I enjoy asking my fellow instructional designers whether they consider themselves designers or developers. Why?

Because most of the time, they answer with a question: “What’s the difference?”

And then I get to wax poetic about the differences in my two favorite phases in ADDIE: Design and Develop.

The A in ADDIE stands for assessment, right? Or is it analysis? I can never remember.

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, an “analysis” is defined as, “the careful study of something to learn about its parts, what they do and how they are related to each other.” To analyze something is to separate a whole into its component parts, which allows a person to break something complex down into simpler and more basic elements.

On the other hand, an “assessment” is defined as, “the act of making a judgment about something. To assess something, you are estimating the value or character of the object.”

Storytelling has a long history as one of most fundamental communication methods. From paintings on cave walls to Egyptian hieroglyphs, to the first words ever written on papyrus with ink, people have been telling and listening to stories.

We love to HEAR stories, too! As children, we all begged our parents for “one more story!” And many of us remember the morals of those stories even now as adults.

We all enjoy a good story and revere a good storyteller. Whether it’s an engrossing novel, an exciting movie, or a facilitator telling us about the horrible-no-good-rotten-awful experience they endured the very first time they tried to facilitate training in the virtual classroom.

When designing learning for virtual classrooms or a blended learning program, one of your primary missions is to capture and maintain the attention of your learners. 

This can be challenging in a space that is still new to many learners. Think about it: we are asking somebody to sit at a computer for one or more hours, and focus only on the content being taught.

It’s a little like putting a kid in an arcade with a bucket full of free quarters nearby and asking him to sit at a table and play Checkers with you. There are so many things calling to that person sitting at the computer: email, a newly downloaded phone app, streaming cat videos, etc.

Virtual classroom lessons should be more about learners working together collaboratively than lecture and PowerPoint. Intellectually, we all recognize that. But, what purpose does collaboration truly serve and what virtual classroom tools achieve the desired result?

Why do you suppose we bring people together to learn?

Is it merely to allow a Facilitator the opportunity to lecture to a multitude of people simultaneously? Or is it perhaps to provide opportunities for deeper learning through collaboration? (Two or more people practicing new skills and applying new knowledge.)