Luke Hobson has done it all. Not only is he the Assistant Director of xPRO Instructional Design at MIT and a lecturer at the University of Miami School of Education and Human Development, but Luke also writes books, hosts podcasts, blogs, publishes newsletters, produces videos on YouTube, and seems to know everyone in our field.
I asked Luke if he would be willing to drop all of these commitments and projects to answer my question, and he graciously agreed.
Q: How did your career progress from individual learning design contributor to leadership roles at your institution and as a thought leader and creator in learning, technology, and design? What advice do you have for others in our field who want to increase their impact on campus and nationally?
one: I have a bit of an obsession with our field. I still find it amazing that, in order to make a living, I started caring about designing learning experiences. Interestingly, I had no idea this field existed until I met an instructional designer in 2013. When I learned this was a career, I jumped at it. This obsessive mindset stayed with me as I became a staff writer at Northeastern University and later MIT. I want to find every possible way to create the most effective and meaningful courses and programs.
Through my few successes and many, many failures, I learned a thing or two along the way, and I decided to start sharing those stories online. It started by answering questions in a Facebook group and eventually turned into a blog, a podcast, a YouTube channel, a book and more. Through sharing these moments, I discovered my love for instructional design. This led me to take a leadership role at MIT and build a team of instructional designers. This also led me to teach in the online Ed.D. program at the University of Miami. program. Being able to teach future leaders the science of learning is a very rewarding experience.
The best advice I can give is to share. Share everything. Share your wins. Share your losses. Share your moments of glory. Share a time when you fell to the ground. People appreciate transparency. That’s how I built my brand online and my presence at MIT. I didn’t realize how much of an impact I was making until multiple faculty members mentioned following me on LinkedIn and asking how they could hire an instructional designer for their teams. It’s amazing to see the growth of ID here from when I first started until now.
Another step you can take today is building your network. Dig a well before you get thirsty. You mentioned that I seemed to know everyone in our field, and I laughed, thinking back to a time when I didn’t know anyone in instructional design. The pandemic was an eye-opener for me: everyone was stuck at home and only on Zoom, so I took advantage of that. I connect people on LinkedIn for virtual coffee chats, invite them to join my podcast, host webinars for universities and companies, and more. All of this is about meeting people. If you want to make an impact, you can’t do it alone. You need support from others, and there’s no better community than Learning Nerds.
Q: Your Ed.D. Be in a position of educational leadership. Please tell us about your program and how completing a terminal degree in this field has impacted your career. For our community of non-teacher educators (learning nerds), what advice do you have for pursuing a PhD while working?
one: I’m thankful that I got a very good doctorate in education. experience. I have to give all the credit in the world to Dr. Peg Ford for what she did at Southern New Hampshire University. I was on the fence about pursuing this degree, but after talking to students at the time, I felt like this was the right place for me. The program builds on the core foundations of a cohort-based model and develops strong links with other members. Dr. Ford understands the dangers and curveballs that life throws at you when pursuing a PhD, and how these challenges can easily lead you to fall into the trap of ABD. It didn’t take long to discover that she was absolutely right. Our peers face major life events—loss of a loved one, taking on a new role, having a baby, moving to a new city, and more. Through it all, we are united.
What I appreciate most about my Ed.D. degree in local educational leadership is the range of educators I meet. From business school professors to special education teachers, deans to supervisors, I had the opportunity to hear a variety of perspectives on education and what it means to support students and educators. I was introduced to the good, the bad and the ugly. By absorbing all of these voices, I was able to apply their teachings and life lessons to my own learning experiences. That program shaped me into the educator I am today.
What surprises me the most is that I now teach online. University of Miami Applied Learning Sciences Program. I often share the same message with my students about coming together as a group and how those bonds will help them get through tough times. Although Dr. Ford is no longer involved in the project at SNHU, my dissertation chair, Dr. Audrey Rodgers, is now leading the project. I recently had the opportunity to speak with current students and it’s great to see how much the program has grown since I graduated.
