Roadmap to Nowhere

Sam Harold says we need to imitate, not emulate.

You’ve seen them everywhere in e-learning: the beautifully designed roadmaps, charting a learner’s journey. They’re visually appealing, a refreshing take on course navigation. But are they truly guiding your learners, or are you inadvertently building a “Roadmap to Nowhere” – a visually impressive yet hollow design that fails to deliver genuine understanding?

Emulation vs. Imitation: A Crucial Distinction

Do you know the difference? We rely on others’ knowledge to navigate our environments and achieve success. “Monkey see, monkey do” is foundational to learning. Individuals witness success and emulate it, hoping for the same results. Seeing someone use a stick to gather food, they might repeat the motions. This focuses solely on the end result, often missing the technique’s true importance.

Imitation learning, however, focuses on the actions themselves. The individual copies behaviour without direct focus on immediate reward. This leads to deeper understanding of actions and environment, a main way humans pass on information.

In e-learning, many designers emulated successful “roadmaps” by simply copying the visual layout, assuming similar engagement. This is emulation – focusing on the attractive result without understanding why it worked. True imitation would involve analysing why that roadmap was effective (e.g., integrated narrative elements, clear progression), then adapting those principles to unique content and audience, not just copying the visual.

Seeking a Destination, Not Understanding the Journey

These learning patterns apply broadly. When observing success, it’s hard not to prioritise the desired end result, to emulate. But this pulls us from context. Failing to understand a process prevents us from truly imitating it.

The ubiquitous roadmap in instructional design is a prime example. While initially successful as a refreshing narrative and visual communication, does it truly blend into your design, or is it just a pretty visual? Are you an emulator or an imitator? Copying the formula doesn’t guarantee success. What worked in one context may not apply elsewhere, especially in an industry of copycats.

Perhaps we miss something vital by prioritising the end result of creative design, not the creative steps to innovation. To capture success, understand it fully by imitating its practice. Avoid adopting designs from results; instead, take inspiration from practice. Otherwise, you risk building a Roadmap to Nowhere.

Shandification: When Learning Becomes the Story

Metaphors and characterisation elevate a story. When a metaphor is used for its own sake, it distracts from the core message, alienating learners. We must learn from emulation’s mistakes. Narratives, visuals, and stories facilitating learning shouldn’t be based on arbitrary past examples. Emulation won’t give us engaged, passionate learners.

Shandification is an internet term referring to when all aspects of a story’s setting are answered within the narrative of that story, so that divide between setting and story dissolve, becoming seamlessly intertwined. The world becomes the story, and the story is the world. In e-learning, Shandification would be when the subject matter and the learning narrative likewise become inseparable. The learning content isn’t just decorated by its story; it is the story, and the setting of that story is intrinsically woven into the learning.

A “Roadmap to Nowhere” is Shandification’s antithesis: a disconnected visual metaphor, distracting and meaningless. It’s a visual for its own sake, not to enhance learning.

This applies to all design elements: badges, progression, characters. If elements don’t blend with the subject, how can learners imitate and achieve deep understanding? How do your learning elements become your narrative?

Imitation limits both designers and learners. We need to achieve true understanding for our learners. Narrative and learning, joined together, uplift experience. Reflect on your subject. Make designs bolster it by asking: Why do learners need this knowledge? What does it facilitate? What are the consequences and benefits? Why learn this? Answers to these questions reveal concepts for blending learning and narrative.

Final Words

No single solution fits all, but the rewards of meaningful learning are life-changing. That is the true purpose of all learning: to upskill our understanding and bestow the power to make a difference.

The path of learning should be one of genuine understanding, not merely a visually appealing but ultimately empty destination. So, what road are you paving for your learners? Are you charting a course for real impact, or are you, perhaps unknowingly, building a “Roadmap to Nowhere”?

Sam Harold is an Instructional Designer and Moodle Developer.