Episode 138

Designing for How People Learn

Instructional design is not easy and, for that reason, getting feedback is essential. Making sure you’re on the right path and proving the efficacy of your work is so important in working towards a successful career.

Ask fellow professionals, follow your customers and watch them use what you create. Gauging people’s opinions on what you build can sure be uncomfortable, but it’s worth it in the end.

That’s the opinion of Julie Dirksen, Learning Strategy Consultant at Usable Learning, who joins Matt Pierce, TechSmith’s Learning and Video Ambassador, on this episode of The Visual Lounge.

Julie explains how she got into the instructional design game, how she defines success in the industry and reveals what trips folks up when they first enter instructional design.

Plus, she takes a deep dive into her book and tells us what resources inspire her.

Learning points from the episode include:

0:00 – 2:43 – Introduction

2:43 – 5:33 – How Julie got started in instructional design

5:33 – 9:35 – Defining success in learning design

9:35 – 17:00 – One tip for image and video in learning design

17:0017:56 – Ad break

17:5621:06 – Julie explains her book

21:0625:01 – What trips people up in learning design?

25:0132:01 – Simple vs cursive fonts and keeping learning design clear

32:0135:17 – What learning design pros need to improve on

35:1739:25 – The resistance to practice design

39:2545:56 – Learning styles – not a thing?

45:5650:34 – Where Julie turns for self-development

50:3455:45 – Julie’s speed round

55:4556:39 – Final take

56:3957:26 – Outro

Important links and mentions:

About the Podcast

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The Visual Lounge
Discussions about the power of visuals and videos and how to make them even better.

About your host

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Matthew Pierce

Matthew Pierce, Learning & Video Ambassador from TechSmith Corporation, has created videos for learning and marketing for over a decade. He is the lead behind TechSmith Academy, a free platform teaching video and image creation for business, which has been used by tens of thousands of users. He is the host of The Visual Lounge Podcast from TechSmith, which streams live on Youtube and LinkedIn weekly. Matthew is a regular speaker at multiple learning and development-focused conferences and is a regular contributor to various training publications. Connect with him on LinkedIn.