iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Connie Malamed @elearningcoach.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

Thanks, Clark. I haven't been here for around a year! Considering being more active.

Connie Malamed @elearningcoach.bsky.social · 27/06/2025

Learn how to transform your unique perspective into helpful content to develop thought leadership as a learning professional.

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Connie Malamed @elearningcoach.bsky.social · 16/06/2025

Repost from LinkedIn. I've noticed that you can overcome the discomfort of posting about your work or your ideas by ensuring that what you have to say has value and will help others. Being willing to serve the greater community results in becoming more visible. It's a win-win.

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Connie Malamed @elearningcoach.bsky.social · 11/02/2025

Remember chain emails? Caitlan Dewey asked the writers of her 7 favorite newsletters what their favorites were. Then she asked the writers of those newsletters the same question and on and on. See her newsletter. HT Dave Gray > linksiwouldgchatyou.substack.com/p/your-favor...

linksiwouldgchatyou.substack.com

Your favorite newsletter’s favorite newsletters

A chain-letter love note to an expanding multiverse

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Connie Malamed @elearningcoach.bsky.social · 06/02/2025

You would never distribute a survey without testing it, right? But your friend does. This short video will tell your friend how to test it so they get the data they're looking for > www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltob...

youtube.com

3 Ways to Test Your Survey

YouTube video by NNgroup

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Connie Malamed @elearningcoach.bsky.social · 06/02/2025

I got very curious about curiosity recently and slogged through a lot of research articles to find relevant tidbits. I found lots of strategies to spark curiosity in adult learners > theelearningcoach.com/elearning_de...

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Connie Malamed @elearningcoach.bsky.social · 23/01/2025

Perhaps the most important aspect of productivity is working with greater intention. I love to research this stuff and found the 52/17 rule, the Zeigarnik Effect and 7 more > theelearningcoach.com/business/how...

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Connie Malamed @elearningcoach.bsky.social · 19/01/2025

-- A wavy line may indicate creativity or fun. -- Many lines in one design may overpower the visual information. That's why I usually use a light to medium gray for a table grid. I find visual language endlessly fascinating! [from my 30 days of visual design for learning design on LinkedIn]

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Connie Malamed @elearningcoach.bsky.social · 19/01/2025

It's interesting to notice how the qualities of the rule affect a design. -- A thick or dark line creates emphasis. That might work beneath a title. -- A thin or light line separates information, but in a subtle way. The viewer may barely notice it, but it still works.

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Connie Malamed @elearningcoach.bsky.social · 19/01/2025

In a presentation or eLearning slide, you might use a vertical line to separate visual elements. If you want the viewer to compare two graphics or columns of text, a thin vertical rule between the visual elements may make the comparison more clear and easier to process.

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Connie Malamed @elearningcoach.bsky.social · 19/01/2025

For example, in a newsletter, you might see the title separated from the text with a horizontal line. This emphasizes the title and informs the reader that the content is in a separate area.

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Connie Malamed @elearningcoach.bsky.social · 19/01/2025

One effective approach is to use rules--horizontal or vertical lines. Placing a rule in your design may be a more compelling strategy than using space alone. You can use rules to: -- Separate content/visual elements -- Organize a layout -- Guide the viewer's eyes -- Emphasize a visual element

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Connie Malamed @elearningcoach.bsky.social · 19/01/2025

One of the most important topics in visual design for learning design is organizing graphic space. We never want our designs to interfere with learning. How can you organize graphic space and the information within that space?

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Connie Malamed @elearningcoach.bsky.social · 12/01/2025

-- But memory for pictures and words together is superior than words alone or pictures alone. --"Use pictures and words together, and ensure that they reinforce the same information for optimal effect." --Universal Principles of Design

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Connie Malamed @elearningcoach.bsky.social · 12/01/2025

The Picture Superiority Effect states that pictures are remembered better than words. Under many conditions, pictures ARE more easily recognized and recalled than words (such as for concrete visuals).

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Connie Malamed @elearningcoach.bsky.social · 08/01/2025

He's trying to get you to react. Stay cool.

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Connie Malamed @elearningcoach.bsky.social · 08/01/2025

I wrote an article about this if you'd like to read more > theelearningcoach.com/learning/des...

