The Most Popular AI Tools for Instructional Design (September, 2024)
The tools we use most, and how we use them
Hey folks!
This week, as I kick off the 20th cohort of my AI-Learning Design bootcamp, I decided to do some analysis of the work habits of the hundreds of amazing AI-embracing instructional designers who I’ve worked with over the last year or so.
My goal was to answer the question: which AI tools do we use most in the instructional design process, and how do we use them?
Here's where we are in September, 2024:
Most Popular AI Tools for Analysis
Descript
What it does: Transforms stakeholder interviews and focus groups into searchable, editable text for instructional needs analysis.
How it's used: During the Analysis phase, instructional designers use Descript to transcribe and analyse recorded meetings, extracting key insights for learning needs assessment and content planning.
Fathom
What it does: Provides AI-enhanced transcription and analysis of stakeholder discussions and learner feedback sessions.
How it's used: In the Analysis stage, designers utilise Fathom to generate detailed summaries and action items from stakeholder meetings, informing the direction of course development.
MS Analyse Data
What it does: Automates the analysis of learner data and performance metrics in Excel for instructional gap identification.
How it's used: Designers use this tool in the Analysis phase to process survey results and assessment scores, identifying performance gaps and informing learning objectives.
Speak
What it does: Converts unstructured learner and stakeholder feedback into structured, actionable insights for course planning.
How it's used: During Analysis, instructional designers employ Speak to process audio and video feedback, generating structured data that informs learning needs and course objectives.
SurveyMonkey Genius
What it does: Streamlines the creation and analysis of needs assessment surveys for instructional projects.
How it's used: In the Analysis stage, designers use this tool to quickly create, distribute, and analyse surveys, gathering critical data on learner needs and organisational goals.
Quizgecko
What it does: Generates diagnostic assessments to evaluate learners' existing knowledge in the subject area.
How it's used: Instructional designers use Quizgecko in the Analysis phase to create pre-assessments, helping to identify knowledge gaps and inform the scope of instructional content.
ChatGPT-4
What it does: Simulates diverse learner and stakeholder perspectives for comprehensive needs analysis.
How it's used: During Analysis, designers prompt ChatGPT-4 to generate potential learner personas, stakeholder concerns, and learning scenarios, broadening the scope of their needs assessment.
Claude
What it does: Assists in analysing and summarising large volumes of background information, as well as learner and stakeholder input.
How it's used: In the Analysis phase, instructional designers use Claude to process and synthesise extensive documentation, extracting key points to inform learning objectives and content strategy.
Most Popular AI Tools for Design
ChatGPT
What it does: Generates creative ideas for learning activities and content presentation strategies.
How it's used: During the Design phase, instructional designers use ChatGPT to develop innovative design ideas, write objectives and generate course outlines.
Claude
What it does: Assists in creating detailed course outlines, learning objectives, and assessment strategies.
How it's used: During the Design phase, instructional designers use Claude much like ChatGPT to develop innovative design ideas, write objectives and generate course outlines.
Jasper
What it does: Crafts clear, concise course descriptions from instructional outlines.
How it's used: In the Design phase, instructional designers use Jasper to transform their rough ideas into more polished course overviews, ensuring clarity and alignment with organisational goals.
Liner AI
What it does: Curates and summarises relevant research from various sources.
How it's used: During Design, designers use Liner AI to quickly gather and synthesise information about the topic and best-fit instructional strategies from multiple sources, informing content selection and sequencing decisions.
Perplexity
What it does: Provides rapid access to cited instructional design theories and best practices.
How it's used: Instructional designers use Perplexity in the Design stage to quickly reference and incorporate research, industry reports and other data into their course designs.
Consensus
What it does: Summarises academic research on learning theories, instructional strategies and course domain info.
How it's used: Instructional designers use Consensus in the Design stage to quickly reference and incorporate peer reviewed research into their course designs.
Gamma
What it does: Transforms instructional outlines into visually appealing presentation decks.
How it's used: During Design, instructional designers use Gamma to rapidly create professional slide decks that communicate course structure, objectives, strategies etc to stakeholders.
Grammarly
What it does: Enhances the clarity and professionalism of instructional materials and communications.
How it's used: Throughout the Design phase, designers employ Grammarly to refine their written content, ensuring all materials are clear, concise, and error-free.
Most Popular AI Tools for Development & Implementation
Ideogram
What it does: Creates custom visuals and infographics from text, tailored to specific learning objectives.
How it's used: During Development, instructional designers use Ideogram to generate unique, relevant visuals that enhance understanding of complex concepts and improve learner engagement. They also use it to create themed and branded images by applying similar styles across all images.
Synthesia
What it does: Produces video content from text with AI-generated presenters.
