Tips and Trends in Authentic eLearning for Instructional Designers

Authentic learning is an instructional design approach that gives learners the opportunity to create a meaningful, useful, and shared experience. 

6. In real life situations, most activities are not subject specific. The sixth element of authentic learning is to have integrated subjects.

Although it is important to address specific subject skills, integrating other subject areas is paramount. Instructional designers should obtain aligned curriculum expectations or specific goals for their learners to achieve success in their authentic event.

7. Once instructional designers have all subject areas represented and connections have been established, team members should work together in creating training for creativity and deeper focus to flourish in their learners.

The goal is to provide learners with an engaging and supportive learning environment that allows creativity to thrive while enabling them to develop the concentration skills necessary for deep learning and mastery of the subject matter.

8. The eighth element of authentic learning states the importance of instructional designers to create a collaborative environment that is team-based for their learners. This is also essential in the online learning environment.

Authentic learning is a great opportunity to develop team skills. These activities are extremely helpful in developing social communication skills as well as introducing learners to cooperative concepts. Instructional designers should create content that moves their learners from simple to complex team building skills.

9. Learners have more ownership when they are given the opportunity for their own personal input.

The personalized experience element states that instructional designers should provide open ended opportunities for their learners to explore their own interests and creativity.

Even though learners are part of a bigger team, it is important for them to develop their own sense of authenticity within their work.

10. The tenth element of authentic learning emphasizes the importance of portfolios.

In an online platform, an ePortfolio is an assortment of word documents and digital products of learning that supports the learner's unique work.

There is a vast amount of product that can be created and placed within a learner's ePortfolio. This is also where integrated subject work should be placed.

11. It is essential for learners to consult with experts in the community who can provide quality feedback. Instructional designers should arrange with team members to invite experts from all over the world to speak to their learners in their training.

Instructional designers should remember that learning is not authentic unless their learners are interacting with the real world. Expert consultation is key for this element of authentic learning to take place.

Share your learner's product through your course website or learners can create their own blogs to share their product to the world.

12. The last element of authentic learning that was developed by Steve Revington, is community involvement.

This could be a virtual class visit to a business where learners can learn a particular skill or have a guest speaker host a virtual meeting.

It’s all in the doing. It’s the applied demonstration that truly matters in the end.

All the products and reports that have been collected and placed within learner ePortfolios is what confirms the learning that went into the process.

In the end, what’s most important is the applied knowledge that has been gained.