At the start of the semester, we had to provide an introductory statement about ourselves our classes.  In one particular response, a question was asked, “How is Instructional Design and Technology will be of use to a Minister of Music?” When I inform people that I am in graduate school, and I tell them my path of study, it’s a similar question. “What are you going to do with your degree?” My initial thought is, “I have to do an instructional design daily.” As the Minister of Music, I have more of an administrative role as opposed to a performance role. I solve a LOT of problems. I must mobilize hundreds of people. My level of success in mobilizing them is how many questions there are after I have given instruction. There are times that I am confronted with a challenge to lead a project that is outside of my job title.

              What I have found most useful are the case studies. It is interesting to receive various perspectives on these cases from my colleagues. In the case with Jackie, we had to identify her steps in her design project. I was able to view how essential design elements would need to be addressed in each of the design phases. One may have to determine which design phase is necessary to accomplish the client’s needs. In the case of Leipig, I realized the importance of the Audience Analysis. Identifying your audience will be the guiding force of your design project. It was interesting to hear some of the contrived learner profiles from my colleagues. While I focused on senior leadership, I listened to another classmate focus on the factory workers. This would create two different Instructional Designs.

              So, I return to the question, how does Instructional Design benefit “the Minister of Music”? In my position, I must motivate people to execute a large amount of work. Yes, music is the core of my department. However, there are policies and procedures that our volunteers must adhere to. I have found that people are more inclined to do what they understand as opposed to what they are demanded. We must evaluate continually are effectiveness. If there is a significant change in the organization, we must provide instruction modules to educate the importance of the change. For me, I can not only use this field of study in my current profession but also in future endeavors.