Here are my reasons why I think you should invest the time to build your instructional design portfolio:

1. Career Transitioning.

If you are...

Published: March 27, 2020

Episode: 19

Guest: Alexander Salas, Digital Learning Consultant

In this episode, I’ll be chatting with Alexander Salas. Alex is an eLearning freelancer and the owner of eLearning Launch. He shares the differences and history of ADDIE, HPT, and Agile. He also gives recommendations for which methodology to use and when.

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:

• ADDIE
• Human Performance Technology
• Agile

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Now if you’re...

While I am sure and hope I am not the only one who feels this way, I also know persistence is needed for success. However, I feel that I have hit a roadblock. Initially, I felt roadblocks were negative and something I needed to overcome. Then, I shifted my perspective: Roadblocks force us to detour and lead us down a new path. When finding a solution in the corporate world, these detours lead to innovation. But, where does one find inspiration...

The first step...

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,...

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...

The New Year has just passed yet again in the blink of an eye, or at least it feels like it. As a child, the years never seemed to move as fast as they do in adulthood. So here I am reflecting on where I have been in the last few years, and how I want to grow in 2020. Self-reflection is an essential part of growth and really assessing what we want out of life.  So, what do you want to achieve in 2020? 

I have been working on a personal ID project.  It really has been a labor of love, but it isn't moving as fast as I would like, but it is moving forward, and, in the end, it will be completed. Luckily, I am not in this project alone.  Through the IDOL Academy, I have met Molly Parsons, who has jumped on board to help with my project and has become my accountability and project partner.

Whether you are working on your portfolio or building your own LMS in my case, finding someone to hold you accountable keeps you on track.

I am excited to...

Show notes for Podcast UX and UI design with Melanie Sexton

Published: December 11, 2019

Episode: 16

UX and UI with Melanie Sexton

Guest: Melanie Sexton, Learning and Experience Designer

In this episode of Become an IDOL, I’ll be chatting with Melanie Sexton, Learning and Experience Designer, about her experience in creating graphic interfaces for online courses and E-Learning development.  Melanie Sexton is a jack of all trades learning design professional living in Central Texas. She graduated from the Savannah College of Art and Design earning a BFA and MA in Sequential Art and is now back in school at Austin Community College taking several courses in UX Design. Melanie has a history of making comics and illustrations and sharing her passion for digital media with students in higher ed and libraries. As an instructional design professional, Melanie has worked with clients in the US Military, EdTech, and Cyber Security spaces to create internal, external, and...

Published: November 5, 2019

Episode: 15

Teaching teachers instructional design with Bejanae Kareem

Guest: Bejanae Kareem, Owner of BK International Education Consultancy

In this episode of Become an IDOL, I’ll be chatting with Bejanae Kareem, Executive Director and Owner of BK Consultancy, about her experience creating and launching BK to transitioning from secondary education to instructional design and eLearning development. We’ll be sharing tips for how educators can incorporate instructional design STEM-based classes into the classroom, tips to overcome common challenges, as well as tips for teachers experiencing burn-out.

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:

• The best way to break into the instructional design field as a secondary school teacher
• Fellowship:  Fellows receive on-the-job training in instructional...