Most learning materials are still designed for an imaginary learner: focused, well-rested, and able to give sustained attention. Unfortunately, in practice, that learner rarely exists anymore. Today’s learners are juggling work, family, constant notifications, and cognitive fatigue. They log into courses between meetings, late at night, or while multitasking. Even highly motivated students struggle to engage deeply. In many cases, that’s not because they lack interest, but because their mental bandwidth is already depleted. This reality presents a design problem that cannot be solved by adding more tools, more interactivity, or more content. In fact, those responses often make the problem worse. The courses that hold up best under these conditions are not the most elaborate ones, but the most intentional. Over the past several years, working on course redesigns and new online programs with limited time and budget, I’ve seen the … [Read more...] about Designing Learning Materials That Still Work When Learners Are Distracted, Tired, and Overloaded
2026 Blogs
The Minimum Viable Course: A Practical Framework for Sustainable Online Course Design in Higher Education
For more than a decade, online course development in higher education has been shaped by a front-loaded design model. That means that courses are expected to be fully built before launch, often with polished multimedia, comprehensive assessments, and detailed LMS structures finalized in advance. While this model emerged from a desire to protect academic quality, it has become increasingly difficult to sustain. Instructional design teams are supporting more courses with fewer resources. Faculty are balancing teaching with research, service, and administrative responsibilities. Program timelines are accelerating, while expectations for flexibility and responsiveness continue to rise. In this environment, the assumption that a course must be “finished” before it can be taught is no longer realistic. In response, many institutions are quietly adopting a more pragmatic approach, one that preserves instructional integrity while allowing for phased development. This approach can be … [Read more...] about The Minimum Viable Course: A Practical Framework for Sustainable Online Course Design in Higher Education