Why ID? Benefits of Instructional Design Models and A Brief History of ID

These two articles were very interesting to me. I had no idea that the instructional design models came about during World World 2 when the nation had to be trained quickly and troops deployed quickly. The ID models that were developed were instrumental in effectively training a large number of troops. Another national crisis that brought about the next "evolution" of instructional technology that focused on the design of the entire educational curriculum was a political war in 1957 when the Soviet Union launched the Sputnik satellite that began the "space race." At this point in time, America was forced to reevaluate the educational system.

Instructional design models can help with internal communication, can speed up a course planning process, can be used to evaluate existing instruction, and can be used as a tool for general planning. I liked the example of using an ID model for planning your next vacation -- I just might give this a try!!!

As more and more classes become non-traditional, instructional designers have to anticipate the needs of learners and design instruction that builds in resources, activities, and feedback. An appropriate delivery mode must also be chosen. With the expansion of the Internet and hypermedia, new ways of approaching learning and instruction are being discovered every day!