How can Instructional Designers work more effectively with Interactive Media Designers on e-learning projects?

Instructional Designers and Interaction Media Designers should work closely and have daily review sessions at the least. It is important that people in these roles appreciate the other person's role in the process. Elements of "Pair Programing" such as reviewing the strategic and tactical direction of the work being done, and coming up with ideas and suggestions for improvements should be a part of the interaction.

Work processes vary according to what the pros in each area are more comfortable with. For that very reason, you either put together a team of tech-savvy, curriculum writers with a strong creative vein (not that easy to find) or make sure you've got a team of mixed pros that liaise every step of the way.

A key aspect to developing good workflow on e-learning projects is communication. Communication is important at many levels in all projects. In educational design specifically communication is important to understand in terms of goals and outcomes. Two questions that should be answered early on in the design process are: “What should be learned through this course?” and “How should it be learned?” By making answers as specific as possible you will be well on your way to developing meaningful and impactful educational tools. Specifics to consider when answering these questions include desired resource types (such as tests, flashcards, and video lessons), methods of progression through material (will there be one mandatory lesson path or a “test when ready” system), and weather the e-learning components will be standalone or integrated within a more traditional classroom structure. Answering these sorts of questions early on in a project can help everyone involved picture the end result and help keep final products from feeling disjointed. Communicating goal and outcomes is also important when communicating with potential clients and later learners. Making it clear what users of the developed tools should be learning and providing instructions for new or unfamiliar tools and processes are musts. Having developed this mentality from the beginning of your project will make this easier. A side note on developing e-learning in general. It is key to remember that the users of your new tools are human even if the instructor has become a machine. Electronic learning tools will have to keep in mind human factors such as memory limits, and the need to use the restroom. It may seem that this can go without saying, but all electronic tools should be designed with a pause function to facilitate more comfortable human use. (Making products that people are comfortable using should be another goal). Lastly please test your product, lots. Testing can be a good way to make sure that you are on track with your goals and to bring together analysis by both curriculum developers and product/tool developers. By testing the product in different learning environments before publication functional bugs (such as technology glitches) can be found as well as larger instructional design issues (places where the learning goals are not met). Disclaimer: I have never actually written any educational material. The ideas presented here come from a students/learners perspective and research on instructional theory and educational process in the 21st century.

Do you have storyboard templates? Have both teams collaborate to build the templates to get everyone's buy-in. These templates would allow teams to communicate expectations quickly. Help the teams build rapport so they can collaborate effectively. Open lines of communication are important when generating new ideas.