Inside “Learning Designers in Context”: Chapter 5

Camila, an Instructional Design Consultant

Abstract:

Camila, an instructional designer based in Lima, Peru, who has a background in literature and a passion for e-learning. She earned her bachelor’s degree in literature from the National University of San Marcos and transitioned from editorial work to instructional design through scriptwriting for e-learning courses.

Culture is always present both, on the side of the client and on my side. As the designer, I think of the user and examples that we may connect with the daily activities that the user is familiar with. We consider culture starting with knowing the user and the target audience. What are their activities and habits? In certain ways, also knowing how to interpret it to a Peruvian context.

Currently, she designs corporate e-learning experiences and is pursuing a master’s degree in ICT integration at Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú. Key takeaways of this interview highlight the importance of pedagogy, andragogy, digital skills, and cultural inclusivity for instructional designers in Peru. Challenges include poor Internet connectivity in rural areas and limited recognition of the profession. Despite these obstacles, Camila emphasizes the need for creativity and evidence-based practices to improve learning outcomes and competency-based performance.

So, what recommendations would I give to a person who wants to know about this and dedicate themselves to this activity? It would be mainly that they should want to learn and want to use their knowledge so that other people can also learn and transform. So, this means they have to improve their skills and they have to use creativity skills. Because it is not only about transferring information or knowledge, but also about how to transfer that information through different modalities. So, the recommendation would be to have a critical spirit of continuous learning.

Romero-Hall, E. (2025). Learning Designers in Context: Examining Practices Across the Global South. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003270591

Photo by Anton Lukin on Unsplash

Inside “Learning Designers in Context”: Chapter 4

Celia in a Higher Education Institution

Abstract:

Celia, based in Puerto Rico’s metropolitan area, directs the Online Education Unit at the University of Puerto Rico’s Río Piedras Campus. She holds degrees in office administration, digital graphic design, and a doctorate in education specializing in curriculum and learning technologies.

Because instructional design is an area that continues to grow and even though now there is more demand, still there are not enough instructional designers. Personally, I think there are not enough good instructional designs. So, I tell those who work with me, if you really learn, you really do quality work, well, you are going to have opportunities to continue growing and doors will continue to open in the future to keep working in this field. I think many companies have transitioned to e-learning and the COVID-19 pandemic expedited the process. Companies realized that e-learning is cost effective and beneficial for the employee, so they are out there looking for instructional designers. So instructional designers have to keep improving their skills to have job opportunities.

Her team develops online courses, supported by instructional designers, multimedia specialists, and quality experts. Key takeaways from our conversation emphasize continuous learning for instructional designers, proficiency in e-learning tools, strategic planning, and collaboration with stakeholders. Challenges include cultural nuances like infrastructure instability. Distance education offers transformative opportunities for Puerto Rico, especially for rural students and those balancing family or work commitments, despite resistance to change and resource limitations.

A few years ago Hurricane Maria passed through Puerto Rico and that was very devastating in the island. Most of the population was for many months (i.e., six or seven months) without electric power service, without Internet service. The hurricane affected the electric power service so much that even today we continue with these problems. Prior to the hurricane, there were no service problems with the electric power service in the island. After the hurricane, these problems began and now the light constantly goes out in the country. For example, last week almost every day our electricity service went out and there were protests from the students requesting their time to be extended for them to give exams because they did not have service. It is being a limitation in Puerto Rico because the electric power service is very unstable and it is a challenge that we are facing. Fortunately, the area where I work in the institution has not been affected. However, the other parts of the campus have been without electricity service many times and this is a challenge that we have.

Romero-Hall, E. (2025). Learning Designers in Context: Examining Practices Across the Global South. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003270591

Photo Credit: Enilda Romero-Hall

Inside “Learning Designers in Context”: Chapter 3

Lorena in a Global Corporation

Abstract:

Lorena, based in Puebla, Mexico has cultivated a career in graphic design but emphasizing functionality over aesthetics. Her professional journey began in advertising and marketing, designing materials for clothing and sportswear brands. Seeking growth, she transitioned to PROVIDENT, where she leads an instructional design team comprising instructional designers, multimedia specialists, and graphic designers.

My role is focused on revisions. I get to ask: Why don’t we do this differently? I tend to question a lot: Why did you choose this material? Why did you choose this resource? Why a video? Or, did you consider the target audience? So, that’s basically my role right now. The search for the best solutions for the project to meet the learning objective.

