Is it Time to Lead or About Time We LED?: Learning Experience Design & Personalized Learning

Many job roles and responsibilities are rapidly changing here in the third decade of the twenty-first century. According to a December 19, 2022 article in the Evolllution, A Time for Learning Experience Designers, Mark Milliron, President of National University and Kim Round, Associate Dean in the Teacher’s College of Western Governors University (WGU) argue that we need to better engage students in the learning process by rethinking the instructional approaches and supports that can be provided for learners. Milliron and Round point to the need to craft richer and more meaningful learning experiences. They argue that these new approaches are more empathy-based and sensitive to student wellness. Among those jobs in the midst of transformation is that of instructional designer and educational technologist. It is time for the learning experience designer (LED) to lead us into this new learning age.

In addressing this concern, in this episode of Silver Lining for Learning, Drs. Milliron and Round will discuss a new Master of Science in Learning Experience Design and Education Technology (MSLxDET) from Western Governors University that will launch in the summer of 2023. As they sagely write in the Evolllution, “25 years of advancements in competency-based education, personalized learning, its commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, support for Social Emotional Learning, advanced use of data, and innovation with skills-based learning are working to help our diverse array of students—particularly historically underserved students—successfully navigate personalized pathways to possibility.” In a personal conversation (January 20, 2023), Milliron further observed that we need to talk about “the new possible,” not “the new normal.” Attend Episode #139 of SSL and hear about the new possibilities of learning experience designers and the types of learning that they might design. You can find out whether “Is it Time to Lead or About Time We LED.”

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