Blog

Articles by Mark Diaz on instructional design, eLearning, and AI in learning and development.

• ADDIE Rewired, Phase 2: Design

  Part two of a five-part series on where AI actually fits in the process you already use. This is also Chapter 2 of the ebook.

• ADDIE Rewired: Driving the Analysis Phase with AI

  Most instructional designers only use AI during the development phase to write scripts or quiz questions. But starting there means skipping three critical phases where AI can actually handle your heaviest administrative workload. This post marks the launch of ADDIE Rewired, a five-part series exploring how to use AI as a workflow automation engine rather than just a generic content writer. We are kicking things off with the Analysis phase, looking at what AI can handle, what must remain strictly human, and how to use it to eliminate the documentation lag that kills project budgets.

• Articulate Storyline Web Objects: How to Build Stunning Custom eLearning UI with AI

  Learn how to use Articulate Storyline Web Objects with AI to build stunning custom interactions using Tailwind CSS and vector icons without coding.

• How to Build Custom eLearning Interactions in Articulate Storyline Using AI and Web Objects

  Learn how to use the Articulate Storyline Web Object feature with AI to build custom, responsive web apps and advanced interactions without coding.

• The Honest Bot: Why Saying 'I Don't Have That Information' Is the Right Answer

  AI hallucination prevention in eLearning keeps bots reliable by making them admit limits. Learn why honesty beats wrong answers in training content.

• We Keep Using AI for Us. What About the Learner?

  We're scared AI will replace us, but we keep using it to replace our own work. Maybe the smarter move is using AI for the learner, not just for us.

• Why LMS Search Fails Learners at the Moment They Need Help Most

  LMS knowledge retrieval problem hits when learners need quick answers during real work. Standard search tools fall short, leaving frustration instead of support.

• How to Explain AI Course Support to a Skeptical Stakeholder

  Struggling to make the AI in L&D business case? Learn a simple framework to show skeptical stakeholders why AI course support boosts learning without the hype.

• Maintaining Your Knowledge Base Is Part of the Design Job: A Guide for Instructional Designers

  Maintaining your knowledge base is part of the design job for instructional designers using AI bots in eLearning. Learn why it matters and how to handle upkeep without getting overwhelmed.

• The Real ROI of Embedding Help Inside Your eLearning Course

  Discover the ROI of in-course learning support: how it cuts costs, boosts completion rates, and delivers real business value without breaking your budget.

• One Knowledge Base, Multiple Courses: How to Reuse What You've Already Built

  Tired of rebuilding the same content for every eLearning course? A reusable knowledge base in eLearning lets you create once and deploy across courses, saving time and ensuring consistency.

• The Job Aid That Actually Gets Used: Why Conversation Beats the Static PDF

  Static PDFs sit unused while workers scramble for answers. An interactive job aid vs static PDF changes that by letting users ask questions and get instant replies from your content.

• How to Add an AI Chatbot to Your Articulate Storyline Course

  You can add an AI chatbot to a published Articulate Storyline course without the original .story file, without writing any code, and without changing anything in your LMS. This article explains how.

• SOPs as Smart Job Aids: Turning Reference Documents Into Tools That Answer Questions

  Standard operating procedures often sit unused as static reference documents. Turn your SOPs into smart job aids that answer questions instantly using AI, without generating new content.

• What Is a Smart Job Aid?

  A Smart Job Aid is a PDF document with a chatbot attached to it. Learners open it and use the bot to ask questions about its content — no searching, no emailing, no guessing. This post explains what a Smart Job Aid is, how it works, and when to use one.

• Why Completion Rates Look Fine But Learning Effectiveness Still Falls Short

  High completion rates feel like a win for L&D, but they often hide poor learning effectiveness. Learn why performance outcomes suffer and how to fix it for real transfer to job impact.

• The 'I'm Stuck' Moment: Building Learner Support Where They Quit

  Learners quit when they hit roadblocks without good learner support. Learn practical ways to design in-course help that reduces friction and keeps them moving.

• The Forgetting Curve Is Real: What L&D Can Do About It

  The Ebbinghaus forgetting curve training shows most new info vanishes fast without action. L&D pros can fight it with simple steps to boost knowledge retention.

• Onboarding Support That Ends 'Ask Your Buddy' Forever

  Tired of new hires relying on tenured employees for basic tasks? Build strong onboarding support to speed up ramp-up and cut confusion from day one.

• Stop Repeating Yourself: How to Reduce SME Time Without More Meetings

  Tired of endless SME meetings for the same questions? Learn practical ways to reduce SME time with self-serve learning that scales answers across your team.

• Learning in the Flow of Work Without Adding More Training

  Learning in the flow of work puts training resources exactly where employees need them, without pulling them away from their jobs. Here's how to build it.

• ISO 30422 Explained: L&D as a Loop, Not a Deliverable

  Most L&D still runs like a content factory: someone asks, we build, we track completion, we move on.

• Why Innovation Is Hard in L&D (And What Actually Helps)

  Innovation in L&D is not hard because we lack ideas.

• We Failed at Gamification in L&D, and We’re Doing It Again With AI

  The way we're using AI is wrong. Just like we did with gamification.