Delivery Matters

Stories behind workshop plans,
sticky notes and markers.

Author: James Smart - page 2

What is instructional design? (+ examples and tips!)

Instructional design is a systematic and theory-backed approach to creating engaging and impactful learning experiences. Whether you’re designing eLearning courses or employee training programs, effective instructional design is a surefire method of meeting business goals and developing effective learning solutions. But what is instructional design exactly? In this guide, we'll start with a practical definition of instructional design. We'll explore the role of instructional designers, learning models and theories, and also share real-world examples and best practices to help you craft more effective learning experiences. What is instructional design? Instructional design is a systematic process of designing and developing effective instructional materials and learning experiences. Instructional design involves analyzing learner…

A screenshot of learners on an online course.

How to create an effective instructional design storyboard

A well-structured instructional design storyboard is the foundation of any successful online course or elearning project. It forms a blueprint that allows everyone involved in the project to understand the learning flow, offer contributions and then implement the design in your elearning authoring tool with ease.In this guide, we'll share a complete process for creating effective elearning storyboards. We've included tips for the course design process and a heap of instructional design storyboard templates to help you optimize your elearning development process. Let's dive in. What is an instructional design storyboard? An instructional design storyboard serves as a design blueprint for an instructional design project or elearning course. This typically…

9 Instructional design principles and how to use them

Robert Gagne’s instructional design principles were first proposed in 1965. Though the world has changed a lot in that time, the way we learn is fundamentally the same. Together, these nine principles are a science-backed framework for creating effective learning experiences, whatever your learning format. Whether you’re creating elearning courses, training sessions or working in blended environments, this guide will help you understand how to deploy these instructional strategies and engage your learners. We’ll explore each principle in turn and provide practical examples and advice for applying them in your instructional design process. Good instructional design is an art and a science. Even if you’re new to learning design, chances…

Photograph of participants playing a training game.

24 engaging training games and activities

Creating the ideal conditions for learning isn’t easy. Trainers need to balance information sharing and theory with experiential activities in order to create effective learning experiences. Training games are a great way to engage trainees with interactive activities that help facilitate the learning process. In this guide, we'll share our favourite training activities alongside tips for engaging trainees. You'll leave with practical ideas for improving your next employee training and add new methods to your toolkit. Let’s dive in! What are training games and activities? Training games and activities are interactive activities designed to engage trainees and create a more memorable and engaging learning experience. These games are experiential in…

How Thrive Impact uses SessionLab to help NGOs create sustainable change

Thrive Impact is an agency whose mission is to solve nonprofit leader burnout and enable NGOs to enact meaningful change. They’ve helped more than 50 organizations increase revenue, realize positive culture change and create sustainable impact.CEO Tucker Wannamaker and the 10-person team at Thrive Impact use SessionLab to support their process and design the workshops and training sessions that form the foundation of much of the work they do. Let’s explore how SessionLab helps Tucker and his team create impactful learning experiences and save time in their design process. Designing engaging learning flows Whether it’s guiding a team through a strategic planning session or running NGO leadership training, the journey…

How to plan and run a virtual workshop

Virtual workshops are a powerful tool for bringing together participants from around the world and collaboratively achieving your goals. But how do they work? What are the best practices for running engaging virtual sessions that keep Zoom fatigue at bay and create genuine innovation and solve problems? Whether you're a team leader, business professional, or facilitator, knowing how to plan and run a virtual workshop effectively is a valuable skill in today's digital landscape. In this comprehensive guide, we'll walk you through how to run a virtual workshop that is engaging and impactful. What is a virtual workshop? A virtual workshop is an interactive and collaborative process that is conducted…

13 Best Meeting Management Software For Effective Meetings

Good meetings make your work easier, not harder. They help teams remove blockers, get stuff done and feel more aligned. Done well, meetings can become the beating heart of an effective organization. But how? Whether you're a project manager or team leader, the right meeting management software can make managing efficient meetings easy and save you valuable time. In this guide, we'll explore the best meeting management software, each offering unique features to help you plan, execute, and optimize your meetings effectively. Good meetings are how the best teams align, make decisions and discuss what's important to them. The majority of employees spent up to one third of their work…

How Vlerick Business School creates exceptional learning designs with SessionLab

Vlerick Business School is one of the highest ranked business schools in Europe. As part of the Learning Innovation Hub, Luisa Gaioni, Fleur Dumont, Hanne Rijcke and the rest of their team of 13 use SessionLab to design and develop digital learning journeys across the school. Using SessionLab to design learning flows and collaborate with subject matter experts has helped Vlerick save time, be more efficient and create programs that engage learners – whether as part of a degree program, executive learning or bespoke company training. Here’s how. Structured, efficient learning design An effective self-paced course, training session or blended learning program starts with a well-crafted learning flow informed by…

two professional women talking across a table

221 best icebreaker questions for creating genuine connections

When a group of people comes together for the first time, it can take a little time for them to get to know one another and feel comfortable in each other’s presence. Icebreaker questions and games are an effective way to speed up the process and create a safe space for people to start working together. In this post, we’ll share the best icebreaker questions for work and any other scenarios where you might want to help people get to know each other. We’ll also share some tips for ensuring your icebreakers are productive and help the group bring themselves to the table without anxiety or frustration. Let’s jump in! …

10 Free Meeting Agenda Templates for Word, PDF, SessionLab

Meeting agendas are the foundation of productive, well-organized gatherings. Whether you're running a team meeting, problem-solving session or innovation workshop, a well-structured meeting agenda template can make the difference between a successful session and one that wastes everyone's time. In this blog post, we'll explore ten meeting agenda examples that cater to various meeting types and objectives. By the end of this article, you'll have a toolbox of ideas and agendas to help you plan and facilitate more effective and efficient meetings. The process of planning and organizing meetings can bring up challenging questions. What are the best practices for meeting design? What agenda items should you include? How do…

43 brainstorming techniques and games for creating new ideas

Finding new and innovative ideas is a vital part of the growth and success of any team or organization. While brainstorming techniques are rightly perceived as creative and exciting, it’s important to find a framework and idea-generation process that empowers your group to generate meaningful results. Innovation is important for many businesses, but what brainstorming activities might you use to help make true innovation a reality? Find out in this collection of effective brainstorming techniques! In this post, we’ll explore a host of effective brainstorming techniques in categories such as creative exercises and visual idea generation games, all of which can be used to help your group brainstorm be more…

A photograph of a workshop run by IngeniousPeoplesKnowledge consultancy.

How IngeniousPeoplesKnowledge improved organizational efficiency with SessionLab

IngeniousPeoplesKnowledge Consultants (IPK) is a boutique consulting company specializing in the design and facilitation of change processes, as well as training and coaching in both physical and virtual environments. With over 17 years of experience, their team is most proficient at orchestrating collaborative processes such as workshops, learning events, training sessions, and team coaching. The team at IPK needed a tool that allowed them to meticulously plan and design their sessions down to the minute. With SessionLab, they’ve been able to optimize their workflow and achieve meaningful savings in time and cost too. With contributions from Marc Steinlin and Nqaba Mpofu at IPK, let’s explore how. Powerful features to support…

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