Evaluating Instructional Design

Every design has a functionality and purpose.

The purpose of the design is two-fold: The purpose of the author of the design and the purpose of the user of the design

The functionality of a design leads users to select the design based on the criteria of their design project. However, as Krippendorf has stated, the author of the design can only design as far as helping the user not to misunderstand the intended use of the design. The user is free to manipulate any design to meet their need.

Every design is theory-associative. This means that while it may not have been intentionally developed from a theoretical framework, it can be associated with theory based on its purpose and functionality, or even by the way that users use it.

Understanding these principles should enable designers to begin creating new instructional design models based on their particular theories and needs at any given time. Flexibility in thinking and design is necessary due to the incredibly dynamic and complex interactions that must be considered in the development of any kind of instruction.