James Mackay MSc
Instructional Designer | E-Learning Specialist

Knowledge Banking

man with paper being poured in to his head

What’s wrong with despositing knowledge, or knowledge banking? It’s ineffective.
A holistic approach help make learning memorable and stick.
Read on to learn why they’re so different.

E-Learning and Maslow’s Needs

Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of Motivational Needs remains as relevant today as it did more than half a century ago. In this article I explore how we can meet learners needs within E-Learning to help get them into the learning zone.

Scrimba Courses Reviewed from an Instructional Designer Perspective

Scrimba courses offered on the Coursera.org platform

You can read my story of how I ended up taking the Scrimba courses in my article on why I learnt JavaScript. Whenever I undertake any learning, I always have a critical analysis hat on. I am looking at how they structure the course and how they present it. Scrimba courses were no exception to […]

Game over! Misuse and Abuse of Gamification

Screen showing classic arcade game scene with the words Game over.

This article explores why the application of game components is not gamification of learning. It also explores how this can have a serious negative effect on the quality of the learning that can be achieved.

Making Learning Bloom-ing Marvelous Again

After understanding the challenges of using Bloom’s Taxonomy James reimagines a new diagram. The new diagram helps address the challenges and makes it easier to use.

From Sage on the Stage
to Guide on the Side

The image shows an instructor presenting a powerpoint with confused students on the left, on the right an instructor is helping someone solve their problem to success.

Moving beyond traditional knowledge transfer and to more effective method of instruction.
In this article I explore the reasons for why I believe moving to a guide on the side approach is the right way to go.