Learning Networks

The importance of networking is so fundamental and critical for the success of people in any profession. As a result, over time many different networking communities have developed in every field. Networking communities give professionals a place where they can learn the latest trends, get tips and ‘hacks’, get familiar with new skills, gain training experience, and receive feedback.

One important example of a networking group that I have personal experience with is the group of classmates that I have been working with during this course. My peers have been amazingly helpful to me. We have compared experiences, checked each other’s progress on assignments and we have offered feedback to each other. As an individual, I have become more and more comfortable opening up and sharing within small groups like this classroom online network.

I have also had other professional experiences in joining and participating in network groups. As I have been working as a graphic designer and digital professional in developing courses for colleges and universities, I had the opportunity to join the network called E-Learning Heroes. This is a community that focuses on course development tools and instruments, especially the use of Articulate software and products. However, the community also teaches you other tips, skills, and knowledge material relevant to the digital professional. It teaches you about the proper use of APA style, about gamification, it offers resources to build better courses, and it offers some training and coaching for professionals.

I have also explored other instructional design communities which really catch my eye. EDUCASE is a network community that is for instructional designers who want to have a forum to discuss how to more effectively collect, analyze and apply student data to help make more efficient and accurate decisions in the area of instructional design. It is a very useful network that can really improve one’s instructional design products by helping instructional designers be better users of data.

Another network community in the instructional design area that I was impressed by was the Instructional Design Central (IDC). This is a community that provides many important resources for instructional designers. These include professional tools, relevant instructional content, useful templates, and other resources that help the instructional design professional do their job better. On the whole, instructional design communities, and network communities in general, are so beneficial to professionals in any field. By building the networks for professionals, networking communities can also help professionals find new full-time, part-time, seasonal and contract employment opportunities. Networks can also help instructional design professionals stay at the top of their knowledge of the profession since professionals are generally sharing information about the latest tips, software, tools and other resources. Finally, in a profession that is perhaps more isolated than other professions – especially given the number of workers working at home during the pandemic – networks offer a sense of community support and psychological assistance and stimulation that is critical for the creativity and motivation of professional instructional designers.