Gone are the days when reference tools were books; these days reference tools and textbooks are all becoming easily available as downloads. Instructional aids for learning and development professionals are no different. Instructional Design apps are here and trending on the app market. My Learning Space gives you the lowdown.
Instructional Design Guru was designed by Connie Malamed, whose been in the Instructional design business for many years has taken her expertise and placed it into app form. The ID Guru app is an easy to use tool to help with any gaps in your instructional design knowledge and to improve your skills. ID Guru is a reference and glossary tool; the app covers terms in 8 categories:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Instructional Design
- Learning Theory
- Legal
- Multimedia
- Online learning
- Social Media
- Technical
As a glossary tool, it covers over 470 terms and cross-references to other terms. The tool also gives examples and tips; for instance, need a quick reminder on ‘Needs Assessment’- ID Guru will give you a definition and offer helpful tips in bullet form on how to collate information you may use for a Needs Assessment. This is simple, affordable app gives you more than one way of looking for information. Not sure what you’re looking for just tap on the category icon. Want a quick reminder about what a particular term means, you can scroll through the hundreds terms that Malamed compiled. The best of all is tapping onto a term leads you to a hyperlink mimicking the way the brain works. This is a good example of instructional design in app form.
Instructional Design Guru is available on Google play $3.35 and iTunes stores $2.99.
Instructional Design Wizard is a just-in-time learning tool, you can use at any stage of your instructional design career. Information on this app is divided into five categories:
- Instructional design (ID) basics
- Evolution and Application
- Learning theory and styles
- Instructional Theory
- Getting started with ID
You can easily navigate to the information based on where your knowledge of instructional design is; if you are new to instructional design this app will give you a more detailed assistance in getting you started. I found the Instructional Design Wizard to share detailed guidance in getting started; for example, under Content Analysis, there are several bulleted questions to guide rational for content analysis.
Design Jot is an Allen Communications developed app for iPads. Using Allen’s Analysis and Design components and responding to ANSWER, their rapid needs assessment methodology, this app will help you create a mock-up of your course design mapping it to your organisation’s business objectives. This app is perfect for using in kick-off, design, and brainstorming meetings; it’s interactive nature gives your client a view of how course design links to business strategy, goals and needs.
On the job training is as relevant for instructional designers; -these apps are designed as performance support tools and work best as just-in-time learning nuggets giving you the opportunity to top up knowledge as you work through your course design.