Higher education is an exciting field to be in as an instructional designer because there are a variety of different facets in higher education, such as academic, administration, and student life. Instructional designers can be asked to help design training materials for departments like University Advancement and Health and Safety, or to create materials for campus tours, student activities, and graduation festivities. With the recent push toward online education a primary duty for many instructional designers in higher education is to help faculty design online components for their classes. 

Online Learning Environments

In order to be successful, a learning environment should have:

• Have a place for learner expression (blog/portfolio)
• Have a place for content interaction (Learning Management Systems' (LMS') have this)
• Have a place to connect with other learners (discussion forum - LMS' have this)
• Have a place to connect the thoughts of other learners in a personal, meaningful way - i.e. using RSS and then brought back into the "learner expression tool"
• Have a place to dialogue with the instructor (email, VoIP, etc. - webct has some of this)
• Have a place to dialogue with gurus (apprentice) - the heart of online communities is the mess of varying skills and expertise. Gurus are people currently in industry or established practitioners of the organizing theme of the community. LMS limit the interaction to learner and instructor.
• Be modularized so additional functionality and tools can be added based on what learners want or need...a bricolage of course tools - based on open standards - allow for incorporation of new approaches as needed.

(Siemans, 2004)

Learning Management Systems

One of the easiest ways instructional designers can incorporate these principles into their projects for academics is to use learning management systems. Learning Management Systems act as organizers for content and allow instructors to develop virtual spaces for storing class documents, creating learning modules for particular lessons, or to even create entirely online classes. Two commonly used learning management systems are Blackboard and Moodle. One of the advantages of using Learning Management Systems is that once the instructional designer creates a virtual space using a learning management system, the faculty members can maintain it on their own with relative ease. A disadvantage of learning management systems is the difficulty in creating classroom-like learning experience for the students and faculty.

Video: Choosing an LMS

Other Virtual Alternatives

In response to these challenges, instructional designers have used virtual worlds to create a classroom-like learning experience. One of the longest lasting virtual worlds that have been utilized for online learning is Second Life. Virtual worlds like Second Life have made it possible to bring together students in the form of avatars and have learning environments that would be impossible with traditional Learning Management Systems.

Like any new form of learning, virtual environments have some drawbacks. In the article, “After Frustrations in Second Life, Colleges Look to New Virtual Worlds,” Jeffrey Young recounts his experience in using Second Life. “Moving around in Second Life can be so clunky that some professors and students have decided that it's just not worth the hassle. I regularly get stuck between pieces of virtual furniture, wander around aimlessly looking for the person I'm trying to meet up with, or lose patience as I wait for my online avatar to walk between virtual classrooms. If all you need to do is chat with far-flung students, there are many easier ways to do it.” (Young, 2010) While there are some kinks in virtual worlds like Second Life, educators still see the value in online classrooms because they can do things, e.g., take the class on a tour of the inside of a organism cell, in virtual classrooms that are not physically possible in real life classrooms. A new virtual world is being developed by Duke University called “The Open Cobalt”, which will be an education specific virtual learning environment.

Conclusions

Instructional designers in higher education are mainly utilized to develop online course components for faculty to use in their classrooms. While the faculty serve as the subject matter experts, the instructional designers have to be familiar with emerging technologies as well as familiar with learning principles. Traditionally, the most utilized software for developing online classes are learning management systems, such as Blackboard and Moodle.  However, they are limiting in their customizability and so instructional designers are experimenting with virtual worlds like Second Life. With the development of different approaches to online learning, instructional designers in higher education will have more varied resources available to them to create learning modules that match the expectations of instructors and learning needs of students. 

Relevant Resources

Updating Online Course Curriculum

Hai-Jew, S. (2010). An Instructional Design Approach to Updating an Online Course Curriculum. Educause Quarterly, 33. Retrieved April 19, 2012,      from http://www.educause.edu/EDUCAUSE+Quarterly/EDUCAUSEQuarterlyMagazineVolum/AnInstructionalDesignApproacht/219118

Evaluation of Learning Technology

Van den Blink, C. (2011, May 04). How do we know it works? Evaluating learning technology projects. Educause. Retrieved April 19, 2012,      from http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI114.pdf

Games in Education

Petroski, A., & Stubbs, C. (2011, December 05). Games in education: Realizing opportunities and overcoming obstacles. Educause. Retrieved April 19, 2012,

     from http://www.educause.edu/Resources/GamesinEducationRealizingOppor/242664

          click on the powerpoint link.

Accessibility 

Bastedo, K. (2011, November 14). Coding, captioning, and courses: Accessibility in the digital age. Educause. Retrieved April 19, 2012,      from http://www.educause.edu/Resources/CodingCaptioningandCoursesAcce/241548

          click on the powerpoint link.

Images

[Secondlife teaching.jpg].  (n.d,). Retrieved April 19, 2012, fom http://www.edweek.org/media/2011/01/14/17secondlife_600.jpg 

[Secondlife.jpg]. (n.d.). Retrieved April 19, 2012, from http://chronicle.com/img/photos/biz/photo_3759_carousel.jpg

Video

Choosing a Learning Management System (LMS) [Video]. (2012, January 5). Retrieved April 19, 2012, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=nZEddjwCV-I

Works Cited

1. Linda, K. S. (2011). Virtual world, real education: A descriptive study of instructional design in Second Life. Capella University. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. Retrieved April 19, 2012, from http://search.proquest.com/docview/865835177/abstract?accountid=10357

2. Sherk Mead, M. (2011). The effect of self-directed learning readiness and online course quality ratings on student satisfaction and academic performance in undergraduate elearning. University of Missouri.  ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. Retrieved April 19, 2012, from http://search.proquest.com/docview/913076924/fulltextPDF?source=fedsrch&accountid=10357

3. Siemens, G. (2004, November 22). Learning Management Systems: The wrong place to start learning. Elearningspace. Retrieved April 19, 2012, from http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/lms.htm

4. Young, J. R. (2010, February 14). After frustrations in Second Life, colleges look to new virtual worlds. The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved April 19, 2012, from http://chronicle.com/article/After-Frustrations-in-Second/64137/