What's the Future?

 What did I learn from EME6414?  Not only did I interact with great designers, I also learned about Web 2.0 and its vastness.  What people - even scholars - get wrong about social media and connectedness is that it looks and feels like intense entertainment.  How did you feel when you found out that people who posted videos online could make millions of dollars a year?  My reaction: "I'm in the wrong business."  Recognizing that Web 2.0 and its platforms are infinitely more powerful than meets the eye.  Instructional design must move and adapt in the spaces to build learning there and connect to users.  Open learning becomes increasingly attractive in these contexts; the knowledge is out there.  Why create where you can curate?  In traditional spaces, designers can feel pressured to create depth and proficiency by deep effort and piles of data.  Social media learning builds depth by being reflexive - where learners can respond to themselves and others they can build their own linkages and proficiency.

While creating and fostering learning online is a viable option, taking it too seriously is a mistake.  The Internet is a place where sarcasm is currency and humor energizes.  Even the most sober topics should be presented in ways learners can find levity and care for themselves.


The dream of the fully democratic and global Internet is still developing.  It's up to each produser to create and curate with an inclusive eye, considering both IRL and online cultures.  Much like how community offline drives learning, designers must recognize that online communities already have learning happening.  Lean into where that is only happening.

I'm hoping that I can continue to grow in this form of instructional design, both at work and the continuation of my studies.  This course reinforces the adage that the best way to learn can be to learn together.

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