Secret of Instructional Design Revisited

Improvements in technology, especially automation, robotics, and artificial intelligence have dramatically changed what people do in the workplace and how they do it. Technology advancements over the past 3 decades have reshaped demands in schooling and the workplace bringing on new challenges and opportunities. Employers need employees who are critical thinkers, communicators, collaborators, and creators to remain competitive and innovative. Educators recognize these abilities that learners must have to take advantage of the opportunities and face the challenges that are presented to them in the 21 st century. As was the case 30 years ago, the same consistency is needed today among the four elements of instructional design: objectives, methods, content, and evaluation. There must also be integration of the instructional system with authentic, real-world performance. If these two critical aspects are not met the chances of obtaining the desired effectiveness of learning is not likely to be met. The Internet and cloud computing allow more rapid development of instruction for more efficient and affective learning. The pace of change also requires a greater emphasis on the iterative nature of evaluating the instructional design system.