With the proliferation of easy to use elearning platforms like Thinkific and Articulate Rise 360, organizations might be asking why they need the services of learning designers. Since these platforms offer many pre-made templates, wouldn’t subject matter experts be able to create courses directly into these platforms? Furthermore, since these platforms tend to favor video-centric content, wouldn’t anyone with a smartphone be able to create courseware?
While these elearning platforms simplify the creation of online courses, they often lead to a content-focused mindset because these tools make it easy to think of training as a sequence of pieces of content. However, such a mindset does not take how people learn and what motivates them to learn into consideration. Furthermore, a content-focused mindset pays little attention to how learning should be assessed, and how feedback should be given.
Because learning designers are trained in the learning sciences, factors like how people learn, what drives them to want to learn, how to assess learning, and how to cater to learner differences are top of mind when they approach a design project.
So what do learning designers bring to the table? Learning designers bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the organization, and they are able to customize the learning experience to the needs and goals of the target audience. Thus, learning designers are able to create engaging and effective learning activities that are accessible to a wide range of learners.
By working with a learning designer, organizations can deliver elearning programs that are effective, engaging, and aligned with their goals. For organizations, investing in the services of a learning designer can result in significant benefits to their L&D programs.
P.S. The learning sciences are a research and evidence-based collection of theories and ideas to contribute to our understanding of how people learn, what motivates them to do so, and the necessary conditions to increase learning.