Supporting quality instructional design
through community.
About Us
The Quality Matters Instructional Designers Association (QM IDA) is a special interest group of Quality Matters.
The QM Instructional Designers Association Mission is to promote and improve the quality of online education and student learning through instructional design practice by providing professional development opportunities to strengthen instructional design practice, building community, networking, and fostering mentoring opportunities, promoting quality standards-based practice informed by research and sharing best practices.
As a group we provide self-paced free or low-cost professional development, establish an online space for networking and professional partnerships, promote collaboration and mentorship between instructional design professionals, build a community for everyone, regardless of background, promote quality standards based practice which is informed by research, and participate in problem solving, research, and sharing of best practice.
The goals of the QM IDA are to:
- Provide professional development as well as an online space for networking and development of professional partnerships
- Promote collaboration and mentorship between instructional design professionals in an open community, regardless of background, focused on quality standards based practice which is informed by research
- Encourage instructional design information and resource sharing on a national scale where problem-solving, research, and best practice is freely exchanged.
Sign Up
A current QM subscription — either individually or through an institution — is required for membership in the QM IDA. If you are unsure if your institution is a member, you can search to find out.
Sign Up Through Your Institution’s QM Membership
- Sign in to your MyQM account*.
- Select the "My Tools" menu.
- Select the Role Applications link.
- Select the QM Instructional Designers Association Application link.
Sign Up with an Individual QM Membership
- Log into or create* a MyQM account
- Click “Subscribe” from the left side menu.
- Select “Subscribe Today!”
- Complete the short online form with your contact and payment information to purchase the Individual Subscription
- Once the subscription is activated, complete the QM Instructional Designers Association Application found in MyQM > My Tools > Role Applications.
*To create a MyQM account, choose “I am new here” on the login page.
Looking for the Job Board?
ID-related job postings have moved to the QM IDA Listserv. Please see the information below on how to sign up and access the listserv. For non-members interested in sharing job postings with the QM IDA, please use our Google Form to submit your request.
Get Involved & Get Answers
QM IDA Twitter Chats
Be sure to follow @TheQMIDA. These monthly chats (#QMIDAChat) provide a forum for members to share thoughts and resources related to questions around using QM and creating a culture of collaboration and continuous improvement.
Date: Friday, October 8, 2021
Time: 12:00 p.m. ET
Topic: Building and Maintaining a Strong Community in Online Courses
Questions:
Q1: Group work is a great way to build community in an online course. How can assignments and other graded activities be designed to promote peer-to-peer interaction and promote a better social presence?
Q2: Online courses provide learners of various demographics the opportunity to interact together. What intentional design decisions can be implemented to bridge communication gaps and foster community?
Q3: Discussion boards are commonly used to foster community in online courses. How do you keep your discussion boards engaging? Please share your unique strategies, prompts and techniques.
Q4: Building and maintaining a strong online community usually starts over with each new term. How can the inclusion of students from previous terms help improve the experience for new learners?
Q5: Online communities are powerful in helping to combat learner isolation, but they can also be difficult to manage. What are some best practices for establishing and maintaining guidelines that keep students engaged?
QM IDA Learning Exchange Webinars
Join QM IDA members several times a year for free webinars delivered by your peers. Registration is limited to current members of the QM IDA. Recordings of past sessions can be accessed from the Reference Library in MyQM.
Title: ID Applied Research – Learning Designers and Research-in-Action
Date and Time: October 1, 2021, 1:00 p.m. ET
Description: With the evolving landscape of teaching and learning in higher education contexts, research on instructional design can help faculty, instructional designers, and educational technologists enhance the student learning experience across disciplines. In this session, a panel of ID researchers will share their work, as well as approaches for applying data collection and analysis skills in instructional design projects, applying research about the discipline of learning design and learning theories, and conducting research about the discipline of instructional design. Instructional design research discussed will include inclusive design practices, designing online courses and programs, general ID research and educational technologies, and supporting online students.
Join the QM IDA Listserv
The QM IDA Listserv provides QM IDA members with a forum for networking, support and sharing resources related to the instructional design profession. Its primary purpose is to encourage collaboration, informal mentorship and communication related to instructional design resources.
Instructions for Joining the Listserv:
- Verify your membership in the QM IDA: Visit MyQM. After logging in, select My Tools in the secondary navigation menu. Then select “IDA Search.” Use your name or email address as the search criterion. The search should produce your information if your membership is current.
- Once your membership is verified, request to join the QM IDA Listserv by filling out the short QM IDA Listserv form.
- It will take approximately three days for your information to be included in the ListServ system. You will receive a notification from the Google Group when you’ve been added.
