Design Principles

My guiding principle in e-learning design is purpose - understanding what needs to be accomplished, how best to support learners and users, and how to evaluate success as well as opportunities to improve. 

Best practices. Technology provides an ever-evolving array of learning tools and approaches for learners and instructors, which is both a benefit and a challenge. Fortunately, there are proven instructional design models that support best practices. 

Continuous improvement. Quality Matters provides a researched framework for designing and evaluating quality online learning. It includes a list of expectations and standards that in turn allow for feedback on course design and provide the basis for QM certification. 

And then...my favorite model for project design and success:

ADDIE (Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation and Evaluation) is a model for course development that also happens to describe a common framework for project development and management in many different contexts outside of academic instruction. ADDIE supports best practices for e-learning as well as traditional, in-person learning design because it requires designers to ask the right questions: 

• Analysis - What do we need to accomplish in this project / course / campaign? (And how do we know -- who do we need talk with to find out?)

• Design - What do we need to decide / create / deliver to accomplish our goals?

• Development - How do we build what we've designed (and iteratively assess along the way)?

• Implementation - How do we launch / roll out what we've built?

• Evaluation - What went well? What can we do better?