How it's used: In the Development stage, designers use Synthesia to create video lectures, demonstrations and course promo materials.
HeyGen
What it does: Produces video content from text with AI-generated presenters.
How it's used: In the Development stage, designers use HeyGen to create video lectures, demonstrations and course promo materials.
ElevenLabs
What it does: Generates professional voiceovers for instructional audio and video.
How it's used: In the Development phase, designers use ElevenLabs to add high-quality narration to their learning materials, enhancing accessibility and engagement.
Flux
What it does: Creates custom visuals and infographics from text, tailored to specific learning objectives.
How it's used: During Development, instructional designers use Flux to generate unique, relevant visuals that enhance understanding of complex concepts and improve learner engagement.
Poe
What it does: Develops AI-powered tutoring systems and chatbots for learner support.
How it's used: During Implementation, designers use Poe to create intelligent tutoring systems that provide additional support and guided practice for learners outside of formal instruction time.
InVideo
What it does: Produces engaging video content for course promotion and key concept explanation.
How it's used: In both Development and Implementation phases, instructional designers employ InVideo to create attention-grabbing promotional content and concise explainer videos for complex topics.
Claude
What it does: Assists in scripting course scripts, narratives and explanations for instructional content.
How it's used: Throughout the Development stage, designers collaborate with Claude to craft course scripts, narratives and explanations for instructional content.
Tools for Evaluation
Julius AI
What it does: Analyses learner performance data to assess instructional effectiveness.
How it's used: During the Evaluation phase, instructional designers use Julius AI to process learner data, visualise performance trends, and generate reports on course effectiveness.
SurveyMonkey Genius
What it does: Facilitates the creation and analysis of course feedback surveys.
How it's used: In the Evaluation stage, designers use SurveyMonkey Genius to gather and analyse learner feedback, identifying areas for course improvement and measuring satisfaction levels.
MS Analyse Data
What it does: Processes quantitative assessment data to measure learning outcomes.
How it's used: Instructional designers use this tool during Evaluation to analyse pre- and post-assessment scores, calculating knowledge gains and evaluating the achievement of learning objectives.
Speak
What it does: Transforms qualitative feedback from learners and stakeholders into actionable insights.
How it's used: In the Evaluation phase, designers utilise Speak to process audio or video feedback sessions, extracting key themes and recommendations for course refinement.
Descript
What it does: Transcribes and analyses verbal feedback from learner interviews and focus groups.
How it's used: During Evaluation, instructional designers use Descript to accurately transcribe and analyse qualitative feedback sessions, facilitating a thorough review of learner experiences.
Fathom
What it does: Provides in-depth analysis of transcribed feedback and evaluation discussions.
How it's used: In the Evaluation stage, designers employ Fathom to generate detailed insights from transcribed feedback sessions, informing data-driven decisions for course improvements.
Quizgecko
What it does: Generates post-course assessments to evaluate knowledge retention and application.
How it's used: Instructional designers use Quizgecko during the Evaluation phase to create varied assessment items that measure the effectiveness of instruction and learners' ability to apply new knowledge.
Observations & Conclusion
Based on this rapid analysis, Identified three key trends in the use of AI among Instructional Designers:
More Comprehensive AI Integration Across the ADDIE Model: Compared with this time last year (when Ai was primarily used to create content) more AI tools are being used throughout all phases of the instructional design process - Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation and Evaluation. This indicates a more holistic adoption of AI technologies and a greater degree of transformation across the entire workflow.
Specialisation & Task-Specific AI Tools: There’s a clear trend towards using specialised AI tools for specific instructional design tasks, rather than relying solely on general-purpose AI models like ChatGPT, Claude etc.
Data-Driven Decision Making and Insights: Many of the AI tools used by instructional designers focus on analysing data and providing actionable insights. Tools like MS Analyse Data, SurveyMonkey Genius, and Julius AI are being used more and more to process learner data, performance metrics, and feedback, enabling more informed and data-driven instructional design decisions.
These key trends suggest that AI is no longer being used only to accelerate parts of our process - it’s also increasingly being used to augment and reshape instructional design practices.
The headline here is that we’re seeing a new emphasis on using AI to make more robust, data informed and strategic instructional design decisions than ever before, with potentially transformative implications for what sorts of experiences we decide to design and how we design them.
I hope this list helps you to start or continue on your journey of experimentation with AI. If so, I’d love to hear how your experimentation goes in the related LinkedIn post.
Happy innovating!
Phil 👋
P.S. If you want to get hands-on and test these and other AI tools in a safe and supported environment, join me and other learning professionals like you an upcoming cohort of my AI-Learning Design Bootcamp.