Only half of 1120 instructional design professionals surveyed recently feel their designs help meet business goals, and LESS THAN 40% feel their designs meet learning needs! That means that 60% believe their learning designs do NOT accomplish objectives! Survey results also showed that even in 2015, traditional classroom training ranks #1 on a list of the top ten learning approaches; 92% of instructional designers responding said they rely on it ahead of online or blended learning, coaching or mentoring.
Such findings help explain why sales of Cultural Detective‘s old-fashioned though beautiful, printed PDF handouts still outsell our state-of-the-art Cultural Detective Online, which provides unbelievable value for the investment (63 packages integrated into one interactive system at very affordable subscription prices). It also shows that you, our community, are learning leaders who are very quickly turning that reality on its head—if trends continue, CD Online sales will soon surpass PDF package sales.
Neither are you part of that 60% in the study who feel their designs don’t meet learning goals! You, our users, report that CD Online makes it easy to make learning creative and practical—and to achieve outstanding results.
The research findings I shared above are by ATD Research and the Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp), and appear in Instructional Design Now: A New Age of Learning and Beyond. The report retails for $499 ($199 for ATD members). A white paper is available for $19.99 (free to ATD members), and ATD has made a very short free preview available as well. The research addresses such questions as:
- Are most organizations embracing high-tech options, such as mobile learning, social learning, and MOOCs?
- Which of the newer tools and approaches produce better learning results for companies?
- What can instructional designers expect the next few years to bring?
- Does formal education still play a valuable role in preparing designers for the challenges of the workplace?
Organizations participating in the survey include LinkedIn, NASCO, and Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation.
The last study in this series—from 2010—showed that instructional design needed to become faster, more strategic, global, and tech-savvy. Other key points from the 2010 study included:
- Emerging learning methodologies would challenge designers to craft multifaceted content.
- Growth in social media would expand its use in learning.
- Budget constraints and staffing issues would be stumbling blocks for instructional designers.
- Measurement capabilities would be increasingly necessary to capture and communicate the value of learning assets.
- Efforts would be required to get organizational stakeholders onboard with new learning mechanisms.
We frequently share designs and results from our user community on this blog. It’s a great way to help others, to encourage the development of intercultural competence in this world of ours, and to get you and your organization’s name out there as leaders in intercultural competence development. Contact us if you’d like to share a summary of your work or have us interview you.
And, for goodness sake, if you haven’t explored the potential of Cultural Detective Online, what’s stopping you? Join our next free webinar on Tuesday, May 12th. Information and registration can be found here.
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