8 On Practice: Instructional Designer
Autumm Caines
Instructional Design
Born of militarization
Systematic systems
Engineered acquisition
Welcoming of technology
(Another kind of weapon)
If it wasn’t for the humanness
It would be so orderly
So refined
What even is an Instructional Designer?
Student. Teacher.
We know these archetypes
But what of this third entity
This interloper
On how we come to know
You may be told it is all wrapped up
In knowing what
Maybe knowing how
And, too often, not so much in knowing how to know
What even is “content”?
Remember; Remember; Remember
Remember till you realize the value of forgetting
Just to remember
Again
So…
As it happens
I am an Instructional Designer
Here at the threshold
All in-between
Armed with the munitions:
Outcomes, Objectives, Goals
Behaviorist
Constructionist, Constructivist, Connectivist
LMS, VLE, LTI
All the next generation
Innovation
Acronyms
And buzzwords
You should see me iterate
But something is off
In these theories and tools
When we analyze these systems
We often find
Horrible things
Unintended?
But look who benefits!
When we slow down
When we think about those left out
When we imagine something different
Than the stated objectives
When we scrutinize the tool
Be that tool the theory or technology
And use our voices
To challenge flawed systems
Are we doing the work?
I think so
Because what even is an Instructional Designer?
If not human
