AI hype versus real ID

0:00 You know, gosh, if you've been on LinkedIn or social media or, I don't know, the internet in general for more than five minutes over the past year or so, then you have been hit right in the middle of the face with all of the AI hype out there, right? We hear claims of one-click course creation, or build an entire training in 30 seconds, or even replace your entire instructional design team with a single tool, right? We've heard it all.

0:40 And when you hear claims like that, I don't know about you, but it kind of makes you roll your eyes because if you've, if you've ever actually done the work in this industry, in the real world, then you know it's really not that simple. And, you know, good instructional design requires judgment and context and trade-offs and decision-making, even when you're using AI, right? Now, yeah, there are a lot of AI-powered e-learning authoring tools on the market right now.

1:20 And to be honest, a lot of them are just kind of, I don't know, Chat GPT with a prettier interface wrapped around them, right? But you know what, there's this newer tool that I've been experimenting with that's taking a more intentional approach. And that tool's called Mindsmith. Now, Mindsmith is an e-learning authoring tool that applies generative AI across the entire development process. And what I appreciate most is that it's designed to support better instructional design decisions, not replace them.

2:20 While still giving you full control to edit and refine and shape what you create with it. Now, before we dive in, I do want to mention that the folks at Mindsmith are sponsoring our March 2026 Design Challenge inside the E-Learning Designers Academy. So, if after watching this video, you want to try Mindsmith for yourself, maybe you want to build a new sample of work for your portfolio and enter to win not just a $100 Amazon gift card, but also a free year of Mindsmith and a brand new iPad Air.

3:00 I know it's crazy, all courtesy of the team at Mindsmith, then check out the details down below. And when you go to sign up for Mindsmith, make sure to enter Tim Slade as a coupon code to get three months off completely free. All right, let's jump in and see what's possible with Mindsmith. All right, so here I am on the Mindsmith webpage and, um, you know, I got to tell you, their tagline right here on the front of the page is create better e-learning faster, and I have to tell you playing around with Mindsmith over the last couple of weeks or so, that has definitely been the case and I can't wait for you to see some of the really cool and impressive things that you can do with this tool.