What made me go AH-HA!

Originally published 2021/08/01

This week's discussion around informal learning actually was my AH-HA! moment for this course. I am relatively familiar with eLearning software, and also feel prepared for where the field is headed. But I am slightly obsessed with learning about people's motivations and passions. And in that vein, informal learning intrigues me. Many definitions of informal learning include the "interest" of the learner, and I think that is an interesting juxtaposition from the "requirement" of the learner. Totally different motivations, and while I can't speak to while is the better of the two, I can guess that personal interest outweighs external requirements in terms of motivation.

This interest in personal motivation stems from many different experiences in my life, but probably none greater than having ADHD. With ADHD, no amount of external motivation coerces me into doing a task. I have to have full, complete, personal motivation to do anything, and then I do it with such veracity that it is the only thing I focus on. The description for informal learning included the example of YouTube, but my personal does of informal learning comes from Instagram. I love the sport of bodybuilding, and have been so passionate about it that I have sat for personal training exams (with no interest in personal training, I just wanted to learn everything I could). To this day my instagram is 80% personal training information, bodybuilding studies, how-tos, training suggestions, client results...and I interact with this multiple times a day. I am using the platform to constantly learn, even though I would ultimately consider it entertainment. And while this is not related to my career, I still think of it as an example of providing context and real world application of a learned topic.

What I can take away from this though is that I have the ability to casually, based on my interest and time allowance, seek out sources of information. I have set up my resources to be able to answer any question I have quickly, as well as provide more information and insight to what I am already interested in. Even if I don't have a specific topic, I am provided with new information with the simple action of a swipe. To the unfocused mind, this is a dream scenario. I learn about something I am interested in, whenever I want, and at my (ridiculously quick) speed. A lot of the critiques I have with eLearning modules or informational videos is that they don't move fast enough for my brain, I lose interest quickly, distract myself, and then it takes me extra time to sit through and digest the materials. I love the idea of informal learning because it provides a wide variety of audience the ability to learn in the way they prefer, we just have to provide that modality to them. The best feature for me in videos, for example, is the ability to play them at 1.5x speed. That is one of the only ways I can stay engaged with a video. eLeaning modules don't yet offer a feature to speed up audio, but maybe one day in the future they will, because they will realize that convenience and customizing learning to your personalized needs is one of the best features to make learning more accessible.

Things That Make You Go Hmmm...

Originally published 2021/07/25

Something recently that has made me ponder...

The context is my current organization. We make up the Digital Learning Team, and more specifically I work on the Training team. But we are made up of mostly Instructional Designers who thrive in a human performance setting yet have been limited to building trainings. While we do eLearning very well, in the context of HPI and instructional design, I've been wondering if there is a way to expand on just training while still using the eLearning platform. I know in other courses, it has been said that to get away from just a Training team towards an HPI model, one needs restructuring and a start-from-scratch approach. I am curious if there is an in-between, where we could still build courses, but have them be much more than trainings.

All the talk this semester of the future of eLearning has led me to wonder if bringing in technological advances will help move away from a "training" focus to a "HPI" approach organically. Tracking detailed analytics, recreating environments, bringing in "free will," ... these all seem like features that could help to widen the definition of training and eLearning.

I love that the field of adult learning is a constantly shifting and evolving field, there is always more to know, always more to question. Words take on new meanings, even language itself changes over time. I'm excited to see how advanced in technology evolves the field as a whole.

And Your Final Project Is...

Originally published 2021/07/18

For my Final Project, I am taking on creating a declarative project with Storyline. I think I want to focus on an overview of the Instructional Design process to present to my new department at work. My training team was recently moved into HR and there has been some growing pains. We want to be able to describe to them our process and what value we add, as well as how we work. My goal will be showing an overview of the instructional design process as well as providing examples and pulling them into the process.

This is very straightforward knowledge relay, but I think it is necessary in order to build a better working relationship. I want to include some interactivity to keep the attention of the learners. My main challenge here will be to make this interesting and relevant to my audience. I am toying around with a few other ideas, I would love to find a subject for a branching scenario module, but this idea I think is the most viable.

Imposter Syndrome

Originally published 2021/07/11

Hi, I’m Whitney and I’m an instructional design Imposter. I’m a "The Natural Genius" and most often, that nagging voice inside my head says, “you're clearly not cut out for this, you should just give up.” Then tell use what you do to battle that feeling.

I've had high hopes for myself when I entered undergrad. My dreams were quickly dashed when I struggled to maintain the same GPA I had in high school. I ended up convincing myself I was a failure and, you guessed it, an IMPOSTER, and fell back on a career path that I had been on since I was 5, an artist. Can't really fail in a field that's totally subjective, right?

