Hello, this is Kristi Oliva and Veronica Reed. We each come from different backgrounds and have taken different paths to where we are today, but we have both worked hard and are now proud to be starting new roles as IDOLs. Through this blog/vlog we will be sharing with you what it is like as new IDOLs. We will shed light on our journey from the first day to day 90 and tell you what happens behind the scenes when you land your first ID role.

We hope that our experience can help others have the confidence to apply for and land that IDOL role without doubting their abilities.

Kristi:

I come from a teaching background. After 12 years of teaching, I knew that it wasn’t what I wanted to do anymore. Even though I wanted to switch careers, I didn’t know what I was qualified for. I honestly thought my only options were to either become a school administrator, or get my PhD and teach at a university. Neither of which really got me excited. 

While doing a job...

 I was very excited when I was asked to be part of a large, high profile project. We were asked to redesign a New Hire Training (NHT) that traditionally was done face-to-face and took approximately five weeks to complete.  The redesign was an innovative concept to the company, and the reason it became such a high profile. Everyone wanted to know how the new concept would work. We developed a blended learning course for NHT, which reduced training time to only 3 weeks. 

You are probably thinking – Blended learning is nothing new. It has been a valid teaching strategy for years. However, my new company had been solely creating facilitator-led training before this. We were finally breaking into more modernized training methods.

This was going to be my very first...

Are you a perfectionist?

Are you struggling to build your first portfolio?

Do you feel like you're spinning your wheels and not getting anywhere?

STOP! Right where you are. Save yourself wasted time and effort by learning from my mistakes.

Here are some revelations I had while working on my portfolio:

Set realistic expectations for what your portfolio should look like based on your current abilities and experience as an instructional designer. If you are new to the field, aim to demonstrate your proficiency and understanding, instead of skill and expertise.

While the portfolios of experts and leading industry practitioners are great sources of inspiration, your portfolio will likely not look like theirs. As a novice, you do not have the experience to create a portfolio equivalent to the portfolios that took others years and sometimes a decade-plus to work up to.

Here are some examples of what your first portfolio website might look like:

Christine Prince

Bonnie Lou Davis

...

Published: August 12, 2020

Episode: 21

Zsolt Olah, Author of Engage the WORL&D! 

In this episode, I’ll be chatting with Zsolt Olah about his journey and advice for becoming a learning designer.  Zsolt just wrote a comprehensive guide on becoming a learning designer and we dig into his research and findings. Listen to Zsolt share some great tips for those looking to enter the learning and development world.

Zsolt Olah is a creative learning consultant at Kineo with over 15 years of L&D experience. Zsolt is a frequent speaker at learning conferences on the subject of engagement and game thinking for L&D. He is also the author of the book, Engage the WORL&D!, exploring six essential traits of instructional design. 

If you are a new listener to Become an IDOL, we would love to hear from you.  Please visit our Contact Page and let us know how we can help you today!

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Virtual Instructor-led Training

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to attend a Digital Encounter from the Central Florida ATD Chapter with special guest Jo Cook and Mike Cook.  Jo and Mike are a brother and sister team from the United Kingdom who are experts in the virtual classroom and webinar facilitation.

 Jo was a dynamic speaker who showed in practice how to facilitate...

See this post by Roshon Goode: "Degrees Don't Get You an IDOL Job, Experience Does."  To prove you have the experience, you need a portfolio. And to create a portfolio, you have to be working as an ID.

Or do you?

Building a portfolio is something I never had to think about in my 15 years as a classroom teacher. It isn't easy to know where to start! But the IDOL courses Academy takes you through each step of the process. When building a portfolio, most people use their past experience and past projects. But since I was coming from K-12 and wanted to move into corporate, none of my previous work samples would do.

Here are my suggestions and experience with building real portfolio pieces without having an ID job.

1. Reach out

Once I began my journey to becoming an ID, I told my...

The Show is the preceding event to The Learning Conference, which is happening online from August 3^rd to 5^th 2020.  They have got a fantastic lineup of speakers. If you have the time, you should join in the...

1. Get familiar with the major theories of how people learn.

Before you can apply a theory, you need to understand it. In most learning design graduate programs you’ll get to deep dive into learning theories like behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism and others, but you don’t have to join a graduate program to do this. IDOL courses Academy includes bite-sized modules on the major theories you’ll need to know as a learning designer. A good test for whether you’re familiar with a learning theory is whether you can describe it simply, with the kind of language you might use when chatting with a...

Published: June 29th , 2020

Episode: 20

Clint Clarkson, Founder at eLearning Alchemy

In this episode, I’ll be chatting with Clint Clarkson about feedback for instructional designers. In our industry feedback comes from many places. Being able to give and receive feedback is a skill. Listen to Clint share how to give and receive feedback like a pro.

If you are a new listener to Become an IDOL, we would love to hear from you.  Please visit our Contact Page and let us know how we can help you today!

Subscribe & Review in iTunes

Are you subscribed to my podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode. I'll be publishing a new episode every two weeks and if you’re not subscribed there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on those. Click here to subscribe in iTunes!

Now if you’re feeling extra loving, I would be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too....

What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you read these two words: design identity?

If you are thinking this is just an alternative way of referring to your brand or brand identity, you’re wrong. 

Here’s why:

Your brand is how people perceive you.

“A brand is the recognizable feeling a product or business evokes...They live in the minds of everyone who experiences them.”

---Brian Lischer

Your brand identity is how you want to be perceived and what you create to influence that perception (logos, color palette, etc). 

“Brand identity is the collection of all elements that a company creates to portray the right image to its consumer.”

---Deanna deBara

Your design identity is who you are as an instructional designer. 

 “Know, first, who you are, and then adorn yourself accordingly.”

---Epictetus

To discover your design identity is to undergo self-discovery without the pressure to live...