The instructional designer in mode of distance learning

It is increasingly clear that Distance Education came to promote a new educational paradigm in society (MORAN, 2011). Because of this, studies related to this area, both to contribute new proposals, as to point out the actions that are in deficit, become extremely important. A proposal to expand the field of distance education is the area of Instructional Design, which can be seen as a body of knowledge focused on the research and theorizing of instructional strategies (FILATRO, 2008). To carry out this work emerges the instructional designer professional. Thus, this article compiles the results of the of the monographic research entitled "The Instructional Designer in mode of distance Learning" that aimed to investigate the importance of the presence of this professional in designing a higher education course in distance mode. The methodology chosen was qualitative research the type exploratory, and technique used of synchronous and asynchronous online focus group for data collection. Research has shown that the main focus of the performance of the instructional designer rests on the possibility to foment real and effective learning for students of higher education in virtual learning environments.