How I learned to love feedback and how you can, too.
The first step...
I Landed My First Corporate Instructional Designer Role! Now What?
After a few phone interviews with recruiters, I finally received an invitation to have an in-person interview. Immediately, I went from excitement to shock. Well, my thoughts were, “How am I going to convince the interview panel that my previous teaching experience is transferable? How do I NOT talk about my teaching experience? Will my instructional design experience in the school district even matter? I placed my fears aside and sent Dr. Robin Sargent an email, informing her that I had an upcoming interview. She reminded me to use the resources in the IDOL Academy and provided me with a few interview questions to ask.
During the interview, I was able to speak confidently about how my teaching experience, graduate and specialist...
Learn from my WordPress Mistake
Growing up, I was raised with the premise a mistake is only a mistake if you do not learn something from it. Oh boy, did I learn a lesson when it came to starting my WordPress website for my business. <<Poof>> $300 gone because I didn’t realize the difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org (more on that in a bit).
Whether you are starting a business or building your first portfolio there are many options out there where it comes to website and hosting services. You can choose a plug and play website builder such as Wix, Weebly, or take your pick of the countless options. When I was in my Master’s program at Full Sail University, I created an Adobe Portfolio as part of my program because it is included in the Adobe Creative Cloud subscription. Still, I choose not to use this in the long run. It really is about personal preference and your goals.
Here are some reasons I recommend WordPress over a website builder, but this in no way saying using a...
Get Your Story Straight with Storyboarding
- What is storyboarding?
- Is storyboarding really that important?
- Is it OK to skip this step?
- What needs to be included in my storyboard?
After you have conducted a thorough analysis of “all the things,” you can begin to brainstorm how to present the material to the learners in the best possible way. Once you have decided on the best modality for instruction and how you want the training to go, you need to present your ideas to your stakeholders, clients, and boss. That is where storyboarding comes into play.
- WHAT IS STORYBOARDING? Storyboarding is a way to organize your thoughts and ideas for delivering instruction. You will...
Become an IDOL 18: Instructional Design Fundamentals with IDOL Mentor Nyla Spooner
Published: February 13, 2020
Episode: 18
Guest: Nyla Spooner, Learning and Instructional Designer
In this episode, I’ll be chatting with Nyla Spooner. Nyla is an instructional designer and eLearning developer for a giant multinational corporation. She shares her wisdom and advice for new instructional designers and she is on a mission to help 100 women of color in our field. This episode is what happens when two ID mentors get together. We chat, giggle, and teach!
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!
In this episode we discuss:
- Nyla's mentorship process
- Fundamentals of Instructional Design
- Define your Instructional Design Philosophy
- Nyla's favorite advice about pushing past your fears
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Are you subscribed to my podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that...
My IDOL Story: Laid-off to a Corporate LX Designer
January 2nd, the second day in the new year of 2020, I received an email that changed my career trajectory. “Congratulations on your assignment with PADI!”
I finally became an IDOL!
Three years ago, I came to the United States as an international student. My major was Teaching English as a Second Language (ESL). My first job was teaching Chinese in an elementary school. A year later, I got my second job as an ESL teacher, however, after six months, the language center I worked at shut down. At this point, the only thing I wanted to do was to find a job as soon as possible. Then I found my third job, as an education consultant. Guess what? Six months ago, I was laid off.
What do you want to do with your life? What job will provide a stable working environment? I asked myself.
The lay-off made me rethink my career seriously. Luckily, my savings allowed me to take a break for a few months, so I decided not to seek the next job right away. Not...
Teaching Nearly Killed Me; Instructional Design Saved Me
I was a middle school teacher for almost 10 years and loved almost every second of it. My favorite parts about teaching were building fun and engaging lessons (ones that I just knew the kids were going to love), bringing the lessons to life and connecting with my students. My classroom was fun. My reputation and my team's reputation preceded me within the school district. I was asked many times over to help with one initiative after another, especially when it came to technology in the classroom. I would also present to my colleagues at workshops and district conferences. I used to think to myself, I found my calling. I was quite content and had no plans to be anything else except a teacher until I couldn't do it anymore. It wasn't until year eight of my career that I began to notice it; the tightness in my chest, rapid heartbeat, and frequent headaches. The symptoms came on more frequently this particular year as the group of students was more difficult to manage than...
Teachers in Need of a New Career Path: Think Instructional Design
Teachers in Need of a New Career Path: Think Instructional Design
Are you a teacher that seeks a new career? Are you unsure where your skill set will be valued? Have you considered Instructional Design? If you haven’t, I encourage you to do so for many reasons.
Hi there! I am Melissa. I am a learning designer and educator. I have been teaching for approximately 14 years but found I needed a new venture. I reflected on my teaching experience and discovered there were tasks I performed in my role as a teacher that I really enjoyed such as design and content development.
When I started researching careers for teachers outside of the classroom, I discovered the instructional design field and fell in love with it. Now I want to teach you what I have learned in this journey.
Why Instructional Design is a Good Fit
Instructional design is a good career path for teachers because teachers possess many transferable skills. Furthermore, the...
Become an IDOL episode 17: IDOL Hiring Manager Elizabeth Pehlke Shares How to Land a Job
Published: January 16, 2020
Episode: 17
IDOL Hiring Manager Elizabeth Pehlke Shares How to Land a Job
Guest:Elizabeth Pehlke, Learning and Instructional Designer
In this episode, I’ll be chatting with Elizabeth Pehlke. Elizabeth was a hiring manager at Pearson and she was hiring between 10-20 instructional designers a year. She shares her best interview, resume, and application tips for those looking to land their first or next instructional design job.
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!
In this episode we discuss:
- Resumes
- Hiring process
- interviews
- Best practices and tips for new instructional designers
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...
