The Six AI Use Case Families of Instructional Design
Pushing AI beyond content creation
Hey folks! 👋
On Monday, I’ll kick off the September cohort of my bootcamp.
One common assumption that we discuss when folks first join the bootcamp is the idea that, when it comes to instructional design, AI is primarily a tool for two things:
Content Creation: using tools like HeyGen and Synthesia to turn text into video
Automation of Admin: using tools like Grammarly and ChatGPT to write emails and summarise long documents
We know from research that these sorts of AI use cases can increase our productivity significantly. For example, this research by academics at Harvard found that using AI for these three sorts of tasks increased the speed of task completion by 25.1%.
But AI’s full potential, especially in relation to instructional design, is much broader and deeper. As instructional designers, using AI only to create content, automate admin and generate ideas is like using a Swiss Army Knife only to open bottles.
This week, I want to pull back the curtain and share with you the six AI use case families we explore and test in the bootcamp, so that you can explore and them try for your yourself.
Let’s go! 🚀
Introducing the Six AI Use Case Families
To help instructional designers grasp the full spectrum of AI's potential, I've developed Six AI Use Case Families. My goal is to expand our perspective on potential use cases for AI in instructional design right now, and to encourage us to explore a range of AI use cases across the entire instructional design process.
So what are the six families? Here’s the TLDR:
Creative Ideation, aka using AI to spark novel ideas and innovative design concepts.
Research & Analysis, aka using AI to rapidly gather and synthesise information from vast sources.
Data-Driven Insights, aka using AI to extract meaningful patterns and predictions from complex datasets.
Adaptation & Localisation, aka using AI to tailor content for diverse cultures and individual learners.
Content Generation, aka using AI to produce multi-modal learning materials at scale.
Intelligent Assistance, aka using AI to create specialised helpers (i.e. bots) for various instructional design tasks and (perhaps) learning delivery.
Now, let's dive into each family and discover how AI can transform our work.
1. Creative Ideation
AI isn't just about replicating human-created content; it's proven to be a powerful tool for sparking creativity and generating new ideas.
Tools like Claude, ChatGPT, Microsoft Co-Pilot, and Google Gemini can serve as brainstorming partners, helping you explore innovative design concepts you might not have considered otherwise. In practice, this means using AI to do things like:
Explore new and creative methods to develop learners’ knowledge and skills.
Challenge your assumptions and identify your blindspots.
Generate unique scenarios and case studies.
Explore creative assessment methods.
2. Research & Analysis
In the pre AI world, sifting through SME content, academic papers and industry reports was one of the most challenging and time consuming parts of our process. AI-powered research tools like Consensus (try the Consensus GPT in ChatGPT!) and Perplexity can rapidly source and and summarise vast amounts of information, providing you with comprehensive summaries and key insights.
In practice, this means you can get much closer to a reliable v1 before you meet with a subject matter expert, in the process significantly accelerating the process as well as improving the quality of the output.
I recommend that you try using AI to:
Quickly access and summarise the latest research in the field / topic you’re designing on.
Quickly access and summarise the optimal instructional strategies for your learners and goals.
Generate counterarguments to strengthen your design rationale.
3. Data-Driven Insights
Data is the backbone of effective instructional design, and AI excels at extracting meaningful insights from complex datasets. Tools like SurveyMonkey Genius, Akkio, and Julius can help you design, distribute, and analyse surveys at scale, as well as forecast learning outcomes based on performance data.
For the more ambitious, you can also use GPT-4 to simulate target learners and other stakeholders and predict their needs, reactions and behaviours.
I recommend that you try using AI to:
Analyse quantitative data, e.g. performance data, to find problems and gaps that your training needs to solve.
Analyse qualitative data, e.g. discussion boards, Slack channels, to run sentiment analysis and validate problems and gaps that your training needs to solve.
Predict which elements of your course design are most likely to lead to successful outcomes.
Visualise complex data patterns to inform your design decisions.
4. Adaptation & Localisation
In our globalised world, the ability to adapt content for different cultures and languages is invaluable. AI tools can help you not to just translate courses into multiple languages (for this, try SmartCat) - it can also help you to rapidly create localised examples, scenarios, and case studies. Research shows that by creating content and scenarios that are deeply relevant to our audience, we increase engagement and achievement.
I recommend that you try using AI to:
Generate culturally relevant learning content, e.g. case studies, scenarios, examples, for different learners.
Generate culturally relevant communication styles for different learners.
Quickly translate course materials into multiple languages.
5. Content Generation
While AI's role goes beyond content creation, it's still undoubtedly a powerhouse in this expensive and time consuming domain.
AI tools can help you produce high-quality, multi-modal content at a scale that was previously unimaginable. Tools like Synthesia, Ideogram, Flux, and Eleven Labs can rapidly generate video, image, and audio content.
But more than this (and critically important): AI can also help you to design optimised content, e.g. instructional scripts, before you build the content. Before you leverage AI to accelerate the content creation process, use research tools like Consensus and Perplexity to optimise the decisions you make on how to script and present that information.
With AI, you can:
Optimise the content of your course, e.g. by managing cognitive load, applying Mayer’s principles and writing well-crafted instructional scripts.
Create engaging video content at unprecedented pace.
Generate custom images and illustrations for your courses.
Produce audio narrations in multiple languages and voices.
6. Intelligent Assistance
For the most ambitious AI-powered instructional designers, tools like Poe, GEM, and OpenAI's GPT builder allow you to create AI assistants for specific instructional tasks, enhancing the speed and consistency of your work.
Imagine a world where, having optimised your approach to writing learning objectives, you build an AI bot which can replicate your process and turn a set of simple instructions and some content samples into optimal objectives which are produced exactly to your requirements.
Imagine a world where you design and rapidly build an AI Feedback Bot which assists the instructor of your course by providing “always on” feedback and support to learners.
All of this is possible right now. With AI, you can:
Create a team of instructional design bots to help you to complete your end to end process at unprecedented speed.
Build AI tutors that provide "always-on" feedback and support for learners.
Closing Thoughts
By expanding our view of AI beyond just content creation and administrative tasks, we open up a world of possibilities for creating more engaging & effective learning experiences at an unprecedented pace and scale.
The Six AI Use Case Families is designed to build an initial roadmap for your journey into this post-AI world, enabling you to explore the full potential of AI in our field right now.
I’d love to hear how your experimentation goes; please let me know in the related LinkedIn post.
Happy innovating!
Phil 👋
P.S. If you want to get hands-on and test AI in a safe and supported environment, join me and other learning professionals like you an upcoming cohort of my AI-Learning Design Bootcamp. Let's explore the future of instructional design together!