Design is a very new topic for me to explore so I’ve used the questions provided to help guide my thoughts!

What are some things to consider when selecting a design model?

When considering a design model such as ADDIE, I reflected that I find myself working primarily in the “DIE” (Develop, Implement, and Evaluate) aspects of the process. As such, I definitely feel uncomfortable “getting the ball rolling” in the Analyzing and Designing phases. To paraphrase, it’s made me feel like a builder with no blueprints!

Regardless of what design model is chosen, a theme that has arisen for me is the importance of understanding your learning environment’s context. The who, what, where, why, when and how of your learning environment undoubtedly guides your design choices and can result in vastly different results even when using the same design models.  

How do you make design decisions? What role do design models and innovation play in this process?

Given my unfamiliarity with design in general, I definitely approach any design choices by reviewing what has been done previously and understanding why that was the case. That then creates an opportunity to ask if there any changes that could improve the learning environment. As much as I love the idea of big, disruptive, “game changing” innovation, I think you can innovate in small ways too. I’ve seen simple changes such as reordering of content or rewording alleviate frustrations in previous course offerings.

The learning design is obviously critical to building a learning environment, but I know it’s also a necessity to meet the needs other course stakeholders (program staff, registrar, laws, students) as well. This can sometimes be an additional challenge when you attempt to provide what you to believe is a best practice, but isn’t possible in certain scenarios.    

Are there any design models have you found especially useful when making design decisions?

Given I have the pleasure of working at RRU as a Learning Technologist in addition to being a MALAT student, I’ve had exposure to many aspects of the RRU’s Learning Design Process. It closely resembles the ADDIE method, just phrased and organized to address some specifics to RRU. This is provides me a clear pathway and standards expected for design in courses. Interestingly you will still see vastly different courses throughout program areas because of their different contexts and needs. With that said, I’m excited at the prospects of trying completely different design approaches through this course!