Whether you work in the field of instructional design and learning (IDL), have ever considered it, or even just wondered about it, you are likely to find something of interest in this issue of Intercom. Five authors—all STC members and seasoned ID practitioners—offer insights on how to break into the field, how to do good work once you get there, and how to push on into new territory.
A frequent topic of interest in the Instructional Design and Learning SIG, especially from new or prospective members, has been how to make the jump from a career in technical writing to instructional design. How are the fields similar and different? Which skills and knowledge are transferable? Have others been successful in making the leap? Preeti Mathur (e-learning consultant, instructional designer, past IDL SIG co-manager) provides answers in her article “Transitioning from Technical Writing to Instructional Design.”
If you have pondered these questions yourself, you may have wondered how ready you are to cross that bridge. To help you determine your readiness, Saul Carliner (educator, workplace learning and communications expert, STC Fellow) offers an enlightening hands-on exercise called “Interactive Introduction to Instructional Design for Professional Communicators.” Besides being fun and not taking very long, this activity may deliver a few surprises!
Technical communicators, both new and experienced, know that job one is audience analysis. But despite being such a crucial step in the design process, it is too often overlooked and/or under-respected. Cheryl Lockett Zubak (learning experiences developer, consultant, STC Senior Member) shows us how to do it right (and why we need to) in her article “How Can Instructional Designers Learn about Customers?” Her tips also make the sometimes-daunting process easier to implement, by showing how we can make it fit into the real world of work.
David Dick (technical writer, author, usability expert, STC Fellow) provides real-world examples of how using proven design techniques helps produce effective process documentation in “For Best Results: Designing Plastic Model Assembly Instructions.” David’s background in user experience offers insight into making your own IDL processes even more effective.
Finally, Karen Rempel (author, consultant, past STC Canada West Coast Chapter president) ushers us into the new frontier of mobile e-learning with “Instructional Design for Smartphones: Learning Pills for Smombies.” In this article, Karen describes how we can leverage our fascination with mobile technology by applying instructional design principles to m-Learning for the smartphone. Karen says, “m-learning is uniquely suited to workplace learners. It allows people to use their phones to do short trainings anywhere, anytime.”
We hope you enjoy our IDL issue of Intercom. It has been a great pleasure to serve Intercom and the STC community as guest editors; we have enjoyed working with old friends and making new ones, and have learned a few things! We hope you get as much enjoyment out of reading these articles as we have from preparing them. If you’d like to explore instructional design further, we invite you to log onto the IDL SIG website (www.stcidlsig.org) where you can take advantage of our many resources. You can reach us by email at manager@stcidlsig.org. We look forward to hearing from you!
—Robert Hershenow and Mellissa Ruryk
Co-managers, Instructional Design and Learning SIG
