How I understand the difference between instructional design and eLearning

Here is why you need to know the difference between instructional design and eLearning. It will help you hire the right professional for the job.

In many ways, the difference between instructional design and eLearning is the same that exists between an architect and a construction worker (this is in no way to minimize the importance of construction workers) in that one has a lot more theoretical tools to use to come up with a concept that they do not have to necessarily build on their own. The other applies good practices and theory to build the concept for a specific application, in this case, delivering of instruction through digital technology (used to be the “e” in eLearning meant electronic, but that story is for another post.) So, in terms of job specifications, there are places that have an instructional designer (ID) as part of the staff, along with an eLearning developer. In some cases, the ID is the only one doing both jobs. In some other instances, the eLearning developer takes on both roles. It all depends on the needs of the organization.

If you need to hire a professional that will develop your eLearning content for training or education purposes, you need to know the abilities of each professional before you make any decision. For this, you need to know the difference between instructional design and eLearning.

The Difference between Instructional Design and eLearning

Let’s keep working with that architect-construction worker analogy mentioned above. If you are building a museum, then as an architect you need to make it into an experience that they will never forget. Also, you need to add the educational component because museums also educate people. Now, the architect will use their knowledge on art, visual effects, architectural schools of thought, theories on how to draw the eye to color and shapes, and so on. After that, they will probably not take their tools and start building the museum (a flaw in my analogy), I mean they could, but in practice they won’t. Now, the construction worker will take those plans and sketches and start working on how to build that concept. He has the experience and the expertise to make it happen. He also knows the practical side of bringing the concept to reality, and he will definitely consult with the architect on matters that may affect the project. So, in other words, the architect designs the experience attendees will have at the museum and the construction worker brings that experience into reality using all the tools at his disposal.

We can say the same with instructional design and eLearning: the ID designs the learning experience using all their knowledge in learning theories, best instructional practices, and principles, all of this so that learners can acquire knowledge and skills that they can apply later.

Now, they may stop here but many IDs also work as eLearning developers, and they can build the course using eLearning tools. Many organizations hire eLearning developers instead of IDs. In this case, eLearning is the application of technological tools to make that learning experience ready for delivery through digital means (used to be through CDs, computers, networks, hence the “e” for electronic, but most eLearning is delivered through the web nowadays.) Just like a construction worker will probably work with the same tools over and over, the eLearning developer will always build courses for eLearning. An ID could decide that a course is not for eLearning, after an analysis on the course. The course may benefit from instruction in-person, or through the delivery of a manual of instructions, and so on.

Instructional Design

We can say that instructional design is the systematic process of developing instructional materials and experiences to facilitate learning and improve performance. But the outcome of this process does not necessarily translate into developing a course, the ID can decide an in-person training, or a manual might help close the knowledge gap for a particular case.

Instructional design requires the analysis of learners' needs through a needs assessment or analysis. Then the process of designing curriculum occurs after you know what needs are. The part of developing learning objectives is crucial because it allows for the establishment of the course or training reach. Instructional design permits the selection of the appropriate instructional strategies and resources. You need to know if learners were able to acquire new knowledge or skills, so you need to create assessments. The final process in the design cycle may call for the evaluation of the effectiveness of instruction so that improvements can be incorporated.

The universality of Instructional design is palpable when you apply it to various forms of learning, including traditional classroom settings, online courses (or eLearning), blended learning, and corporate training programs.

Finally, instructional design focuses on the pedagogical principles and methodologies behind effective teaching and learning, regardless of the delivery method. And this is one of the crucial differences between instructional design and eLearning. And so, when I was an instructional design for a major university, we would evaluate the needs of faculty and we would propose solutions that many times did not involve the use of eLearning.

eLearning

We can say that eLearning started the moment we figured out the computer could be used to deliver content for education. This is why, in eLearning, the “e” stands for electronic learning. This evolved as computer systems evolved to a level of sophistication that permits the publication of courses on the web, without storing the course in a device, just as we did during the high times of CDs, external memories, and private networks. Nowadays, eLearning refers specifically to learning facilitated and supported through digital technology.

We can say there are two modes of delivering eLearning content. One is instructor led, that means the pace of the course is set by the instructor, we call this synchronous eLearning. The other mode of eLearning lets students set the pace of the course, they consume content and learn at their own pace, we call this asynchronous learning. In both cases, learners interact with instructors just not in the same way. In both cases it is important to establish effective mechanisms to provide feedback. In both cases, technology provides the means to make possible the interaction of students with instructors.

I had to sit through many demos from vendors claiming they have the best eLearning solution. Some of them did offer innovative approaches to content delivery but the issue of proving that these technologies could support learning were left to the users, that is, us IDs and instructors. The market is full of solutions for different aspects of eLearning. For example, for online courses management a learning management system (LMS) is a vital tool these days. There are many tools that can assist with live webinars and video lectures. In the basic education area, some vendors offer what they call virtual classrooms, where students can interact with the teacher conducting the class. There are software tools that allow eLearning developers in designing and producing interactive modules, usually published in an LMS. There is now an extensive world of mobile learning apps (who remembers mLearning?), and there is still more to come (virtual reality, for example.)

While eLearning often incorporates instructional design principles, we can confidently state that this is a subset of instructional design that specifically deals with the implementation of technology-mediated learning experiences.

Summary

If you need to hire a professional to develop your training or educational courses, you need to decide how far you need to go on the design of your courses. If by policy you have decided you will deliver all content through the web, then an eLearning developer will help you better. eLearning developers should not only know how to use the tools to build an eLearning course, they should know instructional design principles and theory, they should also know about best practices for eLearning delivery. I have met eLearning developers that have an eye for graphic design and video editing (sometimes, this is a bonus.)

But if you are willing to consider other options for delivering training or teaching, then an ID will help you better. They will build a course with the necessary learning experiences that may or may not be delivered through eLearning. They will implement a whole design process that includes assessment of needs and further evaluation of the course (this is not necessarily the case with eLearning) and produce a report (the needs analysis) with the recommendations for the project. In many cases, a course is not even necessary, a manual or some other document will suffice to close knowledge gaps.

In the end, we can say that eLearning is a subset of instructional design, and the difference between both areas can be summed up in two concepts: how deep you need to go into deciding to make a course (which does not concern eLearning), and second, if you will develop that course using eLearning.