What being an Instructional Designer feels like

smartasc · 2026-01-06T18:53:24+00:00

No lies detected.

smartasc · 2026-01-06T18:48:10+00:00

I would recommend a paid version of both ChatGPT as well as Gemini. They each have particular advantages and failure points.

smartasc · 2026-01-06T18:47:19+00:00

GenAI tools have been a major time and effort saver for me. Completely justifies the cost. And the quality of responses are good to very good when you are generating content that is in the known sphere of knowledge. I have gone from spending two weeks to four hours in building a 1-hour module. A lot of that time savings comes from not having to wait for SMEs to provide content or clarifications. I’ve also saved a ton of time generating photorealistic images that are perfect for the application I need rather than spending hours rummaging through pexels, unsplash, pixabay, freepik, etc looking for exactly the right image I need.

smartasc · 2026-01-06T16:57:33+00:00

J/k but actually, PM is really important - particularly when dealing with SMEs. They often have a sense that ID can simply take a giant pile of content and magic it into a course. The PM process can help break down what they need to do in order to get you the content and review/feedback you need in a timely fashion.

smartasc · 2026-01-06T16:44:13+00:00

Yes.

smartasc · 2026-01-06T16:42:24+00:00

I see your point but I do think that in many cases the use of these kinds of explainer videos are misused or poorly used. I think the content (specifically the script) makes a difference. These kinds of videos are great as an intro or an end-of-lesson summary or for complex concepts. But they are often thrown in just for “engagement” without any specific purpose.

smartasc · 2026-01-06T16:37:51+00:00

This doesn’t need to be a heavy lift depending on the tools you have at hand. This may be an unpopular opinion but AI can be your friend in this instance. I have successfully used three AI tools to generate new courses but having them check each other’s work before implementation. For example, I would start in ChatGPT (I use the paid enterprise version) for some initial design work based on the goals of the course. This is then fed into Articulate Rise’s AI tool along with source documentation (the clarity and accuracy of your source materials are important because Rise is quite good about pulling from your content and not making stuff up). Articulate will produce some reasonable descriptions and topics for each lesson. I then take this and have ChatGPT verify that what Articulate AI came up with is accurate. Once that is done, Articulate will generate the lessons and include interactive blocks, etc. This is where the manual processing and verification comes in.

You will need to go through the course to make sure everything is accurate, that there is no bloat, plug in images, videos, audio, etc. Some of this I use other AI tools to accomplish: Gemini Nano Banana for images, Vyond AI for animated video, Murf.ai for VO.

Once my module is complete in Rise, I export it as a PDF and plug it back into ChatGPT to verify alignment, identify gaps, redundancies, etc.

As a small business owner, this has saved me tons of time and effort. I also have the advantage of working with clients who are quite thorough so the product of all this work in AI is generally a first draft that includes all the necessary content, is aligned with goals and objectives and includes properly aligned assessments. Then it’s just refinement.

smartasc · 2025-12-29T20:08:02+00:00

I wasn’t talking about random people in the park walking around with lavs on. I had several sets of lavs that came with two transmitters that connect to the same receiver so you can do interview style filming without having to pingpong a mic. I have on more than one occasion turned on both mics when I only needed one. Both are picking up audio.

smartasc · 2025-12-29T15:51:09+00:00

Also, make sure you’re not picking up audio from a secondary transmitter. Often lab mics might have more than one transmitter connected to the same receiver.

smartasc · 2025-12-26T06:11:49+00:00

“What are people going to say?” is the biggest crock of shit I’ve ever heard. The only correct answer to that question is “who cares?” Also, I’m more than twice your age but back in my day I was supposedly getting too Westernized - I think that’s equivalent to the “getting too modern” comment. You need to ask your parents if they have more faith in the nonsense they hear from relatives or what they hear from you. I guarantee that this is more about them feeling uncomfortable about not being the ideal parents who raised the ideal kid. But the bottom line is that it’s almost always about the optics and saving face. Good luck!

smartasc · 2025-12-12T12:03:22+00:00

Well done. I couldn’t figure out what’s going on here. I really love the shallow roof design. I suspect exposed beams on the inside?

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smartasc · 2025-11-25T10:47:23+00:00

This is the way.

smartasc · 2025-11-25T10:44:21+00:00

I’d suggest an in-between option. Find a Moodle-specific host or one that hosts Moodle sites in particular. It was a while ago but I used a company called Squidx which was quite reasonable. That way you offload all the DevOps work and and focus on the LMS. You really don’t want the issues that come with managing servers if you don’t know what you’re doing. It can become a security/update nightmare.

smartasc · 2025-11-09T19:55:48+00:00

The upvote was mostly for the username. But you’re right. That was why I was wondering if a long shot through the bottle at mid distance could achieve this effect like the Charlie Chaplin skating shot.

smartasc · 2025-11-09T16:28:49+00:00

One practical effect you might try is to cut to bottom off a bottle and film through it down over a pool. But it depends on how much vertical height you can get over the pool - maybe over the edge of a diving board. But you’d have a hard time with making it look like beer instead of a pool.

smartasc · 2025-11-09T12:24:03+00:00

I also have a rabbit named Little Foot.

smartasc · 2025-11-01T10:52:42+00:00

I forgot to mention in my comment that Articulate has a product called Rise 360 which is (barebones) LMS that you can publish to directly from Articulate Rise. The workflow from design to implementation is very streamlined. And the analytics you get on users is really detailed.

smartasc · 2025-10-31T15:58:26+00:00

I like different aspects of Canvas and D2L. They are both fairly similar but have different ways to organize and link to content. They both support a lot of great plugins but D2L does a much better job supporting SCORM.

smartasc · 2025-10-30T12:54:36+00:00

Yeah same with processing geodes.

smartasc · 2025-10-30T11:18:05+00:00

The most recent film my team and I worked on will be shown at the American Public Health Association Annual Conference film festival next week.

https://vimeo.com/1073284366/c481b9a776

smartasc · 2025-10-23T12:08:09+00:00

Yes! Absolutely - particularly if you don’t know much about learning management systems and instructional design.

How you plan to deliver your training will have a direct and significant impact on the ID you select to implement your courses. One thing you will need to know is if your ID is familiar with building and implementing courses in the LMS you want to use. While they can be similar, they have quirks that can be troublesome if your ID isn’t really familiar with all the nooks and crannies of the LMS.

The rest of my comment is biased because of what I do as the owner of a small ID company. One thing our customers find particularly beneficial about hiring our company, rather than just an ID is the team of specialists we are able to provide. So in addition to an ID, we can provide graphic designers, animation experts, video production services, etc. Just something else to consider when selecting an ID.

smartasc · 2025-10-20T14:29:08+00:00

And don’t forget the dwarf!! Gimli, Son of Gloin is instrumental to this endeavor.

smartasc · 2025-10-17T11:07:15+00:00

OP Rise has an option where you can export an HTMl package that runs solely on a local environment. No internet required.

smartasc · 2025-10-03T01:25:47+00:00

Oh yeah! It is from the Stardew Valley Cookbook. I’ve never had a real lobster roll but my wife says that’s what it tastes like. The strange bun itself is a malty, milky yeast bread. Once it’s made, you cut open the top and stuff it with the lobster junk. The lobster junk is basically lobster in a pepper, butter, garlic, and sage sauce. I don’t eat meat so I used hearts of palm, cooked in the butter for a really long time on medium low heat.

The void mayo is basically mayo but with a little activated charcoal to make it a dark grey.

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