Why ISD important ?

Instructional design is how one organizes, structures, lays out, and presents material so that learners learn as much as possible, says Al Moser (al@readygo.com). "When someone writes a book, she needs to organize the material so that concepts build on previously presented material. With presentations, you have to figure out what goes on the slide and what the speaker is going to say. Both of these cases involve generally 'linear' instruction.

With PowerPoint, you have to break up your content based on what fits on a page. With a book, you're limited to what the publisher will allow." Web-based training (like encyclopedias), says Moser, is more about non-linear instruction. "Here, you need to consider that students will want to skip over the material they know and spend more time on the material that is new and important to them." "

The Web provides all sorts of new media possibilities that can be beneficial or harmful. Books and presentations are typically limited to text and pictures. Instructional design is about choosing how to use the various media, how to lay out the content for different learners, and how to deliver it for greatest impact and reuse." Moser is VP of engineering at ReadyGo Inc. in Mountain View, Calif.