Here’s something I wish I’d known before doing a PhD: It’s definitely possible, but it will be the hardest thing you’ll ever do. There is a reason why only a small percentage of people hold the title of doctor. No matter which school you go to, it’s going to be difficult. But in my opinion, it’s worth it. I knew I wanted to work in academia, and after talking to several colleagues, they all recommended that I go back to graduate school. Every role I want in the future will require a PhD in education. or a PhD, so that was the logical choice.
That being said, as a professional, your first step should be to find a program that fits your needs. Not all programs are created equal. After all, you will be committing at least three to seven years of your life to this institution, so it’s important to choose wisely. due diligence. Contact the agency and ask as many questions as you can. Watch the planning webinar. Look up currently enrolled students on LinkedIn and ask for a quick chat about their experience. Connect with teachers and administrators. Read online reviews. Before embarking on this journey, make an extra effort.
Once you find a plan that fits your goals, my best advice is to create a system that works for your life. Your schedule must change to make room for classwork, research, lectures, readings, and everything else. For me, this means starting my days early. I find myself constantly distracted during the day, so I decide to get up before everyone else. Surprisingly, it worked. Once you find the right system, it needs to be sanctified and made a priority. I also rely heavily on the Pomodoro Technique to stay focused and on track. If you haven’t used the Learn With Me videos on YouTube, you’re missing out. Anything that helps you get into a flow state is key.
I know your question is about going back to school while working, but honestly, working hasn’t been the hardest part of my academic journey. For me, it’s family and social life. The work will always be there. But it’s hard when you start missing family events, birthdays, and social events. By the end of my thesis, I essentially became a hermit. It’s the only way I can stay focused and achieve my goals.
Q: The growth of online courses has increased the need for learning designers. We professionals fear that in the (near) future, artificial intelligence will be able to do most of the work that learning designers have traditionally done. How worried should learning designers be? What steps can they take to ensure they are not replaced by AI?
one: Ah yes, that’s the million dollar question. Interestingly, I had been designing AI courses long before the generative AI boom, but I never anticipated that AI would enter our field. In healthcare, drug discovery or 3D printing? certainly. But what about instructional design? This idea has never occurred to me. Yet here we are.
Let’s break down your question a little bit, starting with concerns about artificial intelligence. You see this happening in waves. A new breakthrough will occur, there will be massive chaos online, and within a few weeks, it will be gone. AI tools will continue to evolve and become more useful, but humans will still be needed to drive the buses. AI can’t do everything for you. I think this is where a lot of policymakers get confused. Everyone is trying to add artificial intelligence to their products, but do people really want these features? The answer is often no.
Artificial intelligence helps inspire creativity. But if you were a student and found out that your entire course was generated by artificial intelligence rather than created by humans, you might be outraged.
Reddit is a great source of insight in this regard. You’ll find post after post from students who are deeply concerned about how AI is being used, whether by classmates or professors. LL.M.s tend to have a certain tone and style. It’s hard to describe exactly, but the writing often feels off. Unnatural. Artificial intelligence isn’t magical, even though that’s exactly how marketers describe it. LLM works by predicting patterns based on data and trying to say the next most likely thing to please the user. In many cases, this doesn’t make sense.
Now, on to the second part of the question: What can instructional designers do to ensure they are not replaced?
We do what we’ve always done. We learn. Be the person on your team who knows the ins and outs of AI best. For many people, artificial intelligence still feels like a black box, and understandably so. But if you know which tool does what and how to use them to enhance your designs, ensure accessibility, create flexible learning paths, convert content into different formats, and produce compelling visuals, you’ll be well ahead.
You will also encounter limitations of these tools when conducting experiments. When you see where AI fails, you’ll feel more secure about your place in this evolving environment. It’s not there yet. Getting an entire industry to adopt something at scale, especially something as complex as artificial intelligence, is a daunting task.
