2019 - 09 - 06 - The Invisible Nature Of Instructional Design

I've been reflecting a bit about the invisible nature of instructional design lately and have started to seek out examples of instructional design in my day to day life. Things like the instructions left for the warehouse workers on the ladders and lifts themselves. Invisible things that no one else would notice. I've also been starting to look for examples of instructional design in the different training departments and organizations that I am connected to. Those examples are harder to find than random examples out in the world. I think part of that has to do with the nature of instructional designers as a group that tries to be helpful but not make waves. In the Bing Crosby song "Swinging on a Star" his three animals that we should avoid being like are a mule, pig, and a fish. And using a similar analogy I'm thinking we should also avoid being like the duck. And if you have an opportunity to observe a duck as they effortlessly glide across the water try to look beneath the surface. You'll notice that while the duck may look like it's gliding effortlessly across the water it's little ducky feet are going like crazy. So while there are times that we should make it all look effortless, there are also important times that we stand up, show our work, and demonstrate our value.