Peer Review

Cathy Moore-Save the World with Boring Training

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Reviewed:: Mar 7, 2025 by Instructional Design and Technology

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Ratings

Overall Rating:

Content Quality:

Effectiveness:

Ease of Use:

Overview:

Training designer and expert Cathy Moore hosts a blog with numerous articles addressing a myriad of issues in training design. An excerpt from the About link follows: Cathy is an internationally recognized training designer dedicated to saving the world from boring instruction. She’s a passionate advocate for improving business performance by respecting and deeply challenging people.

Type of Material:

Workshop and Training Material, with an emphasis on workforce development.

Recommended Uses:

The site is geared more towards performance support as opposed to educational initiatives in a college/university setting; if you are in a corporate environment, it is worth studying her resources and reviewing the site.
If you support faculty in an school, college, or university setting, still look at Cathy's work. Today's workforce requires collaborative approaches, and it is helpful to learn more about the performance support piece. This becomes critical for designer or developers who wear more than one hat.

Technical Requirements:

The blog articles are easily accessed with an Internet browser.

Identify Major Learning Goals:

This resource is used best by instructional designers, technologists, trainers, and anyone who wants to start in the field or refresh their skills. Cathy Moore's blog is thought- provoking, incorporates resources (e.g., flowcharts, models, maps), and includes excellent examples of e-learning training.

Target Student Population:

College Lower Division, College Upper Division, Graduate School, Professional
Those desiring to enter instructional design/development and/or training & development will especially appreciate this site.

Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:

While prerequisites are not strictly required, a background in instructional design/education or instructional technology would be beneficial.

Content Quality

Rating:

Strengths:

The blog content is thought provoking. The "Action Mapping" material is especially helpful for training: http://blog.cathy-moore.com/action-mapping/
E-learning scenario examples are excellent (demonstrating good examples and tools used to build the projects).

Concerns:

There are paid and unpaid resources on the site; while the blog articles are free, they often to lead to information/links for resources (e.g., courses) that require a fee.

Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool

Rating:

Strengths:

The site provides an effective mix of advice and encouragement from an expert in training design.
If you're in higher education vs. corporate environment, there are differences in approaching course design or training. Cathy has an eloquent section on that point in her blog.

Concerns:

Higher education professionals who use elements of the blog in courses would want to develop an introduction, learning objectives, and discussion materials.

Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty

Rating:

Strengths:

The blog and website are professionally presented.
The layout of each page is consistent.
The site is easy to navigate and visually appealing.
The Action Mapping handouts are particularly well done.

Concerns:

None.

Other Issues and Comments:: This is a very well laid out website and a beneficial starting place for instructional designers.
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