Master in instructional design

As I embark on pursuing instructional design as my career choice, I have enrolled in a Master of Creative Industries (Visual and Interactive Design) at QUT.  This degree appealed to me as it included all the knowledge and skills, and then some, that I think I need to become an effective, and up-to-date, instructional designer.  My major concern is to be innovative as I enjoy being cutting-edge but don’t just do the latest thing if it is not a desirable way of learning, as too much “bling” can be distracting and off-putting.

The Master of Creative Industries at QUT does not have instructional design as its title but the subjects are all geared towards instructional design, such as design thinking, using software such as Dreamweaver, Adobe’s Illustrator, Photoshop and many others, as well as learning the fundamentals of programming and technology.  My only concern is that the degree does not have the adult learning theories, such as ADDIE and others that instructional designers use as their design framework.  I am not too concerned about this as I have enrolled in an instructional design course that teaches these theories and some of the other fundamentals of instructional design.  I also believe that I will be constructing all my projects with eLearning in mind, and the design thinking subject will incorporate these frameworks.

Another benefit of doing the degree in interaction design is it will accentuate my already existing skills, such as creating and designing online resources.  I am currently employed on a contractual basis by JCU to create and deliver online courses to education students, from early childhood to secondary teachers.  Although I already understand the need to scaffold materials in an aesthetically pleasing format I believe that interactive technologies will increasingly evolve to incorporate virtual formats.

I have extensive teaching experience that will benefit my masters and make me an asset to any educational environment, whether it is government or business.  Being an English teacher of high school students has provided me the ability to be innovate and adaptive.  I found that my students appreciated professional and attractive hard copy and online interfaces.  I frequently used online platforms to teach and store information for my students to access wherever they were.

One of major concerns is that the degree in interaction design will have elements that are geared towards game developers or ICT developers.  I understand that it will be challenging as I have not done programming before and identify it as a mathematical way of thinking, which is not me.  I love words, not numbers.  Nevertheless, what I do possess is sheer will and tenacity.  This will drive me through programming or any other highly technical aspects of the degree.

I will frequently post about my experience during my study phase and beyond, and I hope that you will join me on this journey.  Please feel free to comment below and share your experiences, or ask any questions.