About You and Your Role 

Can you introduce yourself and describe your role at Six Red Marbles?

My name is Jessica Hecht, and I’m a Lead Instructional Designer. I have an MA in history and more than six years of experience in instructional design. In a nutshell, I collaborate with stakeholders and cross-functional teams to create online learning experiences. I’ve worked on a range of projects, including video-based and microlearning skills training, as well as full course development, course audits, and term preps for higher education clients.  

My typical tasks can vary from week to week. If you catch me before a new semester starts, I’m probably busy with term prep and course development with higher ed faculty. Throughout a typical year, I also do my fair share of media development, which can include video creation and interactive learning activities.  

What excites you most about working here?

Every project offers multiple opportunities for learning and professional growth. I don’t think I’ve ever been bored in my nine years working at SRM. I love picking up new facts, learning how to use new platforms and authoring software, and deepening my skills in tools and platforms I work with regularly. Additionally, collaborating with subject matter experts and faculty exposes me to a range of subjects and learner needs. Every time I work with clients to develop a strategy for meeting their specific learners’ needs, I deepen my own understanding of the learning process and the role of instructional design in facilitating lasting learning.  

Industry Insights and Trends 

What is one major shift you’ve noticed in education, content, or instructional design recently?

From a personal perspective, other than the proliferation of educational solutions in recent years, I have noticed a shift in how higher ed faculty think about online learning. Faculty seem more focused on and knowledgeable about creating robust online learning experiences rather than seeking to replicate the on-campus experience online. This shift is evident in their increased knowledge of and enthusiasm for using educational solutions to improve student engagement and assessment.  

Faculty also seem increasingly aware of the central role of technology in students’ academic lives and the versatility of online learning for meeting the needs of nontraditional students, students with disabilities, and students in underserved communities. 

In your opinion, how is technology (AI, microlearning, immersive media, etc.) changing educational solutions?

I think one of the primary ways technology is changing educational solutions is by facilitating more personalized learning experiences for learners. For example, in learning management systems, student success platforms use AI, data analytics, and instructor feedback to monitor learner progress, identify learners who need additional support, and create a plan for academic support and advising. Learning platforms are now using AI to create personalized learning paths. Microlearning and immersive media are also part of this trend, as they can help increase access for nontraditional students and facilitate learners’ engagement with course content. Embedded video quiz questions and discussion topics, for example, help ensure that learners engage with video content and provide opportunities for low-stakes practice.  

I personally think the proliferation of technological solutions highlights the importance of essential instructional design principles and learning theories. We know that facilitating learner engagement with lesson material, creating robust and meaningful assessments, reducing the extraneous cognitive load that comes from ineffective design, and implementing universal design for learning principles support better outcomes for learners. Technology enhances these essentials of learning experience design and supports continuous improvement through such functions as data analytics.  

Six Red Marbles’ Impact 

Can you share a project you’ve worked on at SRM that you feel made a significant impact?

I think our collaboration with Landmark College made a significant impact. We partnered with Landmark College to develop courses that support students with learning, auditory, visual, and mobility disabilities as they advance from foundational knowledge to more complex skills. The courses, which follow web content accessibility guidelines and incorporate universal design for learning, provide lessons in multiple modalities and build in weekly opportunities for students to practice, receive feedback, and make corrections. We also worked with faculty to identify opportunities for connecting concepts to students’ experiences and incorporating student choice. For example, we worked with faculty to develop scaffolded checkpoints and milestones for semester-long projects. These projects were designed to help students see the real-world applicability of concepts in such subjects as algebra and calculus and provide them opportunities to choose project topics. 

How does SRM’s approach stand out in the industry?

I think SRM’s commitment to quality, approach to partnering with stakeholders, and adaptability make us stand out in the industry. We are committed to creating high–quality deliverables and fostering impactful collaborations with stakeholders. With so many talented and knowledgeable people on our teams, we relish opportunities to identify and implement strategies and solutions to meet the unique needs of stakeholders and their learners.  

Just for Fun

What’s one piece of advice you’d give to someone interested in a role like yours?

Don’t be afraid to ask questions! While instructional design is, in a nutshell, the process of creating learning experiences, the instructional design role can encompass a range of duties and skills, depending on where you work. You may wind up working in a role in which you complete all aspects of instructional design, or you may work with cross-functional teams and subject matter experts. You may work for a vendor or in academia or corporate training. This wide range of expectations makes asking questions imperative to your success.