The Instructional Design Conference of Miami

Design. Development. Delivery. This was the theme for the first annual innoved Conference, hosted by innoved Online, a full service eLearning development and consultation team powered by FIU Online. The two-day conference showcased breakout sessions along with two instructional design workshops where instructional design principles and best practices were shared. Over 100 instructional designers from over 30 organizations attended, participated, and shared innovative instructional design techniques. The conference was headlined by two keynote speakers, Jaime Casap (Chief Education Evangelist, Google), and Denise Jacobs (Author and Creativity Evangelist), who combined to provide a “one-two punch” that helped motivate attendees to tap into their creativity to power learning outcomes.

Jaime’s experience at spearheading Google Documents at universities provided insight on what organizations need to do to stay relevant in the age of disruption. The age of disruption can be summed up by looking at Moore’s Law, which is the observation that the number of transistors in a dense integrated circuit doubles every two years, meaning exponential growth will continue to accelerate all aspects of industry, education, and government. In order to thrive in this new age, Casap promoted the idea of lifelong learning as an essential element to progress. Ideas were exchanged about how universities can better leverage their alumni network so that learners stay engaged with their institutions for life. Denise, on the other hand, advocated for individuals to banish their inner critic. Jacobs argues that our inner critic is our greatest obstacle in achieving our greatest potential. In order for someone to gain a “Flow State,” a state in which an individual is fully creative and motivated to accomplish a task, one has to push through their harshest critic, themselves.

Breakout sessions centered around multimedia principles and up-to-date research that can fuel quality learning outcomes. Private organizations, as well as universities, spoke on the difficulties as well as successes of implementing quality instructional design within their respective roles. By sharing best practices, instructional designers can further the legitimation of a “systems” approach to learning. A conference like innoved also provides an opportunity to highlight the accomplishments of individuals within FIU Online, and serves as a showcase of the innovative work being done within the department.

innoved is the first and only instructional design conference to ever be hosted in Miami, Florida. Leveraging the influence and power of FIU Online, innoved Online plans to host this event on an annual basis. The first innoved Conference 2017 was a success, and proved that it has the potential to be one of the premier instructional design conferences in the country.

Luis Alvarado was a FIU Online instructional designer (2015-2018). His expertise includes the areas of emerging technology, learning theories, 21st Century instructional design models, user experience, and the incorporation of diverse modes of media into online courses. Luis applies sound instructional strategies developed through experience gained in higher education and government. He effectively structures course content, provides expert technical support, and advises faculty on the latest learning and interactive multimedia technology.

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