As I read online, I bookmark resources I find interesting and useful. I share these links about once a month here on my blog. This post includes links related to research and tips about branching scenarios, working with AI, disability stock photos, changing people’s minds, and working with SMEs.
Branching scenarios
How to Write Scenario-Based eLearning That Doesn’t Feel Fake | Embark IQ
Tips for making scenarios feel authentic, creating plausible distractors, and supporting learning with feedback.
Enhancing workplace eLearning with branching scenarios: An action case study
A case study on branching scenarios for workplace learning, looking at motivation, engagement, and knowledge retention. The researchers asked how engaging with branching scenarios influenced motivation, what design features supported engagement and minimized cognitive load, and learner perceptions of decision-making support. This is a small study (n=10), with participants from a range of backgrounds and roles.
All quotes below are from the authors of the linked paper: Pimblett, Ceri ;Rowe, Lisa; Fenton, Alex. DOI 10.1108/IJOTB-04-2025-0103
Branching scenarios offer design features that can help reduce extraneous cognitive load through segmented content and scaffolded decision-making. Rather than overwhelming learners with dense information, these structured interactions promote focused engagement and facilitate problem-solving.
The findings indicate that two key design features support sustained learner engagement and minimise cognitive overload. First, relevance was critical: scenarios that closely aligned with real workplace contexts enhanced motivation and perceived usefulness, whereas generic or abstract content reduced engagement (Theme 2). Second, cognitive load was shaped by how content was structured. Overly complex tasks overwhelmed learners, but well-sequenced, chunked scenarios helped them stay engaged and retain information effectively.
Learners perceived branching scenarios as valuable tools for developing workplace decision-making and applying skills in realistic contexts.
Participants consistently identified the branching scenarios as a distinctive and valuable feature of the training. This interactive format enabled them to explore different choices, including deliberately selecting “incorrect” options to better understand consequences and reinforce learning. This aligns with the concept of “safe failure” (Sennett & Vasquez, 2021), which allows learners to make mistakes in a controlled environment without real-world repercussions.
Interviews revealed that participants felt less overwhelmed by branching scenarios compared to previous, text-heavy training modules. Instead of being overloaded with information, scenarios progressed step by step, providing only the necessary details at each decision point.
Working with AI
When AI Gets Better, Do We Get Worse? – Usable Learning
AI is getting better at lots of tasks. But even though we know we should rigorously verify AI outputs, we’re less likely to do so when AI is generally better. If the AI does well 4 times in a row, you’re not going to check the 5th time very closely. Julie Dirksen explains the psychology and gives examples.
Bot or Not? Text Edition (v2), Lancaster University
Quiz yourself to see how accurate you are at distinguishing AI-generated text from that written by humans.
Digital Learning Nook | Digital Learning Nook
Pooja Jaisingh created a quick warm-up practice activity for L&D called “Learndle.” Given a brief description of situation, type the model, tool, or approach to solve the problem. Each time you get it wrong, you get a new hint.
My Turn with Claude — Design, Code, and Everything In Between – Visual-e-Learning
Jerson Campos published a great “show your work” post about his experiences rebuilding some old training using Claude, specifically comparing having Claude Design do the work for him versus using Claude AI and Claude Code with more explicit direction. Jerson was happier with the results when he did more steering of the AI. The first Claude Design version looked polished but lacked interaction and depth.
This, I think, is where it’s going to separate instructional designers who let AI build their projects for them from those with a wider breadth of knowledge who can actually direct AI to build effective training.
Test your prototype early. Once you have a sound design for a few slides, have the AI build it out so you can test it. Nothing is more frustrating than finishing an entire storyboard, only to find the course player isn’t what you imagined — and then having the AI go back and edit every slide or module. It’s a great way to introduce new bugs. Be specific about what you want and what you can provide — videos, audio, narration, animations (if the AI won’t generate them for you). Then ask for an asset list at the end covering the deliverables you’ll be responsible for.
Now that the bar has been raised for the average instructional designer, it’s more important than ever to not be average.
—Jerson Campos
Disability stock photos
All in Frame
Free stock photos showing authentic images of people with disabilities. This library includes suggested alt text for each image. (Thanks to Kayleen Holt for sharing this.)
Changing people’s minds
Why Good Evidence Sometimes Fails to Change Our Minds
This article is about teachers changing beliefs about instructional methods, but the points about psychology and learning apply broadly. Changing people’s minds isn’t just about providing good information, especially when those beliefs are tied to key values and identity.
We do not evaluate new evidence in isolation. We interpret it through the understandings we already possess, sometimes reshaping new ideas so that they fit our existing thinking.
If the new information fits comfortably with our existing understanding, learning can be relatively straightforward. But when it conflicts with the way we make sense of the world, we rarely abandon our existing understanding immediately. Instead, we usually reinterpret the new information in ways that preserve as much of our existing understanding as possible.
—Jim Hewitt and Nidhi Sachdeva
Working with SMEs
Working with SMEs: 6 Types Every Instructional Designer Should Know – Scissortail Creative Services, LLC
Kayleen Holt describes six types of SMEs with tips on how to work productively with each one.
Additional curated resources
Check out my complete library of links or my previous bookmarks posts.
