What is Instructional Design Central?

Instructional Design Central (IDC) is dedicated towards providing instructional design professionals, educators, and students access to instructional designer resources, information, learning opportunities, and community services. Instructional Design Central provides instructional designers with the following instructional designer resources: instructional design jobs, instructional design degrees, instructional design conferences, instructional design sites, instructional design definitions, instructional design history, instructional design models, and instructional design forums. Click the icons below to access some of these instructional designer resources:

What is Instructional Design?

What is instructional design? The terms instructional design, instructional technology, and instructional systems design, are often used interchangeably. Below are a few definitions from various resources on the terms instructional design, instructional technology, and instructional systems design:

What is Instructional Design?

Instructional design is the practice of maximizing the effectiveness, efficiency and appeal of instruction and other learning experiences. The process consists broadly of determining the current state and needs of the learner, defining the end goal of instruction and creating some "intervention" to assist in the transition. Ideally the process is informed by pedagogically and andragogically (adult learning) tested theories of learning and may take place in student-only, teacher-led or community-based settings. The outcome of this instruction may be directly observable and scientifically measured or completely hidden and assumed. There are many instructional design models but many are based on the ADDIE model with the phases analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instructional_design

Instructional design is the systematic development of instructional specifications using learning and instructional theory to ensure the quality of instruction. It is the entire process of analysis of learning needs and goals and the development of a delivery system to meet those needs. It includes development of instructional materials and activities; and tryout and evaluation of all instruction and learner activities. www.umich.edu/~ed626/define.html

Instructional design is the process by which instruction is improved through the analysis of learning needs and systematic development of learning materials. Instructional designers often use technology and multimedia as tools to enhance instruction.
http://www.instructionaldesign.org/

Instructional design is the systematic process of creating or adapting instruction, including at least these steps - defining the problem or knowledge gap that the instruction is meant to address, defining the audience that the instruction is meant to serve, developing objectives and assessment strategies, selecting and sequencing content and learning activities, evaluating the instruction, and revision.
http://www.uwex.edu/ics/design/glossary.htm#i

What is Instructional Technology?

Instructional technology is "the theory and practice of design, development, utilization, management, and evaluation of processes and resources for learning," according to the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) Definitions and Terminology Committee. Instructional technology is often referred to as a part of educational technology. While instructional technology covers the processes and systems of learning and instruction, educational technology includes other systems used in the process of developing human capability.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instructional_technology

Instructional technology is the systemic and systematic application of strategies and techniques derived from behavioral, cognitive, and constructivist theories to the solution of instructional problems.
www.umich.edu/~ed626/define.html

Instructional technology is the process of using technology (e.g., multimedia, computers, audiovisual aids) as a tool to improve learning. The application of technology to instruction is optimized when instructors have a basic understanding of various technologies and instructional best practices. Also referred to as "educational technology."
http://www.utexas.edu/academic/diia/assessment/iar/glossary.php

What is Instructional Systems Design?

Instructional Systems Design is an organized process for developing a curriculum or instructional materials program.
www.syberworks.com/glossary/i/i1.htm

What is an Instructional Designer?

Instructional designers and instructional technologists are similar in job role, function, and career paths. Instructional designers and instructional technologists are in high demand as organizations are turning towards instructional designers to solve business performance problems and to provide rich learning opportunities. Below are a few definitions from on the terms instructional designer and instructional technologist:

What is an Instructional Designer?

An instructional designer is somebody who applies a systematic methodology based on instructional theory to create content for learning events.
www.eng.wayne.edu/page.php

An instructional designer is an individual who develops the methodology and delivery systems for presenting course content.
www.syberworks.com/glossary/i/i1.htm

What is an Instructional Technologist?

Let me be entirely clear here, an instructional technologist should not, I repeat should not, be an administrator. To conflate the roll of an instructional technologist with administrative work is to sap it of its transformative vitality. Instructional technologists should do three things, and do them well: 1) work closely with faculty on imagining possibilities, 2) live within the latest technologies and 3) imagine and experiment with possibilities regularly. The less time an instructional technologists spends thinking about administering a system, the more time he or she can actually do these three things.
http://bavatuesdays.com/what-is-an-instructional-technologist/

What does an instructional technologist do…

• Evaluate new technologies to discover new and better ways to enhance instruction
• Assist faculty in discovering methods of improving their instruction with and without technology
• Conduct training sessions teaching faculty and staff how to use new technologies
• Conduct research studies evaluating the use of technologies and their impact on student learning outcomes
• Create training materials to accommodate the self-learners and provide resources for our “customers”
• Manage the implementation of new technologies on-campus for the use of instruction

http://instructtech.wordpress.com/2008/10/16/what-does-an-instructional-technologist-do/