Mission Impossible

One of the first things I realized while working with instructors is most of them have never taken an online course and with no idea what they looking to accomplish they face an unfamiliar, challenging and often overwhelming project that they are trying to complete while teaching courses during the academic year.  The sad part is it doesn’t need to be so difficult.  With an Instructional Designer as their guide on the side, they should be able to navigate the transition effectively while broadening their own horizons, if  we can get them to open up to this new world.  Therefore, the target learner for my gamified course is SMEs who are working with instructional designers to move their content online.

While pondering a project even prior to beginning the certification journey I find myself relating to the Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) I work with.  Softly, quietly, the music from the old TV show Mission Impossible begins to sing in my head. I see the old tape player as the hero listens….

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Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to dive into the intersection of teaching and effective online learning, to create a course that students will engage with.  To travel a hero’s journey, and come out the other side… changed.   As always should you or any member of your I am force be caught or killed the Secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions.  This tape will self destruct in five seconds.

– from Mission Impossible

Drawing or reel to reel audio tape.

Onboarding

Week one, a deep dive into the anticipation, exhilaration, apprehension, and sometimes frustration of starting a new class.  How do we ensure that our learners can chart a course to learning without the frustration of learning how to learn in the environment we put them in.  Every course is different, yet ultimately we want our learners to be able to comfortably and easily join in without a frustrating onboarding experience.

  • Good games explain themselves up front
  • Be thinking about your learner from the beginning of the design process
  • Use beta testers
  • Iterate