Last night, I was asked what Instructional Designers do. My typical response is, ‘An ID’s expertise is converting subject matter into informative, engaging, interactive, and educational content.’
I also add that an ID’s task is to balance/build logical Instruction with creative Design’.
I think the ‘ID = logical Instruction, creative Design’ description shows a client that ID work is a mix of art and science. I then expand on this with some examples, as follows.
An ID’s creativity doesn’t mean creating flashy UIs, it means, ‘Based on the content what is the best way to deliver it within the project’s constraints?’ – that’s creativity. An ID’s logic doesn’t mean creating only procedure-based content, it means, ‘How do we create learning activities/experiences that match the learner’s reality?’ – that’s logic. And an ID needs to find that balance of instruction and design every time, for each learning object, session, curriculum.
So, my question is, how do you answer the question – ‘What do ID’s do?’