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. 

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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.

1. 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?
2. Job...

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: July 30, 2019

Episode: 10

Instructional Design Jargon Defined with Rachel Hudish

Guest: Rachel Hudish

In this episode, I’ll be chatting with Rachel Hudish about the jargon and industry terms that are used in instructional design. We’ll be sharing stories, analogies, and definitions to illuminate the meaning of each word.

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:

WBT, CBT, eLearning, Online Learning, mobile learning

Authoring tools: Software used to package multimedia for delivery online. Adobe Captivate and Articulate Storyline are examples of authoring tools

508-compliance: An amendment to the US Workforce Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which is a federal law that requires all electronic and information technology developed, procured, maintained, or used by the federal government be accessible...

Published: July 15, 2019

Episode: 09

eLearning Community Project with Dana Kocalis

Guest: Dana Kocalis

In this episode, I’ll be chatting with the LinkedIn famous Dana Kocalis about her journey to become an IDOL and the eLearning community project she led and learned from last year. Dana is the owner of eLearning by Dana and a regular LinkedIn conversation starter. Last year we met when she started the eLearning Community project by posting on LinkedIn.

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:

• How Dana and I met on LinkedIn
• How Dana landed her first ID job before she had an ID degree
• The eLCP (eLearning Community Project) vision and outcome
• Lessons learned by Dana after attempting to get 80 newbie and expert instructional designers together to build one eLearning course together.

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Published: July 1, 2019

Episode: 08

From Valet to a Six-Figure Instructional Designer

Guest: Cameron Brown

In this episode, I’ll be chatting with Cameron Brown who is an instructional designer for Cox Enterprise. I am Cameron’s mentor and I helped him become an IDOL. You won’t believe his story.  It’s amazing to see how far he has come and where he came from.

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:

• How Cameron and I met at Shorter University
• How Cameron went from a valet who parks cars to a six-figure instructional designer
• Cameron's advice for anyone who wants to become an IDOL
• Mentorship and how it was crucial in Cameron's development and successful career

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Published: June 11, 2019

Episode: 07

Scenario Design with Anna Sabramowicz

Guest: Anna Sabramowicz, eLearner Engaged

In this episode of Become an IDOL, I’ll be chatting with Anna Sabramowicz about scenario design. Scenario design is the secret to creating powerful messages in your learning experience design. Learning this technique early in your career will give you a huge advantage and an excellent tool for engaging your learners. You'll also learn how Anna became an IDOL without a degree or experience.

If you are a new listener to Become an IDOL, we would love to hear from you.  Please...

Published: May 13, 2019

Episode: 05

Become an IDOL without a Degree or Experience: One Former Teacher’s Story

Guest: Tommy Sealock, Net Cracker

In this episode of Become an IDOL, I’ll be chatting with Tommy Sealock about how his background in education proved to be a vital stepping stone into transitioning to 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!

In this episode we discuss:

• How his experiences as an educator translated into training for instructional design
• What to look for in a mentor relationship
• The one offering tool to focus on when you’re just starting out to avoid overwhelm
• What hiring managers are really looking for when hiring new instructional designers
• How to use lesson plans to learn instructional design & beef up your portfolio
• Challenges of adult learners versus teaching children

Transcription of  Become an IDOL without...

Published: April 29, 2019

Episode: 02

Learning Experience Design and Design Thinking

Guest: James Finder, Owner of Promethean Learning Experience Design

In this episode of Become an IDOL, I’ll be chatting with James Finder about his expertise in learning experience design and design thinking. You'll get an understanding of one of the hottest topics in the instructional design space. This episode is great for newbies who want to understand the fundamentals of design thinking and for veterans who want to get more ideas creating a better design for their learners. 

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 principles of design thinking.
• Agile Models in instructional design.
• Sprints and how they work for course building.
• Prototypes for learners.
• Learning Experience Design is about...

Published: April 15, 2019

Episode: 03

Stakeholders: Who They Are and How to Work With Them

Guest: Melanie Eakin

VP of Performance Effective for Inside Sales, iHeart Media

In this episode of Become an IDOL, I’ll be chatting with Melanie Eakin about the stakeholder role in corporate training projects.

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 role a stakeholder plays in a training project
• The different roles of the decision-makers on your project
• Who a project champion is and how they can help move the project forward
• Who is going to judge the success or failure of the project
• How to navigate the expectations & respect the boundaries of the stakeholders and other key players
• Planning out your timeline for reviews and approval
• What to do when facing a company with a “check the box mentality”
• What questions to...