As a team lead, Lorena manages project distribution, quality assurance, and workload balance while revising materials to meet learning objectives. Key competencies highlighted by Lorena in her interview include ADDIE framework expertise, hybrid/online format design, multimedia skills, and e-learning tools proficiency. Cultural adaptability and behavioral traits like humility and courage are also vital for addressing unique instructional design challenges.

I think that also something I look for and we look at a lot in the team is humility. Because humility allows you to know and understand that you don’t know everything, that you should always keep yourself in a constant search for learning. That, not because you already have master’s degrees or diplomas, you already know everything.

Romero-Hall, E. (2025). Learning Designers in Context: Examining Practices Across the Global South. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003270591

Photo by Ina Cristina on Unsplash

Inside “Learning Designers in Context”: Chapter 2

Emilia in an International Financial Institution

Abstract:

Emilia, is a learning design professional based in Chile and Spain, who brings a wealth of expertise to the field, supported by her academic achievements, including master’s degrees in instructional design and e-learning design. Her career spans diverse sectors such as mining, banking, energy, and public administration, where she has developed online training programs.

For me, the key to success [as a learning designer] consists of earning the client’s trust so that they let you do what you do best. I would tell people who want to get involved in this field to learn the instructional design process and to start with the basics, do not skip stages. I would recommend that the last factor that they consider is technology and for them to have a big toolbox of theories.

Emilia emphasizes the integration of instructional design theory with project management skills, advocating for tools like Gantt charts and critical path methods to enhance efficiency. She highlights the importance of evidence-based practices and clear communication to ensure meaningful design processes. Emilia also underscores the need for competencies in development, graphic production, and user experience design, aligning with research that stresses the interdisciplinary nature of effective e-learning. Additionally, she advocates for ethical decision-making in instructional design to address its value-laden nature. Her insights provide valuable guidance for learning designers navigating complex organizational contexts.

Romero-Hall, E. (2025). Learning Designers in Context: Examining Practices Across the Global South. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003270591

Photo by Juan Pablo Ahumada on Unsplash

Looking forward to #TESOL26

A few months ago I got a message from a former student, she is part of the TESOL leadership team and she had nominated me as the keynote speaker for their upcoming international convention. I was truly honored by the invitation!

This will be my first time at the TESOL International Convention but I am excited to engage with the members of this community. There is a tremendous amount of educational technology use by TESOL educators and professionals. Many of my educational technology colleagues were TESOL instructors prior to their transition into edtech and learning design.

The conference page and link to the conference are included here: https://www.tesol.org/in-person/

In the video included below, I give a short preview of my upcoming keynote address:

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“Learning Designers in Context” Now Available for Pre-Order

I do not know how many people actually read this blog, but I figured I would go ahead and share that “Learning Designers in Context” is now available for pre-order.

It also is discounted right now, when you order it directly from the publisher: Pre-Order Here

The book is scheduled for release December 5th, 2025. Copies of the book will be shipped after the released date.

I have previously published two edited books (i.e., Research Methods in Learning Design and Technology, Feminist Pedagogy for Teaching Online) and it honestly feels so different promoting a solo-authored book! In previous instances, I wanted to recognized and disseminate their work of my colleagues who had their work in the edited books, so promoting those books felt easy! However, having to promote my solo-authored book is so hard. I feel like my introverted side all of a sudden takes over!

I also wanted to add that if anyone would like to get a copy of the book, feel free to send me an email. I am happy to share a PDF.

Learning Designers in Context: Examining Practices Across the Global South [Forthcoming Book]

In 2023, I wrote a blog post about Learning Designers in Context: Examining Practices Across the Global South [Book in Progress]. Guess what? It only took me 2 more years to complete the book! I am very excited to share that this summer, I submitted the full manuscript of my first solo-authored book project. The book is scheduled to be published later this year by Routledge: https://www.routledge.com/Learning-Designers-in-Context-Examining-Practices-Across-the-Global-South/Romero-Hall/p/book/9781032219233.

Book cover for 'Learning Designers in Context: Examining Practices Across the Global South' by Enilda Romero-Hall, featuring a modern, abstract design with geometric shapes and a color gradient.

About the Book

Learning Designers in Context examines learning design across professional sectors, local cultures, and geographic regions in the Global South, addressing the ways in which practitioners effectively draw on the knowledge, skills, and resources available to them. Around the world, access to and formalization of learning technologies in design has led to a diversity of strategies, competencies, demands, and organizational structures, but no book has yet compiled insights and lessons learned from these living examples to further the development of professionals working across contexts. Exploring design and implementation in higher education, corporate, non-profit, and government sectors while attending to urgent cultural and geographic distinctions, these chapters vividly illustrate the roles, challenges, and opportunities of learning designers use in real-world settings home to specific demographics, traditions, socioeconomic parameters, and policy orientations.

