AI Won’t Make You Dumber. Skipping the Thinking Might.
What the research actually says about AI, memory and critical thinking, where the evidence is thin, and a simple rule for using AI without losing your edge.
Alpha, Beta, Done: How to Cap eLearning Revision Rounds Before Scope Creep Eats Your Project
Two named review rounds, a cap on each, and a clear definition of what counts as an edit: how to keep eLearning projects on schedule and on budget.
Gamification: What Actually Improves Retention vs. What’s Just Badges
Badges and leaderboards feel like gamification, but they rarely move the needle on retention. Here’s what game mechanics actually work in eLearning, and why.
My Favorite Productivity Tools
A look at the everyday tools I actually use as an instructional designer — starting with FastStone Capture, my go-to for screenshots and screen recording.
25 Years Later: Remembering September 11th
Twenty-five years since September 11th. A personal remembrance — where I was that day, and the people I still carry with me, then and since.
What Instructional Designers Actually Need from SMEs
Most SME review friction traces back to the same cause: nobody told the SME what actually helps. Here’s the real scenario, the real mistakes, and the five questions worth answering before a single slide gets built.
The Goldilocks Atlas: Mapping the Worlds Next Door
There’s a moment, on any clear night, when the yard work is done and the house has gone quiet, that I find myself just standing there — head back, porch light off — looking up. It never gets old. Ever
AI Didn’t Just Build a Soulless Course. It Broke My Storyline File.
A viral LinkedIn post says AI-built courses feel cold. True, but it’s not the risk I’d lead with — letting an AI agent drive your authoring tool directly can wreck your project file, and that’s exactly what happened to mine.
How to Write a Branching Scenario That Doesn’t Feel Fake
Most branching scenarios feel fake because they were never planned before they were built. Here’s how to story-map a scenario like a mind map before you touch Storyline, and why that shape matters.
Storyline vs. Captivate in 2026: Which Should You Actually Use
Storyline and Captivate used to be a genuinely close call. After Captivate’s engine rebuild, I don’t think it is anymore — here’s an honest, opinionated buyer’s guide from 22 years of using both.