I recently tried using Articulate Storyline 360 to create an online instructional lesson on test-taking strategies to be used at Lone Star College (LSC) in the First Year Experience (EDUC 1300) course. I chose this particular subject because my counterpart at LSC-University Park, Kathryn Bernhardt teaches this course fully online and she volunteered to be […]

When searching for the meaning of what it is to design instruction, I came across M. David Merrill and his associates at Utah State University. They wrote a statement titled, Reclaiming Instructional Design in 1996. They put forth a strong standpoint that instructional design is the technology that stems from the science of instruction (Merrill, […]

“Do it now!” is easier said than done. Perhaps it needs to be proceeded by Nike’s “Just do it!” slogan. I remember a time of little sleep, three weeks before submitting my final portfolio to graduate with my bachelors of fine art when I stuck a “Do it now!” post-it note above my drafting table. […]

Before this week, I had very little experience with Second Life. I am mostly familiar with meeting people online via video conferencing and instant chat. I have 3D experience using an HTC Vive system. However, the HTC Vive comes with headgear and your whole body movement immerses into and controls navigation within the virtual environment. […]

I just completed a formal instructional design process following the ADDIE model. I created a three-hour face-to-face training session for faculty professional development on using SoftChalk to create interactive online lessons. ADDIE is an acronym for five phases of an instructional design model developed in the 1970’s by Florida State University for the United States […]

The Method of Loci I am normally all for trying new methods of learning and keeping an open mind about ways to obtain and store knowledge. But I have to admit either I didn’t give the Method of Loci a chance or it just is not the right method for me at this moment in […]

An often rushed and sometimes completely skipped part of the instructional design (ID) process is the very first part: the analysis phase. However, as an online instructional designer for Lone Star College, it has been my experience that even a small amount of time on analysis can have huge benefits and perhaps save time overall […]

Learning happens when people encounter new information. They synthesize it with prior experiences or instincts and turn it into knowledge and actions. It can happen in an informal situation, such as learning a candle can burn you by touching the hot wax or by accidentally touching poison ivy and getting a rash. It also can […]

Instructional design is not that uncommon in the world around me. I have been given the assignment to look for it in everyday occurrences. Once I started looking, I noticed there are so many lessons being taught each day in all sorts of places. The following are two lessons I found out in the world. […]