2025: Reconnecting With Purpose

In Michigan, December began under a blanket of snow. As I type, it’s falling in big, swirling flakes which remind me of playing outside as a child bundled against the cold. Soon, we’ll celebrate the holiday season with Christmas before welcoming the new year. We’ll gather with family and friends to eat delicious food, exchange thoughtful gifts, and—best of all—make memories which last a lifetime.

At Model eLearning, we cherish the tradition of reflection at the end of the year. It allows us to celebrate successes and learn from challenges so we can continue to improve our design and processes. So as the skies steadily darken toward the first day of winter, let’s brighten the season by contemplating the accomplishments of the year. 

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Designing Courses with Faculty Cognitive Loads in Mind

In previous posts, our team has discussed the importance of designing courses with the students in mind. However, instructional designers should also consider the needs of the faculty while designing courses, especially their cognitive load. Developed by John Sweller in 1988, cognitive load theory notes that each of us has a mental schema (i.e., knowledge base) developed from “a series of structures that enable us to solve problems and think. It also allows us to look at several different elements within a lesson or experience and treat those elements as just one whole element” (Pappas, 2024). However, our minds can only retain so much information. When our mental schemas become overwhelmed with too much information, we experience cognitive overload.

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2024: The Ends and Beginnings of Change

Christmas brings a season of light, hope, and transformation culminating in the celebration of our Savior’s birth. As winter’s approach shortens the days and the year comes to an end, the twinkle of Christmas lights (and promise of delicious treats) brings the joy of good tidings to the long, cold nights in Michigan and the northern hemisphere. And as with every year, the Model eLearning team pauses at this time to reflect upon the previous successes and possibilities for improvement. We invite you to join us as we review our team’s efforts to embrace change; try new technologies; and design the opportunity for meaningful learning in 2024.

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The (Lego) Building Blocks of Instructional Design

Our team has been quite busy with several high-priority projects around a new LMS and academic calendar—all due in July. So, when former team member Dave Zokvic (see Model eLearning contributions) offered to write a guest post for Model eLearning, I jumped on the chance to work with him once more. 

When I was a kid, I loved Lego. Whether assembling a complex set like the space shuttle or scrounging through garage sales for tubs of tiny plastic bricks, there’s something just satisfying about snapping blocks together and transforming imagination into reality. Well into adulthood, my mother would still buy me small Lego sets each Christmas. Eventually, the tradition died out, and my bricks sat gathering dust in the basement.

Last Christmas, I rediscovered my love of Lego when my nephew received a set. As I was regaled with a story of how much fun he was having with it, I said to myself “Wait a minute, why should he get to have all the fun!?” So, because I’m an adult, I went and bought some Lego. 

And some more Lego.

And more.

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Finding the Middle Ground: Connecting the Dots between Learner Needs and Learning Theory

This post was co-wrote by Ann Broda and Jess Pierce .

A course’s design includes many dynamics which can alter how it’s implemented. In addition, the instruction process may provide different results when it comes to meeting objectives, therefore the success of a course and its impact on student learning varies greatly. With these differences in learning spaces and learners it is often hard to know where to begin with design. But, even with various learning environments and stakeholder needs, some concepts of course design and evaluation transcend being environmentally specific—and these heuristics can be helpful tools for all learning spaces. As Ann and I reviewed various concepts and theories behind course design for this blog post, we discovered two essential components instructional designers can use in course design to create effective learning and the positive results of implementing them in the online modality: learning needs analysis and Constructivism.

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Creating eLearning Solutions Using OBS Studio

eLearning problems; eLearning solutions

This blog post is written in collaboration with Kyle, Instructional Media Support.

Last Fall, Kyle and I tested five different instructional technology tools, and we have been eager to use these technologies to assist with eLearning team projects. In January, Tara, Lead Instructional Designer and assistant professor at Spring Arbor University (SAU), asked for help clarifying expectations for a major group presentation assignment in her History 221: Black Experience in America course. She needed to communicate the links between the expectations outlined in the syllabus and rubric to a sample presentation provided to students. With these requirements in mind, we chose OBS Studio to best support Tara and her students.

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Embracing Change in eLearning and Instructional Design

A new year brings new opportunities. These new opportunities provide us with second chances to start over or to circle back to projects we did not complete or habits we did not adopt or refine the year before. However, a new year also brings encounters with change. Some changes we are prepared for while others come out of left field and knock the wind out of us. Greek philosopher Heraclitus is attributed with the saying, “The only constant in life is change.” Change is ever present in eLearning and instructional design. In our first blogpost of the year, we’ll start by exploring upcoming trends in eLearning and instructional design and how we can embrace change.

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Meaningful Traditions: Reflecting on 2023 

Christmas traditions vary from family to family and person to person. But whether it’s decorating with lights to brighten the long winter nights, hanging stockings on the mantel, or placing a manger in a prominent location for all to see, these traditions seek to fill the season with significance and cheer.

Each December, our team enjoys the tradition to pause and reflect on the research and resources we share on the website. And we hope this tradition of reflection brings meaning to our Model eLearning community. With 2024 only a couple weeks away, it’s time to for the traditional review of the highlights of 2023.

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Instructional Technologies for Presentation and Organization: A Technical and Pedagogical Perspective

This blog post is written in collaboration with Kyle, Instructional Media Support.

In this post, we’re excited to introduce and discuss four instructional technologies useful in eLearning environments: Descript, OBS, Coda, and H5P! Originally, we began exploring these technologies from a purely technological perspective. Tara asked Kyle to review the tools to understand them from a technical point of view: how do these technologies work? What are their practical uses and limitations? 

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The AI Revolution is Here! What this means for Educators, Students, and the Learning Environment

If you’ve followed our blog for a while, you’ll recall several of our posts have explored the future and possibilities of artificial intelligence (AI) in education, eLearning, and instructional design. The release of Generative AI (Nvidia) and OpenAI programs (ChatGPT and GPT-4) in the past year has accelerated the AI Revolution in all aspects of life, including education.

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