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Working Full Time and Managing the IDOL courses Academy

When you are balancing your full-time job and the IDOL courses Academy, you may feel an overwhelming onslaught of emotions. You are excited to learn something new! You see hopes of being able to leave your current job or level up in an instructional design role. It’s also easy to feel overwhelmed when you add something new to your plate. 

My goal is to share the lessons I learned and how I managed my time while working a full-time job along with several side jobs and a family.  It’s not a one size fits all approach by any means.  

  • Prioritize your time and figure out your WHY.

I knew when I signed up for the IDOL courses Academy, the time would fly by quickly.  But I didn’t realize how much I needed to prioritize my time in the Academy. My schedule was already jammed packed before I started the cohort, and trying to figure out how to fit it all in was a challenge.

I needed to focus on WHY I joined the IDOL courses Academy. For me,...

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Become an IDOL 33: Mindset for Teachers Making Career Changes with Teacher Career Coach Daphne Williams

podcast Apr 09, 2021

Guest: Daphne Williams, Teacher career coach

In this episode of becoming an IDOL, I’ll be chatting with Daphne Williams - Teacher Career Coach.

She will be sharing her experience of being a Teacher Career Coach. She is an educational consultant. We will be discussing what really started creating resources for teachers or finding different paths outside the classroom. We will be talking about mindset and strategies for deciding what's next!

If you are a new listener to become an IDOL, we would love to hear from you. Feel free to email [email protected].

In this episode we discuss:

  • Creating resources for teachers for finding different paths outside the classroom, and using different products for teachers.
  • Motivation, career advice and type of approach.
  • Facing different challenges and being the right fit for it, making the right choice by decisions.
  • Advice for making a career switch.

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Perfection Paralysis

 Many people strive to be perfect. Social norms push people to have this belief that we are less than if everything isn't perfect. Trying to reach perfection can be paralyzing, and most of the time, we do nothing.

Do you know what perfection paralysis is?

A defense mechanism. It protects you from being seen as less than or not seen as entirely perfect. Feelings are complex, and perfectionism paralysis could be similar to the fear of rejection. Don't expect to win the first prize trophy the first time you do something. Practice doesn't make you perfect. Practice makes you better. Better than you were the first day you started. The work you produce the first year you are an instructional designer will probably be a little embarrassing the fifth year in your career (keep a copy to compare). This is called growth, and it's the best part of life.

Perfectionism paralysis comes in many forms for instructional designers:

  1. Primarily the Inability to start
  2. Fear of putting your work...
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Visual Design Part 1: How to Get Started

 

When I was interviewing for my first Instructional Designer job, I was asked many times about what I thought were the three most important things that made an eLearning course good. There’s really a lot that I could have listed. However, I always mentioned good visual design as one of the crucial things to get right. And they agreed.

For several reasons. I am only going to focus on two.

We know that first impressions matter. Besides, many times our learners are not really excited about taking the course, even if it’s not compliance training. So we don’t want to make a bad impression and possibly alienate them. They say “don’t judge a book by its cover”, but when we are browsing for a book, a film, or even a new beverage, we form an opinion based on the visuals. Have you ever decided against watching a film just because the graphics looked off? We need to gain the learners’ interest, not put them off. 

The other reason is that...

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Spill The Tax Tea To New ID Contractors & Freelancers

 Few of us ever test our powers of deduction, except when filling out an income tax form. ~ Laurence J. Peter

Currently, it’s Tax Season 2021. During this time of the year, some are ecstatic to anticipate a nice tax refund, while others dread paying a balance due to the IRS. Nonetheless, most people will prepare and file their annual income tax returns by the traditional due date of April 15. However, if you are new to instructional design (ID) and you are an independent contractor or freelancer, there are several important things you must consider when filing your income tax this year. Let me “spill some tax tea'' to you.

As previously shared on this Become an IDOL podcast, during my transitional period of becoming an IDOL, I worked as a tax professional for one of the major tax prep companies (and I still do as a side hustle...shhhhh!). When I filed my tax return recently, even with the increased earned income thanks to my current ID contractual job I gained...

