Definition of Learning/Instructional Design and Technology Purpose

 My personal definition of learning design is a focus in education that puts emphasis on design and learning cohesively to enhance environments and programs through creativity, knowledge, and skills to design plans for equitable and effective learning. 

Technology plays a vital role in learning design by being able to create interactive learning experiences and provide tools to enable learners to engage with the content. The use and need for technology increased heavily during the pandemic and with that came a multitude of benefits and new learnings for the learning design space. Educational technology can be used to improve performance whether in education or workplace and be able to easily facilitate learning. One of the ways that technology plays a central role is for individuals with disabilities who are able to benefit from an education from a technological standpoint and similarly in remote work as well. By using technology, it allows for opportunities to increase collaboration, improved productivity and increased communication between both teachers and students.

Some key words in my definition are enhance, creativity and equitable. I feel that these words are important to my definition because they allow the individual to get a clearer understanding of what learning design entails. These words are specific to the definition of learning design and I feel are important keywords to entail into the definition. Enhance, which is defined as ‘to further improve the quality, value, or extent of” (Merriam-Webster) aligns with my vision on learning design because the use and addition of it is intended to enhance education. In order to enhance these programs, I believe that individuals should approach learning design with creativity because of all of the varying needs that exist today. Instructional Design is a growing field and creativity in this field will help individuals go a long way within their roles by being able to create designs and plans that hold value to the field. Lastly, I believe that the learning design should be equitable for all to utilize, and this is also due to the varying needs that exist today in our communities. 

The first reading titled ‘The Proper Way to Become an Instructional Technologist,’ shared the variety of ways that Instructional Design is a part of various fields. In each category, the author discusses the specifics of learning and teaching in these programs. This links to my definition by expanding on the teaching and learning part of learning design. With my personal definition, I wanted to make it clear that teaching and learning are important to the definition and the importance of it being cohesive in order to create something. In the second article titled ‘What is this thing called Instructional Design,’ reminded me of conversations that I have had with my own friends and family about Instructional Design as a career. That’s why I feel that with my personal definition it can define what learning design is without getting too in-depth to the concept, which tends to confuse others about the field. I like that with both articles they break down Instructional Design further and into specific brackets for clearer understanding as to how much you can do within this space. In the last article, ‘Design Thinking and Agile Design,’ it touches into the creativity space that I discuss in my personal definition as well as goes into depth about the design process and thinking. 

 Source: How to Promote Learning through Creative Teaching Methods - TOGI