyday Reality, Instructional Design, Learning Design, Learning Technology, Mindset, Mobile Learning, Narrative, Technology, Triumvirate of Mobile Learning | Tagged , , , | 11 Comments

The redundant pyramid: how hierarchical learning structures are collapsing

Posted on November 9, 2012 by

The pyramidal view of learning is where you stand at the top and pour the knowledge down the sides, reaching ever increasing numbers of people as the truth flows out from it’s source. I think that today that model is … Continue reading →

Posted in Agile, Authority, Blended Learning, Change, Collaboration, Community, Education, Hierarchy, Informal Spaces, Instructional Design, Learning, Learning Design, Social Capital, Social Learning, Storytelling | Tagged , , | 19 Comments