A Portfolio of Works Created from Novice Perspective “The beautiful thing about learning is that nobody can take it away from you.” ― B.B. King Guess What? I Made It! I’ve made it to the end of my Instructional Design program. I am so proud of myself for tackling and accomplishing this GREAT milestone. I’ve pushed through a number of setbacks but here I am. Below are samples of works created throughout my ID program. From an Animated Video using www.vyond.com, to Infographics and Learning Objects. I have learned, grown, and became more confident throughout this program. I am super excited fo ..read more

Protect Your Work: Copyright Overview Photo by Wesley Carvalho on Pexels.com Advancements in technology allows anyone to create unique works and quickly obtain and modify existing works of others. Alongside technology, the internet has become a vast informational portal.  This informational portal has all types of intellectual properties, i.e., documents, pictures, books, audio recordings, videos, music, etc.  When it comes to the internet, You name it, and the internet has got it. But can you use it? Maybe? If you use it, will you be penalized? IDK? Check out some quick facts and ..read more

Designing Constraints: Redefined Photo by Wesley Carvalho on Pexels.com The front-end analysis is the most significant step in any instructional design model. As an instructional designer, the FEA phase is the best use of your time when gathering information. A well-conducted front-end analysis identifies the target audience, learning gap, goal and type of learning, context, learning and performance, and design constraints. New instructional designers often see constraints as limiting or hindrance to the design process. However, changing one’s vantage point toward ‘constraints are necessary ..read more

Remember, You’re a SME too! Photo by Wesley Carvalho on Pexels.com Working with subject matter experts, SMEs is a universal function as an instructional designer, ID. This part of the job requires collaboration and effective communication to ensure the content is of the best quality.  IDs work with all types of individuals with different personalities, cultures, and experiences, including levels of professionalism. The latter, levels of expertise and professionalism, can hit you right in the gut and ego. Most SMEs are very knowledgeable and have years of education and experience under ..read more

Effective Interview Tips for Developing a Shared Meaning Photo by Wesley Carvalho on Pexels.com You feel me? You know what I mean? You get me? These phrases are contemporary vernacular utilized by a speaker in a conversational dialogue to clarify or establish a shared understanding. In this instance, it’s the speaker who is initiating clarification from the listener. The overarching goal is to establish a shared meaning through a sender-received communication model during the communication process.  But what about when you are conducting an interview? What if the interviewee is a stran ..read more

BIGGER than Hip Hop: How Art ALWAYS Imitates Life Photo by Wesley Carvalho on Pexels.com “It’s bigger than hip hop,” a quotable taken from underground rap group Dead Prez ( Dead Prez – Hip Hop), which identifies the role of music and its connection to African American liberation and an anthem in its own right.  “Alright” and the History of Black Protest Songs – TeachRock, an open education resource (ORE), is taken from the OERcommons.com repository for an up-close look at its effectiveness and to provide a critique of how it could be re-imagined.  In essence, the teachtrock.org les ..read more

Implementing Open Educational Resources for K-12. One e-learning tool that has intrigued my curiosity is Online Educational Resources or OERs.  My interest may be due to the rise of virtual learning for K-12 due to the COVID pandemic.  Also, teachers’ overwhelming stress to develop effective “e-learning” or virtual material in a short period.  I wanted to understand the current trend of OERs; and are teachers technologically savvy to implement OERs as supplemental instruction to teacher-led instruction in the virtual environment. After speaking to a teacher assistant to student ..read more

How do you design without bias? How do you design without creating a product based on your own concepts and interest? You design without projection by using user personas. Designers use personas to “avoid projection, create empathy, and focus on the few rather than the many (Wick, 2017)” when designing a product.  Some may define personas as archetypes that characterize the need, goals, technical experience, accessibility requirements, and other personal characteristics of a larger group of people (Lilley et al, 2012).  When I started my E-learning course, based on the feedback I wou ..read more

Visual design in in our everyday life.  We see visual design in adverting and social media, education, and fashion. When we as consumers, are triggered to buy a new brand of shampoo solely because of the bottle’s aesthetics instead of the formula’s ingredients we must understand that it is all by design.  That is visual design.   Visual design is compromise of three foundational components: 1) Elements of design, 2) Principles of design, and 3) Laws of Gestalt theory. (Hagen and Golombisky, 2013).  These design tools are strategic to elicit a feeling or emotion that pr ..read more