
Instructional Design Best Practices
Engage in this group to find some reflections/resources from our team of Instructional Designers that might be helpful in your course design.
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Discussions
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The Power of Pre-Assessments
In the ever-evolving world of online education, instructors continually seek ways to enhance their teaching methods and engage students more effectively. One such strategy is having learners complete a pre-assessment at the beginning of a unit or course. Pre-assessments offer a range of benefits for both instructors and…
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Needs Assessment Template
Hi all, I am wondering if you have a go-to needs assessment template that you find useful? Or if you have created your own needs assessment template, what are some of the most important points you have included in it? Thanks!
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AI can do a lot for instructional designers. Here’s what it can’t do.
In the past year, I’ve used ChatGPT to do some degree instructional design work. I’m not alone, as one American study reports that roughly 57% of workers have tried ChatGPT and 16% use it regularly at work. To see the potential of AI tools like ChatGPT, I developed a Brightspace course entirely with generative AI. I used a…
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Common Course Recommendations: Use Headings!
As instructional designers, we view a lot of courses. One of the most common recommendations that I find myself making to clients is a simple one–use headings! Quite often, we see headings that are “created” by changing the font size, making the text bold, or changing the font colour. While this might make it look like a…
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Defining the Problem: Bringing Design Thinking Best Practices into Instructional Design
In a previous post, I wrote about how, as Instructional Designers, we can apply Design Thinking practices to support our work. For those needing a refresher, Design Thinking facilitates human-centered design, meaning designers design to address the core needs of the individuals they are creating for. There are five stages…
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Looking for the most seamless Discussion experience
I am looking for the most seamless way to link to/open discussion forums in a course. This video shows me exploring different workflows. You may find it useful: The video also identifies some hiccups in the platform that developers may want to resolve. These include: • Redundant inclusion of titles on Forum page • Font…
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Preparing for Back to School with ConvosWithCommunity
It's hard to believe summer is drawing to a close! As we begin to turn our attention towards the start of a new school year and Pumpkin Spice lattes, you may be wondering what resources have been added to Community over the past few months, and how you may use them to set yourself up for success. Community is offering an…
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BrightSpace quiz question types inadequate
While I suppose that this forum "Instructional Design Best Practices" is intended for discussions about how best to use existing technologies to achieve our intended outcomes, I am in a quandary. Because, as it stands today, the quiz question types we have available to us in BrightSpace as well as the workflows required to…
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Planning Awards
Awards is one of the most used tools on Brightspace. Using the Awards feature increases learner engagement and improves their learning experience. Knowing they will receive an award when finishing up a module or a course can greatly motivate learners. This post will discuss some techniques to create a consistent Awards…
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The Self-Assessment Tool
The Self-Assessment Tool in Brightspace is a powerful tool that empowers learners to gauge their progress, strengths, and areas for improvement throughout their educational journey. This intuitive tool allows students to evaluate their comprehension, skills, and overall performance in a secure and supportive environment.…