Teamwork & Web 2.0 in Instructional Development

In the past two weeks in my Indiana University Web 2.0 class we have had guest speakers - founders of multimillion dollar instructional development companies. One of the points that both made very clear was that it takes a TEAM to complete nearly all instructional design projects. At a minimum projects require an instructional designer and a programmer. Larger projects demand much larger teams. As a result one of the most important skills that an employee must possess is the ability to work effectively in a team environment. I think Indiana University does a great job at building the team skills of Instructional Systems Design students. Many classes include projects that require team collaboration. I think this is essential.

However, one of the other elements that is being utilized in much of the instruction being developed today is Web 2.0 technology. Blogs, Wikis, virtual worlds and other Web 2.o applications are becoming more common and more requested by clients. I think that it is essential that students of Instructional Systems Technology are immersed in the use and design of instruction incorporating these tools.

I believe that the success of aspiring instructional designers today will depend largely on their ability to work effectively in teams and to effectively incorporate Web 2.0 technology in their instruction.