Course Introduction
       
  How do you ensure the proper design and effectiveness of your e-Learning?  
  Assess the potential of the instructional systems design process (ISD) to result in effective e-Learning.  
     
Learning... by design
  

Effective instruction, whether occurring via conventional, face-to-face methods, or e-Learning, does not happen by chance. It comes as a result of careful planning that follows a transparent process from project idea thru to evaluation and revision.

If you are accustomed to designing classroom based instruction, chances are you already follow some kind of system to ensure the effectiveness of the final product. In many ways that process may be similar to that which we propose in this course.

What is certain is that whether you are accustomed to designing instruction according to a systematic process or not, you will need to adopt one for success in the complex world of e-Learning.

 

Instructional Systems Design (ISD)

  

The good news is that even though many of the media and methodologies employed by e-Learning practitioners are new, the process for determining when and how to use them is not. This process is known as instructional systems design or ISD. While a number of ISD models exist, this course outlines one of the more generic models commonly known as the ADDIE (Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation and Evaluation) model. Its major steps are summarized in the interaction below.

NOTE: To engage the interaction, scroll down until the whole image (including the yellow box) is visible. Click, hold, drag and drop each piece (phase) of the model into its proper place. A description of each phase will appear in the box below the interaction. Once the ISD model is complete, you can roll your mouse over each phase to review the major steps in the process.

 
   

 

Technology is NOT the focus

   The ADDIE model was in use long before e-Learning became a reality in education and training settings. Though you may be skeptical that established models for designing instruction are applicable to new methodologies, the process prescribed by the ADDIE model is generic enough to be applicable across delivery systems.

The successful application of conventional education instructional design models such as ADDIE to the design and development of e-Learning underscores an important point; the technology of e-Learning is not the focus, the design of the instruction is. In other words, good instruction is still good instruction, regardless of how it is delivered or the technologies that are employed.

  
Next lesson
  

This lesson concludes Module 1, Why e-Learning? The remainder of the course examines the ADDIE model in detail, beginning with the first and most important phase, analysis.