Shifting Goalposts: Lessons Learnt from the Experiences of Learning Designers Adaptating to the COVID-19 Pandemic and a Future Post-Pandemic Working Environment

This paper investigates the experiences of learning designers during their adaptation to the pandemic working environment. It narrates a collective story from seven learning designers who worked at different educational levels and geographical locations across the world. The findings suggest that, although the learning designers were ready for the pandemic emergency, the transition has not been smooth. The decreased timelines and an accelerated pace of work required them to embrace change, take on additional, significantly expanded responsibilities and adopt new ways of thinking about the design process. This study offers a unique contribution to exploring the challenges of being a learning designer during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the opportunities for post-pandemic adaptation. Furthermore, it has potential implication for directions which educational institutions could pursue, with regard to instructional design and course deployment, during and beyond the pandemic.