The statement "When you’re faced with a setback, does your confidence tumble because not performing well provokes a feeling of shame?" really resonates with me. After college, I was convinced I was a failure so much so that I took a whole year off work/school/etc. to rebuild my confidence. I was too scared to do anything I could fail at again. "Do you often avoid challenges because it’s so uncomfortable to try something you’re not great at?" Yes. Big yes.

Since undergrad, luckily I have learned that not succeeding on the first try, trying and trying again, sticking with it until I get it right...those are all forms of success. Getting my a** handed to me during college really made me face the music. I had never learned to be a learner. I had never known how to teach myself new things. When I was used to things coming naturally, any challenge sent me spinning and I took it as a sign I should give up. But I knew I could do better. It took well into my 20s, but I finally put my pride aside, admitted that I was not a superstar at everything, and got better at asking for help. I still frequently like to try things on my own at first, just as a little test, but I also can recognize those around me as a resource.

I learned that support system is key! I used to work for a manager who made me TERRIFIED to make mistakes. This did not help my perfectionist superstar nature. Back then, I had debilitating imposter syndrome, but was too scared to ask for help. And then I would be chastised for not asking for help and reaching out more. It was a vicious cycle. Luckily, I moved on from that position and found a new manger who championed constant learning and inquiring, and was thrilled when I asked questions or admitted that I didn't know something thoroughly. They offered me a safe space to admit to my shortcomings without making me feel as though I should know better, and at the same time offered me honest compliments and feedback that helped grow my confidence. I will never again underestimate the importance of a manager.

My other piece of advice is to try so many new things that you become numb to the fear of failure. Seriously. Try anything and everything. Things you never thought to do or even wanted to do. Some things you will be good at and will raise your confidence. A lot more though, you won't be so good at, and it's in those moments you grow as a learner and a student.

We're All in the Same Boat

Originally published 2021/07/05

I read Bailey's posts first, and one quote from her Week 2 post stood out to me:

“The biggest takeaway I have from this guide is that you are going to make mistakes, everyone does, but mistakes don’t have to be a huge time waste. I plan to follow their advice “if you make a mistake, simply pause and then start right before the mistake.”

Upon reflection, I think my takeaway is that confidence is not gained from perfection, but from the knowledge you obtain from making mistakes. Because mistakes are a reality, it is important to plan them into your workflow. Not the mistakes themselves obviously but the time it takes to learn from them and correct them. (As someone who never adds time beyond what the GPS says is the trip length, I can support the notion that mistakes will happen and you will always regret not adding in additional time.)

As far as imposter syndrome is concerned, I feel like I am so used to suffering from it that its hardly a burden anymore. Whenever I bring up imposter syndrome to my friends or colleagues, I'm met with the same "Well, no one really knows what they're doing." And that is comforting weirdly. The older I get, the more comfortable I am in the uncomfortable, stumbling over myself, making mistakes, admitting to my mistakes. I used to try to hard to be perfect and to hide my flaws, but luckily I was allowed to bloom and thrive in an environment that encouraged me to try new things and fail a few times before getting it right. Both in my professional and personal life, the "perfectionist" thought process didn't change until I felt comfortable and supported enough to admit to my mistakes. So even though I recognize I am more outside of my comfort zone than ever, I am much more confident about that than I have ever been. And learning new things, especially in a supportive environment like the OPWL program and with my fellow students, makes me all the more confident out in the real world. No one is perfect, very few people succeed on their first try. Everyone was a beginner at some point. I just have to remind myself that everyone is still learning and that, given the chance, most people want to see others succeed.

I also read Stephanie's blog and loved the quote:

“When I was growing up, we first “performed” for the adults in our lives: “Look at me! Look what I know how to do all by myself!” and then we performed in school at science fairs and spelling bees. People love to share knowledge and information, particularly when they get to be the teacher, I think it’s human nature.”

— Quote Source

I agree that people naturally want to share their thoughts and successes with others in their communities. I think the most important tool we have as practitioners is an open source of communication. I think through community, we all become better and improve not only our prospects but the field as a whole. I've always been of fan of open source work, sharing files, offering help. In my organization, we schedule time to share new findings and ideas with one another. At least once a week I check out the discussion boards and design challenged on E-Learning Heroes. Seeing what other people in the field are doing inspires my creativity and challenges me to be better. I think the best way to promote this communication is to emphasize and champion collaboration over competition. The second best way is to provide a platform to the people who want to share. I could go on a rant about how corporate interests poison even the purest-intending platforms, but luckily there are smart and persistent enough people out in the world that will keep producing new platforms by which to share content.