Everyone has experienced working in a negative environment or having to deal with negative managers. But what do you do when you need your paycheck? Most of us smile and continue to work as if there is nothing wrong, while others withdraw and limit their interactions with the nutty manager as much as possible. I will share some interesting behaviors and how to deal with these poor organizational decisions called ‘negative managers’ in this article.
Project management is the process of using tools, systems, techniques, and strategies to manage a project from start to finish. It is important to the success of any instructional design contractual engagement. In this article, I will describe the project management process for which I have experienced in my own consulting career. I cannot possibly cover everything one needs to know in project management in a short blog post, but I will attempt to provide definitions and tips on how to use project management in your own career. This article will briefly cover, defining the project, project management stages, two project management methodologies, project team structure, project management scoping, statement of work, and finally the potential systems or project controls used to monitor project progression.
I have worked for several large to mid-sized organizations in my career. With that experience, I have gained a lot of knowledge about organizational behavior, leadership communication, and managing change. One lesson I have learned in my career is good leaders are hard to find and bad leaders are hard to follow. I have been fortunate to have been led by some dynamic, smart, business professionals for which I have come to admire. In this article, I will discuss the four organizations that have been most positive and impactful in my career.
Instructional designers are continually pressed for ways to increase or speed up the course development process. Contemporary design techniques are rapid, interactive, and can be easily modified. One specific technique I use to develop a course is prototyping. This article aims to explore three things: what is prototyping, prototyping as a problem-solving technique and finally, steps to develop a prototype for your next instructional design project.
Embarking on a new course design project can be both challenging and fun. As designers, we all have tips and techniques we use to create content. In this article, I will describe how to kick-off a design project using sticky notes.
Instructional design is big business in the United States and Abroad. Organizations looking to hire an Instructional Design Consultant are looking for more than someone who creates ‘pretty’ PowerPoints or ‘singing’ Simulations. Designers should have skills that are easily transferred in multiple work environments. A truly talented instructional designer has the knowledge and ability to create scenarios that help employees practice good decision making and problem solving skills. I have used this type of design strategy for many years. In this article, I will discuss how to use scenario writing & brainstorming to design better courses.
Most of us are very familiar with the concept of storytelling. We were told stories as children, we tell stories to our children, and we use stories to interact with one another as adults. I will describe how this concept may be used as a tool in the design of instruction.
