Instructional Design is but an aid to deliver a better training experience than otherwise possible in its absence. Its importance has resonated with the experts for a while now. ID helps learners engage with training and retain a good part of it. The delivery of perfection in training helps in the achievement of learning goals and triggers the learners to take quantifiable action. But, presently the ID world is plagued by certain challenges such as-
- Faculty collaboration is a struggle-
The faculty has not yet been shown the potential of instructional design, so they are not yet convinced of its operational performance. Thus, collaboration with good trainers is still arduous.
- Not enough instructional designers-
The number of instructional designers is far from enough. There is a dearth of professional instructional designers in the industry, compared to other education specialists. So, even when they are required they have to work hard to meet the growing demand.
- Not enough education opportunities for instructional designers-
There are not enough education outlets to be able to keep up with the growing demand for instructional designers.
Even after being troubled by the above-mentioned issues, the industry has been looking out to new horizons. The future holds out for the following trends-
- Content Curation-
Although content curation has been in full swing for some time now, according to experts this trend is yet to see more upturn. The sharing of already existing content that is of high quality has its advantages. Not only does the expert view on the subject matter increase the users’ course’s credibility, but it also adds a fresh perspective to it. Plus, it is easier to customize the content according to your requirement through curation.
- Mobile Learning-
The introduction of smartphones to learning has brought upon a new era of mobile learning. This means that the learners can get their education on the go. Whether they are commuting to the office or waiting for the appointment, they can have their fill of training. This works out in favor of trainers, as according to statistics, by 2025 about 72% of the world’s internet users will access it through their phones.
- Personalization-
Personalization of education according to the trainee needs is not only a trend but has become a necessity. This is because the approach of one size fits all hardly works anymore. It just pushes towards the wastage of resources in the form of time, money, trainers, and even efforts. Whereas the personalization of the training focuses on the individual needs of the trainee and provides support in the areas where it is required. Inevitably, it results in better performance of trainees, trainers and the training program.
- AR & VR-
Augmented Reality is the experience of the real-world scenarios in teaching and Virtual Reality on the other hand is the experience of a completely virtual scenario using the headsets. The use of both these techniques in training for employees can do wonders. The trick here is to try to repurpose the already available AR & VR data, if available, to your training program as the creation of this kind of content is explicable as being expensive.
- Interactive Learning-
This trend has garnered a lot of traction in recent years. And it just seems to be getting stronger. Interactive learning focuses on the interaction with the trainee rather than them reading a textbook. Interactive quizzes, activities, and exercises have proved to be more effective in imparting training to the employees.
- Gamification-
Gamification of the concepts rather than droning on and on about them is of course more engaging and motivating to the trainees. They have a sense of achievement and a feeling of accomplishment from gamification.
Conclusion:
The modern LMSs out there, the likes of which is Articulate 360, make use of the instructional design advancements and concepts and employ their trends for effective training programs.