Becoming an Instructional Designer: Software Skills Needed to Be Successful at Instructional Design
Many aspiring instructional designers know and understand the concept of instructional design, but aren't quite sure of the software tools needed to achieve the results. There are several software tools I use on the job daily as an ID. In this blog, I will talk about the ones I feel every instructional designer should learn based on my personal experiences.
- Articulate 360 is a one-stop collaboration tool for you to design, collaborate, and review eLearning courses. It includes two of the most popular course creation apps, Storyline and Rise 360. It also consists of the Review 360 app, which allows you to collaborate with others on projects. I particularly use Review 360 daily as a way for...
Embrace Your Inner Child: How to Approach Being New to Instructional Design with Childlike Wonder
- I don’t know how to do any of this.
- I am too embarrassed to show my work to people.
- I’m not good enough.
Being new sucks.
You are just beginning to learn the rules that everyone else appears to have mastered. The list of things you don’t know seems never-ending. You are taking in as much information as you can, yet your output is subpar. Plus, you don’t get the inside jokes and are not even sure if you fit in.
Being new can be so uncomfortable, embarrassing, and sometimes demoralizing...except if you’re a toddler.
Then being new is liberating!
You get to be bad, really bad, at things, and still be proud of your efforts.
You get to experiment without worrying whether you look presentable doing it.
You get to fail miserably and repeatedly without fear of judgment.
Even when you literally fall on your face, you give yourself the grace to make mistakes and...
The Magic Question that Simplified my ID Process
You are starting on a new instructional design project and just read the project outline. You are half-excited and half-worried that you may not meet expectations. You decide to silence that voice first. You get into your design space, and you start thinking: Okay, I got the learning outcomes, and the intended business goals but:
- I should probably follow what's on the books this time.
- "A" from ADDIE. That's my lifesaver.
- Let me google first what others might have done. It isn’t cheating because I am just looking for some inspiration. ;)
Let's face it. If you have done your instructional design homework, you have probably concluded there are a LOT of ID frameworks out there. As part of the IDOL courses Academy, I got to take a dive into the 7 most commonly used instructional design models.
I thought : "That's it! I got into the backstage, got the tricks of the trade now, let me start designing and developing." I quickly realized I should be very selective in how I...
The Resume Game: An Engineer’s Approach
Anyone who has been in an active job search recently knows how frustrating it can be. As job seekers, we are playing a very serious game, against thousands of other seekers, and we don’t really know the rules the companies are playing by. We look for – we need – ways to ensure that every resume we send reaches the audience and makes an impact.
The Gatekeeper
Long ago, at the beginning of my career, the job search process was straightforward: you found a job listing in a newspaper classified ads, typed a resume to give your qualifications and appeal to the hiring manager, sent it to the address in the ad, and waited.
The significant shift came with the rise of internet job sites . These sites made it so easy to apply for jobs that companies were overwhelmed with the response. The same technology that caused the overwhelm was harnessed to filter applications so that only the most relevant or most qualified applications reached the humans.
This technology...
Dear Corporate L&D: You're Missing Out
You are missing out!
There is a talent pool ripe for the picking you are overlooking and dismissing too quickly. These talented people are already equipped with the skill-set needed to be successful as an Instructional Designer (ID).
Who are they? They are educators looking to join the corporate world using the experience and knowledge they already possess.
As a former public school teacher, it was difficult for me to break into the corporate world even though I already had the ID skills.
I encountered many companies that seem to lack an understanding of how an educator’s experience, education, and skill-set can easily transfer into the corporate ID world. Therefore, passing on very qualified candidates.
I’ve found flaws in your reasons for rejection. I challenge you to take a look at your reasons to say no and indulge me with my reasons to say yes.
Your Reasons for Rejection:
- “You don’t...
Credentialed Program Options for Aspiring IDOLs
When you want to land your first corporate instructional design and online learning developer job, there are several options for programs that want to help you get there. To help you research the options available and make a decision based on the requirements you need, I’ve created a table. Before I share the table, I want to share the job application assets and skills you need before you even start to apply. This way, you’ll know what you should look for in a program before you enroll.
- EXPERIENCE. You’ll need experience in instructional design. I know this gets really frustrating for many who want to transition into this career field because they ask, “how can I get experience if they won’t hire someone without experience?” And while there are several workaround answers to this question, the fact remains that you can’t get around the requirement for experience. Does the program add to the experience section on your resume?
- Job...
Becoming an Instructional Designer: How I Completed My Portfolio in 45 Days
How did I do this?
Many instructional design hiring managers state one of the first things they look for when it comes to the hiring process is the candidate’s portfolio of work samples. In this blog, I will discuss my 45-day journey to completing my instructional design portfolio and landing a job with the help of IDOL courses Academy.
What is an...
Getting Into Instructional Design: Where Do I Start?
Are you at a point in your career where you are looking for a change? Are you looking for something new, but you can’t transfer your current skills? Or your school went remote, and in your research about working from home and creating online courses, you learned about instructional design as a career option. Then I am speaking to you!
IDOL courses is the sponsor of the Become an Instructional Designer and Online Learning (IDOL) Developer Facebook group. When a person joins, there are 3 questions you need to answer, so owner Robin Sargent can provide content and help those who have the goal of becoming an IDOL or advance their career.
- Are you looking for a career change, or are you an instructional design expert looking to help and mentor new instructional designers?
- What is your instructional design experience?
- What are your challenges? What keeps you stuck from becoming an IDOL? Or what would you like to learn from this group?
Today, I want to...
Degrees Don't Get You an IDOL Job, Experience Does
- “Hey professor, I thought I made it clear that I did not want to teach children.”
- “What in the heck are all these new terms and authoring tools: LMS, Articulate Storyline, Adobe Captivate, Vyond, Lectora, stakeholders, and so on?”
- “I can’t afford to spend another dollar.“
- “How is this lady going to help me when my master’s degree has not done the job?”
I searched through the online college catalog for a major in the master's program with no certification requirements, and where my bachelor's degree might meet the criteria for admittance. All I knew was that I wanted to educate adults in a way that would impact their lives with stability and growth. One program grabbed my undivided attention, and it was Instructional Technology Design and Development. Once I read the description and the classes needed to earn my degree, I felt compelled to step into this program with both feet.
At the beginning of the...
