For someone wanting to get introduced into the field of Instructional Design, there is an ocean of resources through countless websites, blogs, and forums to dive into. And truly they are helpful. Nevertheless, some may find it preferable to have the most fundamental ID content packed into one book. Instructional Design for eLearning by Marina Arshavkiy fills that niche well. Not only does it act as a guide for beginners, but it also acts as a great reference source for seasoned IDs who need to brush up on forgotten knowledge.
If you aren’t already familiar with Marina, she is as legit as it comes to ID expertise and is quite successful in her endeavors. You can find her vast influence through her website at yourlearningworld.com, numerous Udemy courses, and insightful webinars. And that’s only a portion of her footprint in the world in eLearning. Due to her credentials and reviews concerning her work, I felt quite reassured when purchasing her book and was not the least bit disappointed by it. The contents in this book have so much to offer in terms of helping one achieve their potential as an Instructional Designer.
The book includes 29 chapters along with bonus material. They are organized into four main categories that start from basic elements and carry into advanced skills. I got a heavy Gagne’s 9 Events vibe from the layout of each chapter. For instance, the chapters get your attention by providing realistic and relatable case studies. I appreciate this because it put me in a mindset to readily absorb the objective content that was to follow. Continuing on the 9 Events vibe, the main content was intellectually stimulating and never left me feeling lost. Each chapter also included a Test Your Knowledge section which I think fulfilled its purpose in eliciting performance. Finally, the chapters concluded with an exercise which I think reinforced the covered content pretty well.
There were some helpful hints that were entirely new to me and surprised me due to their obvious nature. I found myself constantly writing down every new hint I came across. For instance, I hadn’t previously considered that SMEs could be given storyboard templates to fill out on their own (when appropriate). Nor did I previously consider that SMEs can succumb to the Knowledge Curse by including too much information and therefore leaving out most important info. It was also a refreshing idea to consider how non-experts can be favorable candidates for reviewing scripts.
The depth of the contents extends beyond just learning methods and teaching strategies. Marina also does well in outlining the scope of psychology involved in this field. One skill I value most as a result of all my years of teaching came from experiencing the myriad of personalities and psychological make-up of my individual learners. And being able to factor this information into my teaching materials is something I am still grateful for. Chapter 5 covered the complexity of learning styles and this really hit home with me. Psychological references were also apparent in places like chapter 17 which focused on two psychologists’ (David Kolb and Car Rogers) theories on Experiential Learning.
As I stated before, this book does well as both a guide for beginners and a reference for experts. Part IV covers advanced skills and delves into complex issues such as coordinating with others and provides the reader with a checklist of questions to go over with SMEs. There is also information specific to project management should one climb that high in their career. I think Marina Arshavskiy pretty much covered all bases with this one. It’s no wonder that this book is hailed by various institutions. This is one that I will always keep nearby in my home office.