ReD is Dead

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

It consumed me and I loved it. Jane Hart, Clive Shepherd and Patrick Dunn all helped to shape ReD in the early stages. It included eccentric characters (a hell-raising brain in a jar and a thespian pirate, amongst others), 3D games in tombs and deserts, collaborative mindmaps, videos, rapid elearning, interactive webinars and more, all accessed from a social network. It was ahead of it’s time and also a heap of work – eight assignments over 12 weeks, if you did everything!

Over the years we’ve had hundreds of people from all over the globe pass through the (virtual) doors of the Ministry of ID, many of whom keep in contact. On several occasions people have come up to me at a conference or event who are ReD Alumni.

Screen Shot from the MID Network which hosted the ReD Course

So why did we retire ReD? Technology has moved on and so has my thinking on design. Plus I wanted to develop another open course (or two) in a goal-based learning format. ReD will eventually have two children; Digital Learning Design (DLD) and Digital Learning Production (DLP).

In Digital Learning Design I want to cover the strategic design of a learning or performance solution – essentially, what I do when we’re commissioned to undertake a project. My ideas are beginning to crystallise and as I analyse what I do it’s part process and part art. Too much process and you squeeze the creativity out of a solution, too much art and nothing ever gets built. Strike the right balance and you design something exceptional. This is where I want to help people get to.

We offer courses for free as a way to get our name out there and to upskill and enthuse the elearning community for the greater good, particularly those who are new to it. We’d much rather create something of genuine use to people rather than spend a load of money on Google ads or exhibitions. However, the trouble with things that are free is that people don’t value them. Subsequently a lot of people sign-up but then don’t complete the course. We’re toying with the idea of charging a small fee, 100% of which would go to a selected charity. That way, participants will be more committed, plus they get to feel good about giving to charity.

You can sign up for the Digital Learning Design course by emailing info@learningagesolutions.com