Setting up an in-house learning design system today requires a clear focus on aligning your team, processes, and tools to the changing landscape of education and training. It starts with defining the purpose of your system, assembling the right people and roles, and selecting a flexible approach that allows for agile, collaborative design. Emphasising technology, AI, and innovative formats like microlearning and stackable credentials, this system should be built with scalability and sustainability in mind. To make a real impact, you must prioritise the learner, personalising their experiences and using feedback loops to continuously improve. Scaling your service means documenting successful patterns, ensuring shared ownership, and keeping space for experimentation and growth. By aligning your system with your organisation’s strategy and staying adaptable to new tools and formats, your team will be well-prepared for the future of learning and development.

AI agents offer a new wave of collaboration in education and workforce development. When deeply integrated into Learning Design Platforms (like Coursensu) and the LMS (like Moodle, Canvas or Brightspace), these agents help educators and designers improve quality and increase efficiency with personalised suggestions and actions. But real progress depends on thoughtful, ethical implementation and a strong human-AI partnership for a future of learning design and course development that deeply collaborative and highly productive.

Collaboration has always been a demanding but vital skill in both education and work. With AI entering the picture, we’re now adapting to a new kind of partnership; one that offers speed, consistency and insight, but lacks human nuance. To make the most of this, we need to rethink our collaborative habits and design environments where AI supports, rather than replaces, meaningful teamwork.

A learning design system combines people, tools, and shared practices to support the effective design of learning experiences. It relies on collaborative networks, aligned organisational support, consistent design approaches, and space for innovation and learning. With these elements in place, learning design teams are well-positioned to produce high-quality, scalable and responsive learning that meets the needs of modern learners and organisations.

Courses are a widely used format in learning, offering structure and clear outcomes. But they’re not always the best fit. This post explores the origins, pros and cons of course formats, alternative approaches like learning pathways and the impact of AI on future learning design. You’ll find practical comparisons, trends and tips for rethinking the default course model—and how to choose the right format for your learners.

Becoming an accidental learning designer can feel overwhelming, but it’s also an opportunity to grow into a vital, creative role. By collaborating with others, embracing unfamiliar territory, and staying curious through communities and professional development, you’ll build confidence and expertise over time. Most importantly, you’ll develop empathy for learners - something that will strengthen you, and every future project.

Artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming a key tool in education, but for many educators and learning designers, unknowns, uncertainty and fear can still linger. Concerns about AI replacing human roles, generating inaccurate content, or diminishing the authenticity of learning experiences are common. However, AI doesn’t need to be seen as a threat, nor does it need to generate a slew of new content. Instead, it can serve as a critical friend - a tool that helps review, refine, and enhance existing teaching materials, learning content, and assessments.

Learning objectives remain a valuable tool in instructional design, ensuring clarity, alignment, and measurability in learning experiences. They help structure content, guide assessments, and set clear expectations for learners. Objectives exist at multiple levels - program-wide, course-wide, section/topic, and individual activity - to ensure coherence and progression. Writing effective objectives involves using actionable, measurable verbs and aligning them with assessments and outcomes. Visual learning design tools like Coursensu can help maintain alignment. By defining objectives strategically, instructional designers create structured, outcome-driven learning experiences that support both educators and learners in achieving meaningful results.

Learning design is a rapidly growing field that sits at the intersection of education, technology, and instructional strategy. Learning Designers play a crucial role in creating effective, engaging, and accessible learning experiences across higher education, corporate training, and online learning environments. If you're interested in a career that blends creativity, pedagogy, and problem-solving, becoming a Learning Designer could be the right path for you.