Alumna Lesli Woodruff: Creating Training that Keeps the Pace with Rapidly Changing Technology

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Lesli Woodruff at work. The arrows point toward a copy of Bloom’s Taxonomy and other instructional design tools she uses on daily basis.

Lesli Woodruff, a 2012 graduate of the ID Program, works as an instructional designer for Nuance Communications, the company behind speech recognition technology, the likes of which are found in mobile devices, car navigation systems and various medical transcription systems. “In this industry the technology and tools are always changing,” explains Lesli. “Quick turn-around, micro-modules are becoming more common and training needs to be scenario-based and immediately relevant to the learner. But no matter the changes in technology, the fundamentals of adult learning and the design methodologies taught in the Instructional Design Program are things I rely upon every day.” Her advice for current students, “Don’t underestimate core courses like 601 and 602. They provide a foundation for everything else you can build upon and adapt, but also know that you will be a life-long learner and need to keep current on the newest tools and technology.”

Lesli graduated from the Instructional Design Masters of Education Graduate Program in December of 2012. She found her current job through a posting on the GIDA website:  Graduate Instructional Design Association website and works with two other ID Program graduates, Leslie Combe and Sandra Tranfaglia.  Lesli provided a link to a brief elearning module explaining what her team of instructional designers do at Nuance.  Please see this link to learn more:  https://lms.nuance.com/content/portfolio/story.html