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Connie Malamed @elearningcoach.bsky.social · 08/01/2025

We disregard anything that is not meaningful in the moment. This has implications for design. If we want viewers to notice something quickly, we can use a few primitive features. (Think red stop sign.) If we want to maintain attention, we should use meaningful and motivating visuals.

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Connie Malamed @elearningcoach.bsky.social · 08/01/2025

Top-down processing is influenced by motivation, previous knowledge, expectations, and our current goals.

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Connie Malamed @elearningcoach.bsky.social · 08/01/2025

This second phase of perception is top-down processing.The top-down theory of processing explains that a person’s cognitive system actively influences perception.

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Connie Malamed @elearningcoach.bsky.social · 08/01/2025

The output from bottom-up processing passes on to other areas of the brain and influences where we place our attention.

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Connie Malamed @elearningcoach.bsky.social · 08/01/2025

Bottom-up visual processing occurs early in the vision process without conscious attention or effort. We detect features like motion, size, color, depth, edges of shapes, contours and contrasts without conscious awareness. This helps us to quickly recognize objects.

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Connie Malamed @elearningcoach.bsky.social · 08/01/2025

I think that the theories of bottom-up and top-down processing do well in explaining how we process visual (and other sense-based) information.

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Connie Malamed @elearningcoach.bsky.social · 04/01/2025

A few guidelines: 1. Create a focal point of the most important element 2. Allow sufficient white space (breathing space) 3. Use graphics relevant to instructional message 4. Remove distractions

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Connie Malamed @elearningcoach.bsky.social · 04/01/2025

Pleasing compositions for learning refers to consciously arranging and organizing the visual elements so they are easy to perceive and process. We are doing what we can to help the audience get the message.

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Connie Malamed @elearningcoach.bsky.social · 04/01/2025

But what we can do is design templates with aesthetically pleasing compositions and reuse them as needed (though watch for too much repetition that gets boring).

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Connie Malamed @elearningcoach.bsky.social · 04/01/2025

When we design slides or pages for eLearning and presentations, we typically don't have much time to make each one a masterpiece.

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Connie Malamed @elearningcoach.bsky.social · 03/01/2025

The responses are fascinating. Thanks for asking the question.

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Connie Malamed @elearningcoach.bsky.social · 03/01/2025

For me, it feels like new pathways are opening up. These are initial ideas. Take the best ones and refine them on or off the computer. No one needs to see your sketches.

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Connie Malamed @elearningcoach.bsky.social · 03/01/2025

Not all instructional designers realize that sketching is another way to think. It's problem-solving in action. With a simple vocabulary of lines, shapes, arrows and stick figures, you can explore lots of design ideas. In the act of sketching, you may notice new possibilities.

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Connie Malamed @elearningcoach.bsky.social · 02/01/2025

At least one shade of gray always has a place in my palette. 1. Gray is neutral 2. Gray supports the focal point 3. Gray has many variations 4. Gray calms down busy designs 5. Gray fits with most styles Five more reasons here > theelearningcoach.com/elearning_de...

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Connie Malamed @elearningcoach.bsky.social · 19/12/2024

Educational Technology is another path into the world of becoming a learning professional. Matt Campbell explains the field and how to break in > theelearningcoach.com/podcasts/86/

theelearningcoach.com

Surprising Variety of Careers in Educational Technology

Ed Tech specialist, Matt Campbell, explains how the variety of careers in Educational Technology, the varied roles, and how to get started.

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Connie Malamed @elearningcoach.bsky.social · 18/12/2024

That's wonderful Kunle. Congratulations.

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Connie Malamed @elearningcoach.bsky.social · 18/12/2024

Educational Technology is a career path into instructional design and related roles. I recently spoke with Matt Campbell, ed tech consultant on The eLearning Coach Podcast > theelearningcoach.com/podcasts/86/

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Connie Malamed @elearningcoach.bsky.social · 17/12/2024

Have you been to this site for silly fun or fun silliness or inspirational game ideas? Neal.fun

neal.fun

Neal.fun

Games, visualizations, interactives and other weird stuff.

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Connie Malamed @elearningcoach.bsky.social · 10/12/2024

To identify tools for the visual design of eLearning, slides, and print materials, I broke the process into stages and suggest tools for each phase. Any additions welcome > theelearningcoach.com/media/visual...

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