Book Published: Feminist Pedagogy for Teaching Online

Athabasca University Press recently published our book as part of the Issues in Distance Education series. Feminist Pedagogy for Teaching Online edited by Jacquelyne Thoni Howard, Enilda Romero-Hall, Clare Daniel, Niya Bond, and Liv Newman examines the experiences that interdisciplinary and global feminist educators have had-both their successes and their challenges-in infusing feminist pedagogical tenets into their online teaching and learning practices. The book is available in multiple open access formats, and I hope you will take the opportunity to browse through the chapters and discover how this freely available resource can benefit your organization and members.

About the Book

Instructors across higher education require inspiring and practical resources for creating, adapting to, and enhancing, online teaching and learning spaces. Faculty need to build collaborative, equitable and trusting online learning communities. This edited volume examines the experiences that interdisciplinary and global feminist educators have had-both their successes and their challenges-in infusing feminist pedagogical tenets into their online teaching and learning practices. Contributors consider how to promote connection, reflexivity, and embodiment; build equity, cooperation, and co-education; and create cultures of care in the online classroom. They also interrogate knowledge production, social inequality, and power. By (re)imagining feminist pedagogy as a much-needed tool and providing practical advice for using digital technology to enact these tenets in the classroom, this collection will empower educators and learners alike.

About the Editors

Jacquelyne Thoni Howard is a professor of Practice of Data at the Connolly Alexander Institute for Data Science at Tulane University.

Enilda Romero-Hall is associate professor in the Learning, Design, and Technology program at The University of Tennessee Knoxville.

Clare Daniel is senior professor of practice and director of research at Newcomb Institute of Tulane University, where she teaches in the Department of Communication.

Niya Bond is an online educator, faculty development facilitator, and PhD candidate at the University of Maine studying online teaching and learning.

Liv Newman is administrative assistant professor and Associate Director of the Center for Engaged Learning and Teaching at Tulane University.

Online Ready: Designing Culturally Competent K-12 Online Learning

“Online Ready: Designing Culturally Competent and Impactful K-12 Online Learning” (funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, #RE-250017-OLS-21) was a three-year design-based exploratory study led by Lucy Santos Green (University of Iowa) in partnership with Kristin Fontichiaro, University of Michigan, and Melissa P. Johnston, University of West Georgia. The project assessed and addressed school librarianship knowledge gaps in the design and delivery of targeted and culturally competent online learning.

As part of this grant project, I collaborated with Lucy, Kristin, and Melissa in the design and developed of the Online Ready curriculum. I also taught one of the three online asynchronous mini-courses, titled Culturally-Competent Design Mini Course. I feel so incredibly honored to have been part of this project. The Online Ready course was instrumental in allowing K-12 school librarians to reflect on their practice and their schools context while also advancing their learning design and online learning knowledge and skills.

You can explore all the mini-courses from this project by accessing the Online Ready platform available for free through the UI Learn Catalog. Please share widely with your school librarians colleagues and friends!

Supporting Faculty Against Online Harassment and Abuse: Online Course

A few years ago, Jaigris Hodson, George Veletsianos, and Victoria O’Meara invited me to collaborate on a project titled: Online Harassment as a Barrier to Research Communication: An Intersectional Approach (SSHRC Insight Grant). As part of the collaboration, we worked on the design and development of an online learning course that illustrates the experiences of diverse researchers who are harassed when they communicate their research online.

The goal of the course is to educate others on the different types of online harassment experienced by diverse researchers and to provide an opportunity for stakeholders to engage in perspective taking activities related to online harassment. This training is designed specifically for administrators, to equip you with the knowledge and tools you need to support your faculty. By following the guidelines in this training, we can all be better equipped to contribute to a safe, respectful, equitable, professional, and ethical workplace.

Objectives of the Course

Upon completion of the training, you will be able to:

Name 3 reasons why online harassment may be underreported at your institution.
Examine how adopting a system for supporting faculty during or after an experience of online harassment can improve equity within the department.
Identify the best course of actions to take to support faculty targeted with online harassment.
Distinguish between strategies that you can use to support your faculty vs. strategies that are likely to be unhelpful.