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Time's flying faster than a kite in a windstorm, and in case you blinked and missed it, Bianca and I had a fantastic conversation with our friends at aNewSpring this week. We were thrilled to explore our mutual interest in discovering the most effective marketing strategies for L&D, particularly focusing on content strategy. Did you miss the live-action? No worries, you can still watch the recording and grab some bonus resources over here at your convenience.

Thanks for reading!

📰 News & Notes

When Instructional Designers Can’t Talk to the Target Audience

Connie Malamed emphasizes the importance of understanding the work environment and challenges faced by learners to create effective eLearning experiences. It highlights the need for positive learning transfer, where learners can apply what they've learned to new situations. She suggests empathizing with learners through observation, informal chats, formal surveys, and additional research when direct contact is not possible. It stresses the significance of imagining the learner's perspective to enhance the realism and effectiveness of the learning experience​.

🎯 Take away: To create impactful eLearning experiences, immerse yourself in the learner's environment and challenges, ensuring that the content is relatable and applicable to real-world situations.

Accelerating Excellence?

Dr. Philippa Hardman and Gianluca Mauro are pioneering research into the impact of AI on learning design, specifically testing the hypothesis that specialized AI tools can outperform traditional human-only and ChatGPT-assisted processes in terms of speed and quality. Their early findings suggest that AI significantly enhances both the efficiency and effectiveness of learning design. This research aims to revolutionize the learning design landscape, much like Figma did for UX/UI design, by empowering designers with tools that enable evidence-based decision-making and elevate the standards of learning experiences.

🎯 Take away: The advent of specialized AI tools holds the promise of transforming learning design by significantly improving its speed and quality, potentially reshaping the role of learning designers towards deeper specialization in AI literacy, data interpretation, and behavioral science.

9 Instructional Design Principles & How to Use Them

Instructional design principles serve as the bedrock for creating effective and engaging learning experiences. These principles, rooted in cognitive psychology and learning theory, emphasize the importance of understanding the audience, setting clear objectives, designing interactive content, and incorporating feedback mechanisms. They advocate for a learner-centered approach, promoting active learning and ensuring that the material is relevant and accessible. By adhering to these guidelines, educators and instructional designers can craft courses that not only impart knowledge but also inspire and empower learners.

🎯 Take away: Instructional design principles are a guide to creating impactful, learner-centered experiences that foster engagement, understanding, and growth.

Does your organization primarily offer instructor-led training, whether in-person or virtually, over a webinar platform like Zoom? You might need to consider alternatives to your instructor-led training, such as eLearning if you answered “yes” to any of the above. But how can you ensure the success of your training migration project?

Consider these five key questions before converting your live training to eLearning!

🧰 Tech Tools & Tips

If tools are your jam, check out my new Work Smarter newsletter.

🎧 Podcast

This is the conversation that caught my ear this week. Check out previous episodes in the Friday Finds podcast playlist.

🧳 Where’s Mike?

• ATD ICE, New Orleans May 19-22

• Canadian eLearning Conference, Toronto, June 13-14

• Greater Cincinnati ATD, September 4

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