Jacksonville University  Swisher Library Rm 328

Instructional Design

ACADEMIC TECHNOLOGY

Interactive Guides

Development Options

In this interactive guide, you will get a glimpse of various examples of content IDs can create for you.


Educational Technology Tools

In this interactive guide, you will gain insight into tools that are readily accessible and can be used independently to create specialized content for the course.

* End of Term Tips

In this guide, you can review course design tips to help enhance and evaluate your current courses and plan for new and exciting Fall 24 courses.

How Can Our Instructional Design Staff Can Support You?

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Course Design and Redesign Services

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Course Enhancement and Ideation Support

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Consultations on Learning Design Evidence-Based Practices

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Resource for Research and Development in Learning Design

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Ongoing Professional Learning Opportunities on Learning Design

Meet our ID team...

John Pauls, Ed.D, MBA
Instructional Designer

1 904 256-7261
E: jpauls@ju.edu

Schedule a meeting with me.

Catherine Rushton, Ed.D, MSFS
Instructional Designer

1 904 256-7612
E: crushto@ju.edu

Schedule a meeting with me.

Andrew Pemberton, MA
Instructional Designer

1 904 256-7722
E: apember@ju.edu

Schedule a meeting with me.

Your Partners in Learning Design...

Here at Jacksonville University, a team of Instructional Designers is available to help you provide the most optimal learning environment for your learners.

The science of instructional and learning design is well established and helps guide practitioners in delivering learning opportunities that deliver. Instructional designers are trained experts at analyzing learners and identifying learning objectives and outcomes, designing and developing accessible, representative, and authentic learning opportunities, helping professors implement learning opportunities with rigor and fidelity, assist in the evaluation of the course to accurately provide learner progression and mastery, and fine-tuning instructional processes to ensure learner success.

At Jacksonville University, support is provided in a variety of situations and circumstances. Services and support include:

Initial Course Design: New-to-JU courses and programs are provided access to our instructional design services to ensure highly impactful learning from the very first course meeting.

Course Redesign: With existing courses at JU, redesign services are offered to update content to
reflect changes in the industry, needs of the learner, or new approaches to teaching and learning. An instructional designer will work with you to analyze your current offerings, identify areas of enhancement and adjustment, and work with you to launch your newly revised course offering.

Instructional Problem Solving and Consultation: Instructional designers are available to help with any questions related to teaching and learning. Is there a topic that has always caused your learners to struggle? Are you spending too much time with administrative work and need help streamlining processes? Are you curious about how much work should be in your course? Our instructional designers have a wide and diverse knowledge base related to these topics and more, and are always willing to help support your own instructional journey.

Professional Learning: Throughout the year, keep an eye out for professional learning opportunities offered by the Office of Academic Technology. We provide learning development related to instructional theories and approaches, technology integration, 21st Century Learning, and so much more. 

Best Practices When Designing Your Course

  • Use Blackboard Effectively: Even if your course is face-to-face, using the Blackboard course allows for a centralized location for students to access course information and content from anywhere, at any time. Organize your course based on time or topic, use features like announcements to communicate, setup and update your gradebook so students have access to their progress and feedback, and provide a centralized location for your course.
  • Learner-Centered Design: In an age when students may have work and family obligations outside of your course, it is important to consider this when designing your course. Providing structure, support options, and being clear about expectations will help support learner success in your course.
  • Engagement is Important: As our world has evolved, so have our learners. We must work harder than ever to ensure our students are engaged in the content. Focus on applying what they are learning to their real world, provide opportunities for reflection and contemplation, seek feedback regularly, and seek help when needed.
  • Digital Citizenship and Media Literacy: In our current age of technology innovation, it is even more imperative that all citizens continue to build on their digital and media literacy. Using a variety of media in your course design and using technology to facilitate meaningful learning and discussion will help us all continue to support the development of these skills in a cross-curricular approach.

What to consider when designing your learning experiences.

When designing, redesigning, or revisiting existing instructional content, it is always good to evaluate your learning experiences and content for accuracy, relevancy, and instructional efficacy. Some things to consider include:

Engagement: When it comes to learning, how we deliver content and engage with the learning experience is incredibly important to our learners outcomes. In the age of social media and technology, it is even more important we become strategic in intentionally engaging our learners in the classroom. Things like collecting regular feedback on instruction, designing activities that require students to meaningfully interact with the content, and designing relevant learning experiences can all help you increase student engagement in your courses.
Assessment Strategies: Are all assessment types made equal? Well, it depends on what your learning outcomes dictate! Assessment can, and in some situations should, be more than a multiple choice exam. Things like portfolios, presentations and community-based learning may be a more appropriate and relevant assessment strategy, depending on your field, subject, and desired outcomes. Working with an instructional designer can help you map your outcomes and a contextual analysis of your learning to the assessment, helping to plan the most effective assessment for your learners.

Accessibility: As educators, we all have a duty to ensure our content is accessible to all learners. With today’s technology, offering accessible content is easier than ever. Working with an instructional designer will help to ensure accessible design; your images will have alternative text, your videos will have captions, and your color palette will be accessible, offering exceptional learning to all.
Instructional Coaching: Sometimes we just need someone to bounce ideas off of when it comes to designing our learning opportunities. The instructional design staff at Jacksonville University are experts in the field of learning design, educational technology, and effective teaching practices, and are happy to partner with you on a project, issue, or initiative in your courses.

Enhanced Learning Opportunities: With so many tools and resources available for learning design, you can move beyond the written word when designing instruction! With access to things like videos, interactive learning modules, educational games and simulations, you can create interactive and engaging learning experiences. Jacksonville University instructional designers are ready and able to help design custom instructional activities, modules, games, and plans, all designed to support your learners in excelling in your course.

Future-Responsive Instructional Design and Support: Jacksonville University instructional designers are researchers in the field of emerging technology and innovation, and are constantly exploring current trends in these spaces. If you are interested in emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), simulation-based learning or virtual reality (VR), your JU instructional design staff is ready to support, collaborate, and design for the future. 

Academic Technology
Office Location
  • Carl S. Swisher Library
  • Jacksonville University
  • 2800 University Blvd. North
  • Jacksonville, FL 32211
Instructional Design Help?

Let our staff help you develop your content. Drop us a line on our contact page to get started.

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