Reflection – Model eLearning

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.

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.

Instructional Design for Mental Health

When instructional designers or subject matter experts (SMEs) design a course, students’ mental health often unintentionally gets overlooked. Courses that overlook students’ mental health, even unintentionally, show a lack of empathy and understanding on our part.

Unwrapping 2022: Supporting Learners

It’s that time of the year again. If you’ve been following Model eLearning for some time, you know we use our last post of the year to reflect on the past year. We enjoy the opportunity to look back at the themes of the year (and we hope you do too!).

eLearning Past, Present, and Future (2011-2021): A Conversation about Trends in eLearning, Instructional Design, and Online Learning

In May 2011, I graduated from high school. In June, before I started college, I walked into my first group interview. While I had never heard of eLearning or instructional design, I was still intrigued. Dave Goodrich, one of my high school science teachers, now worked at Spring Arbor University (SAU) as an instructional designer. He believed in my potential and said this student worker job could last throughout my undergraduate career if I wanted.

I met Dave, Tara McCoy , and a couple others from what was formerly the Office of Academic Technology (OAT) outside a coffee shop. When I was hired on the spot, I had no idea what I was getting into or how this field and career would help me as a student and as a professor.

2020: A Year Redefined

It’s hard to believe we’re wrapping up our fourth year of blogging on Model eLearning. Most years, we take time to reflect on what we’ve written, review our discoveries and research, and celebrate our accomplishments for the year. These reflections resonate even deeper as we look at a year shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Self-Care for Essential Designers

I don’t know about you, but these past few months have been crazy for me. The week before the coronavirus (COVID-19) started picking up in my hometown, I was out of the office focusing on my first residency for my doctoral program. When I returned, my inbox was full of emails about projects that were already in progress before I left as well as emails from instructors asking me to help them transfer their face-to-face courses to online using web conferencing and our university’s LMS, Blackboard. So, March 2020 was pretty much a blur.

Once I began working from home, I discovered it was more difficult to maintain a balance between my work and personal life. My daily schedule and routine remained the same, but it was all within the comfort of my home. Throughout March when people asked me how I was doing, the analogy that I liked to use was I felt like a steam engine or a bullet train and I wasn’t slowing down. Herein lies my problem:

I wasn’t slowing down.

Why (and How) I Guard my Instructional Design Time

In Ann’s recent post, she outlined some of her workflow processes and how she gets through the variety of tasks she has in any given day. As I was reading through and editing it, I really only had one thought cross my brain.

“I could never work like this…”

Three Things to Consider when Designing your next Learning Experience

When you’re developing an eLearning course, there is always an overload of “practical” stuff that you have to keep in mind. Development timelines, coordinating with subject matter experts, and making sure all the nuts and bolts are ready for the launch day of your course.

In the midst of all the details, I like to stop and consider how I can make each course I develop more effective than the last. There’s always a new angle or strategy out there to consider. I’m sharing 3 ideas here and I hope you’ll try them out.

A Traditional Student’s Reflection on Online Classes

Last spring was a pivotal semester for me academically. I was challenged in my classes and experienced significant growth as a writer. I attribute this growth mainly to the six classes I was enrolled in, two of which were online courses.

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