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How to Use Any Technology

 Here’s something funny: 6 months ago, when I enrolled with the IDOL courses Academy, I didn’t know what HTML was. It’s funny, because, looking back, I still can’t believe how little I knew about technology. 

Two months later, I didn’t only fill that gaping hole about HTML, but I was copying CSS and Javascript codes to modify things on my website and add special functions to my Storyboard course. 

In two short, but very busy months, I built two websites with Google Sites, created videos with Powtoon, Camtasia, Biteable, and Vyond and I developed interactive courses with Genial.ly, Rise, and Storyline. None of which I had known much about before. I had not even heard of Canva, Visme, or Snagit either, yet I was now effortlessly designing images for my assets.

I am not here to boast. My point is that if I could do that, anyone can and I am happy to share some tips.

 

FIND SOME TIME

I think the best way to learn any tech is to find...

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My ID Love Affair with YouTube

Inspired by a social media post by IDOL Course Academy Alumna, Santana Kennedy.

Video informs and entertains people, and, good or bad, today most people prefer to watch a video rather than read a page of text. ~ Lisa Lubin

We know what Youtube is and we know how popular it is. But how can we IDOLs leverage the power of this awesome video-sharing platform? To some degree, it is necessary to use Youtube to advance ourselves professionally. 

Personally, I love YouTube in and outside of my work as an IDOL. In fact, I wouldn’t be an IDOL without it. It’s free, easy to use, and accessible; plus, you can reach a lot of people if used properly. I am confident that other professionals relied too on YouTube to view, create, learn, sell, and sometimes entertain themselves with the video content provided on there. 

 

Let me share some mind-blowing statistics on how powerful YouTube is.

  • Videos are a consumers’ favorite type of content from a brand on...
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Am I Doing This Right?: IDOL Lessons Learned

 Hindsight is 20/20. Coincidentally 2020, is the year I decided to pivot and fully immerse myself into a career transition in instructional design. I joined IDOL Academy in September 2020. This wasn’t my first trip down the “what else can I possibly do with my career experience and education background” road. Years ago, I started an expensive certification course, which I enjoyed, but I had an opportunity to join a new school, develop a new program, and get paid more so I had to put that on hold. The new opportunity also brought out the same issues I’ve had with my career that made me want to jump ship the first time: burnout, limited career growth, feeling undervalued, and siloed in my classroom. Why did I do this? 

Starting IDOL courses Academy was the best decision I made to start my career transition journey. But it has not been the most of smooth ride for me. Working full time, parenting full time, and squeezing in the IDOL coursework is...

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Get Noticed. Get Hired.

Uncategorized Feb 11, 2021

 The Public Education world has become an increasingly difficult space to be in lately. The Covid-19 pandemic turned it on its head in March 2020. Teachers had to immediately shift gears by teaching virtually and creating online lessons with NO TRAINING. Although stressful, many thought it would be temporary, and classes would be back to normal by next school year. So, they powered through. Things have not returned to normal. Despite the pandemic’s presence, teachers face more challenges because schools reopened. Teachers are teaching face-to-face while simultaneously teaching virtually, teaching virtually and face-to-face separately, or some other ridiculous hybrid. If there wasn’t teacher burnout before, there certainly is now. Teachers are leaving in droves. Weekly I have teachers reaching out to me on LinkedIn to ask me how I made it out. How did I make the transition? Or, to share how they have been applying for Instructional Design positions but...
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The Importance of Accountability Groups & Peer Review

Accountability is the glue that bonds commitment with results. ~ Will Craig

Starting out in instructional design a person may feel overwhelmed and lost. But there are secret weapons you can employ to help you reach your goal: Accountability Groups & Peer Review.

I was part of the the IDOL courses Academy's 4th cohort (June 2020). While I received lots of support and encouragement from the IDOL courses community and my peers, I would have not made much progress without my IDOL accountability group. They were divinely-sent as we all journeyed together to become IDOLs. They became a part of my success and I was to theirs. Even now, we still remain in contact with each other regularly. 

So, I want to share four benefits I’ve gained from being a part of an accountability group in the IDOL courses Academy:

1. Similar Starting Point - My IDOL accountability group consists of myself and four other ladies from different parts of the country. We all had little to no...

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