What Do We Do?

We are often asked the question, "What do you do?" Those of us who are instructional designers know that we often wear a number of different hats, making the answer to that question quite a lengthy and detailed response. An infographic at EdSurge that was developed by Arizona State University does an admirable job of explaining some of the many roles involved in being an instructional designer, such as:

• Communicators
• Guides
• Thinkers
• Builders
• Designers
• Explorers
• Relationship Builders
• Project Managers
• Data Analysts
• Fixers
• Evaluators
• And, of course, superheroes

Visit EdSurge's website to see a larger version of this infographic.

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Free Infographic Archives

The use of infographics can be a great way to condense a lot of meaningful information into a visually appealing, organized layout that piques learner interest. There are a number of free websites available to assist those without the artistic skills necessary to create infographics. But what if you are severely pressed for time, are not armed with a bevy of meticulously researched facts and figures, and lack the design knowledge needed to combine all the elements to form an attractive, logically-ordered infographic?

Although you will want to double-check any statistics contained within, there are a number of places to download pre-made infographics free of charge including:

• E-Learning Infographics - Hosts a large number of images divided into categories such as higher education, instructional design, gamification, MOOCs, and social learning
• Visual.ly Education Infographics - Offers a large number of images on education topics ranging from K-12 to higher education.
• Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) Infographic Archive - Allows members of the public to post the PDF versions of their infographics provided that no alterations are made and that the posting is for educational purposes. They also have a Pinterest board.
• Excite Education Online Education Infographics - Offers a small selection of embeddable infographics focused on healthcare with many more general images listed on their Pinterest page.