Earlier this week, we launched the second in a series of white papers focused on digital learning trends and focal points for our field.  This series, OLC Outlook, will provide thoughtful, well-researched overviews on topics such as accessibility, leadership, instructional design, business models, and more.  The papers are meant to provide a succinct overview of the given topic and resources for further reading.

This month’s featured white paper focuses on instructional design in higher education.  Written by two of OLC’s Emerging Scholars, Elaine Beirne and Matthew Romanowski, the paper focuses on the evolving field of instructional design, who instructional designers are, and what they’re doing in their role.  The paper resides in the Instructional Design/Learning Design category of the OLC Research Center for Digital Learning and Leadership. One of five robustly resourced categories, with a six to launch this fall, the instructional design/learning design area includes curated resources from Oregon State University’s Ecampus, The Bill & melinda Gates Foundation, Intentional Futures, and others.  It also includes searchable research collections from the Online Learning Journal and Courseware in Context.  

I invite you to read the latest OLC Outlook white paper, Instructional Design in Higher Education: An Evolving Field, its corresponding annotated bibliography, and our collection of resources dedicated to the field of instructional design.

If you’re interested in honing your instructional design skills, I invite you to enroll in ID1: Helping Faculty with New Course Development .  This is the first in a series of four offerings in OLC’s Instructional Design Certificate program. You can take one or take them all to complete the certificate program.