ID's Identity

My colleague, Mini, and I were having a discussion on content treatment strategies. During this discussion, we realized that our course are a level higher than the regular page turners. Why? Because page turners are edited content dumps, while in our courses, we actually take instructional design very seriously. We ensure that content treatment strategies map to the learner's needs and learning styles. Content is not displayed in the most fancy fashion but in the most effective fashion.

We avoid the content right, image left templates. These tend to be very text heavy and the image is generally a very general one, positioned there to make the slide look good. When we storyboard, we ensure that the logic for displaying content, instructional strategies are sound. It is not based on the whims and fancies of anyone. What is an ID required to do?

• An ID must ensure that they have a learner persona in front of them always. Please map every design idea to this persona.
• An ID must ensure that the content is held together with a common theme that the learner can relate to.
• An ID must ensure that the instructional flow is maintained through the training program.
• An ID must ensure that every page/slide is designed with the learner and the objective in mind.
• An ID must ensure that quality is never compromised.

An ID is not an editor. Maintain your identity as an ID... :)