Rob Hubbard

SEPTEMBER 1, 2010

2. Study Instructional Design. There are many excellent books and instructional design courses out there to give you the design foundations that you need to produce great elearning. To gain confidence in your instructional design skills you need to be using them regularly. 3. Use the right tool for the job.

Blended Learning 40

Blended Learning eLearning Consultant Design Instructional Design 40

Rob Hubbard

SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

Now, I’ve always disliked the job title ‘instructional designer’ – it is elitist, in that you need to be in our industry to know what it means; it’s too narrow in it’s definition – the design of instruction usually in the form of elearning courseware, and it makes a highly creative, enjoyable job sound downright dull and boring.

Courseware 56

Courseware Director Instructional Design Alternatives 56

Rob Hubbard

OCTOBER 21, 2010

In the learning design world we have “Instructional Designers” who work with “Subject Matter Experts”. This is a big issue at the moment and I’ve heard this from conference speakers and delegates alike.

Case Study 49

Case Study Instructional Design Guidelines Courseware 49

Rob Hubbard

JANUARY 12, 2012

This can be as simple as instructions for applying the learning, an implementation system or some kind of implementation plan, ideally agreed with their Line manager. Actionable – they must be able to put their learning into practice. If they can’t, you’ve wasted your time and theirs.

Effectiveness 81

Effectiveness eLearning eLearning Tools Authoring 81

Rob Hubbard

APRIL 17, 2013

I don’t need to wait for my class day to have a tutor instruct me in the technique, although undeniably it’s useful to have an expert on hand to help if I get stuck. If I want to know the best way to solder a joint or set a stone, I’ll Google it, find a video on YouTube or ask my social network of fellow jewellers.

Learning Strategy 93

Learning Strategy Social Networks Strategy Learning Theory 93

Rob Hubbard

MAY 8, 2014

Bac k in mid-2009 the concept of a fictional Ministry of Instructional Design with a secret mission became an itch that I had to scratch. This month we bid a fond farewell to our much cherished and long-running Rapid eLearning Development (ReD) course. It consumed me and I loved it.

Social Networks 65

Social Networks Rapid eLearning Toys Distance Learning 65

Rob Hubbard

OCTOBER 8, 2013

In our free Rapid eLearning Development (ReD) course we see the following approximate ratio: 100 people – enrol and are sent joining instructions. Without the motivation of a tutor and fellow students physically being present, ‘completion’ rates can be low. 60 people – log in to the social network where the course is hosted.

Distance Learning 56

Distance Learning Social Networks Design Course 56

Rob Hubbard

AUGUST 11, 2011

The instructional design time? What’s the biggest cost in any elearning or training programme? The production of video, graphics and audio? The subject matter expert’s time? It is the time it takes your learners to go through the material.

Learning System 65

Learning System System Effectiveness Design 65

Rob Hubbard

SEPTEMBER 30, 2010

We supplement this with Google Docs for collaborative document creation, have started using Prezi for storyboarding complex branching scenarios and Mindmeister for top level instructional design.

Communication 40

Communication Google Docs Social VOIP 40

Rob Hubbard

APRIL 7, 2011

For example learning to drive a car involves studying a book, guided practice, instruction, discussion, assessment and so on. I respond by explaining that blen ded learning is how they have always learnt, indeed how we humans have always learnt – from a variety of learning interventions.

Blended Learning 49

Blended Learning Blended Attitudes Methods 49

Rob Hubbard

FEBRUARY 17, 2011

The historical reasons for this have been cost of equipment, the high level of skill required to produce it, low bandwidth / slow corporate networks, the cringe-inducing ‘corporate videos’ that we’ve all seen. These reasons are becoming eroded and it’s easier than ever to grab a camera and shoot some instructionally effective video.

Video 49

Video Camera Search YouTube 49

Rob Hubbard

OCTOBER 8, 2013

Clear instructions on how to use these should be given at the outset along with expected response times. Clearly, in most cases, the tutor cannot be available 24:7. It may be that peers can provide the answer but, if not, make sure that learners have access to a log, messaging facility, email address and/or phone number.

Distance Learning 67

Distance Learning Wiki Collaboration Learning 67

Rob Hubbard

FEBRUARY 20, 2014

Design elearning instructional design' I challenge you to look at whatever you are designing right now – it might be a document, a presentation, a workshop, course, system or app – and ask yourself “is it simple?” If the answer is no, invest the time to make it so.

Design 73

Design Budget Instructional Design Project 73

Rob Hubbard

JANUARY 30, 2013

After a 20-year break I’m getting back into skiing. I’ve just returned from a four-day ski trip to the French Alps. It was awesome. Returning to a soggy grey UK, I’ve been thinking a lot about the trip and reflecting on my learning process. I went with three goals in mind: Learn to parallel turn (turn with my feet parallel).

Skills 70

Skills Blended Learning Learning Coaching 70

Rob Hubbard

MARCH 8, 2012

As humans we understand that we learn skills best by doing, by thinking about what went well and how we could improve, and by trying again, and again, and again. We can take short-cuts to improving our performance by learning what we can before attempting the task.

Theory 66

Theory Coaching Blended Learning YouTube 66

Rob Hubbard

APRIL 3, 2014

Ben Betts in the Really Useful eLearning Instruction Manual identifies 5 types of games for learning: Drill and Practice. It is more about playing on intrinsic human motivations such as competition, achievement, challenge and even cooperation, in that learners may be rated in group output or on their ability to inspire others.

Games 45

Games Simulations Gamification Virtual World 45

Rob Hubbard

MAY 19, 2011

It seems ironic that the work of Hermann Ebbinghaus has been forgotten for such a long period of time. However, changes do seem to be afoot as I’ve come across two applications recently that build upon his work. Way back in 1885 Ebbinghaus was the first person to discover the exponential rate at which we forget.

Learner 56

Learner News Internet Methods 56

Rob Hubbard

MAY 19, 2011

Increasingly I find myself turning away from learning theories and looking to brain science to hel p me design engaging and effective learning content. Many of the established learning theories were conceived decades ago before the advent of the internet or even networked computers.

Brain 73

Brain Content Learning Theory Theory 73