I often joke that naming things – variables, classes, modules, etc. – is the hardest part of being a software developer. The same can be said of being an instructional designer. Naming things well is important. It can also be somewhat difficult.
Mike Vanderpool and I are starting to codify the concept of Responsive Learning Experience Design. Before we start, we are going to name and define things. Specifically, we’re going to define terms such as course, unit, module, lesson, assessment, activity, etc. These are all common instructional design terms but they can mean different things to different people.
Several projects that I have worked on have been hampered by ill-defined terminology. For example, take the term activity. What exactly does that mean? Is it a group activity during class? Is it a homework assignment? Does it get graded? How does it differ from an exercise? How does it differ from a project? Team communication is hampered if all team members are not working from the same set of good definitions.
Naming things is hard. Defining things is harder. A system must be well defined if it is to work, so we will start with defining our system.