Every human being needs to learn and adapt to new things constantly, but sometimes an individual may feel bored to learn complex and new things. In such cases, if the learning material is developed in an interesting format and presented in an attractive form, the learner would surely be more curious to learn these things. It is here where the instructional designer plays a vital role. The effective implementation of instructional designer responsibilities, thus helps the learner to understand and grasp the subject and gain knowledge in a better way.
Key Responsibilities of an Instructional Designer
An instructional designer may be engaged in developing both technical and non-technical content. He/she interacts with the clients and develops material by working along with the subject matter expertise. He/she tries to identify the users' needs and develops content to meet the desired objective. He/she is basically into designing the e-learning material that will be interesting and keep the user engaged and utilize it in a better way. He/she actually visualizes from the learner's point of view and tries to understand what are the areas of concern for him/her and what is the information that he/she is seeking. He/she is responsible for designing and developing the learning module right from the inception stage to its completion. To better understand the role of an instructional designer, here are few points that will throw light on the key responsibilities that need to be carried out by this professional:
In addition to the above responsibilities, he/she is also engaged in ensuring that all problems have been resolved promptly. He/she reviews and provides feedback regarding quality and content of the instructional material and communicates with the senior personnel and others who are involved in these efforts. He/she conducts graphic design edits and is involved in proof reading the content and checking out the grammatical errors. He/she collaborates with the team members to make efforts and implement the project successfully.
This professional ensures the project is completed within the given time frame and budget. He/she is responsible for optimizing the effectiveness and quality of the training materials. He/she coordinates and schedules the work to suit the requirements and priorities of the clients to ensure the timely delivery. He/she carries out a thorough research and remains updated with the various trends that are coming up in the industry and other related matters. He/she creates storyboards that have the right combination of learning modalities to ensure that a quality learning solution is being provided for the clients. He/she edits the storyboard and the relevant material and ensures that he/she adheres by the instructional designing standards. He/she designs learning tools that will sustain for a longer duration, thus achieving the designing goals and objectives.
Essential Skills
The instructional designer should be willing to learn, have good grasping ability and should be able to understand the basic objective behind the requirement to develop and design the learning material. He/she should be able to understand from the users' point of view and develop material that is simple, clear, crisp, and concise. Attention to detail, good analytical and problem solving skills with an ability to implement and apply the instructional designing concepts and theories would be a plus. The ability to present complex ideas in a simple and understandable form would also be a plus.
Educational Requirement
The individuals who are aspiring to make a career as an instructional designer should have completed a bachelor's degree in instructional designing or any other relevant area like computer information system or educational technology. Those with previous experience in a similar profile or those with previous teaching experience have got better scope.
Working Conditions and Schedule
The job of an instructional designer is a routine full time job requiring him/her to work for an eight to nine hour shift daily, Monday through Friday. Depending on the priority of the project and the client requirements, he/she may extend his/her work beyond the normal business hours.
Salary Details
The remuneration for an instructional designer varies greatly in the range between $58,000 to $105,000. This great difference in salary is merely due to the varying skills, educational background, and experience of the individuals applying for that particular post. It is also dependent on the location, size, and type of the organization an individual is working in.
Career Prospects
The job opportunities look bright and promising for those aspiring to make a career in this field. The individual who have good people skills, technological background and the passion for learning new things definitely have a huge scope for growth as well as development, both personally and professionally.
Thus, before you step into this field, make sure you will be able to shoulder the instructional designer responsibilities well and take your career to newer heights.