Information Design Consultations

Single-Sentence Summary

Whether through semester-long partnerships or short one-off conversations, I frequently conduct consultations with faculty to help them refine their goals and determine suitable instructional designs.

I use this image of Doc Brown as the "course card" for the private Canvas course where I often create small experiments and proof-of-concept demos for faculty during consultations. Faculty seem to appreciate the character's determination to keep trying in the face of almost certain setbacks.

Experience Details

Much of my instructional design work has been done with a “teach the teacher” model, instead of designing learning experiences or building courses directly. I converse with faculty about what they want their students to leave their courses knowing and being able to do, as well as what experiences best suit the acquisition and demonstration of these skills and understanding.

Some of these “conversations” have spanned multiple semesters, particularly when working as a designated Instructional Design Partner helping a faculty member prepare their course for a localized implementation of the Quality Matters course review. At the other end of the spectrum, these conversations often happen via emails, phone calls, or brief Zoom chats.

Knowing that concrete demonstrations convey more information than abstract descriptions (particularly when LMS and web design terms aren’t inherently transparent or universally shared), I frequently will make a quick prototype to share with faculty members. For instance, I might create a video with embedded quiz questions or demonstrate how tabbed or accordion-style sections help reduce scrolling.

In these consultations with faculty, I often feel I’ve been enriched with a deeper perspective about the expectations and experiences instructors bring to their courses and the LMS.

Kudos

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