June 2, 2021
Advice?
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(11)
June 2, 2021
Advice?
Newbie 1 posts
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(11)

what advice would you give to someone starting out in ID?

11 Comments
2021-09-22 16:56:49
2021-09-22 16:56:49

Take time to develop your portfolio and get a wide range of projects in there. A good ID is a good learner.

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2021-06-23 14:44:11
2021-06-23 14:44:11

Here is my two cents for an aspiring/new instructional designer:

  • Showcase your work if you want to build a reputation or a profile – Create a portfolio
  • Making your content interactive is crucial, if and only if it is a meaningful interaction. Interaction which isn’t serving the purpose of the module is nothing more than waste of author’s efforts and time.
  • Know your audience – you can be great at creating lively modules but your work should be helpful and meaningful to your target audience. Say, if your audience comprises of someone with learning limitations or challenges, consider accessibility factor in your work.
  • More your share, more you learn.

 

Happy IDing

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2021-06-08 07:49:09
2021-06-08 07:49:09

I have this past year moved from a training role into an instructional design role.

To start this journey of transition, I used lockdown to the hone my skills on a single rapid authoring tool, once you master the basics of eLearning then you can expand into other rapid authoring tools.

The top thing to help you gain these jobs is not qualifications, it is your portfolio. Create a website (I just used a free wix website creator which was enough, if you can get your own domain name etc it would be of benefit) and then upload some example eLearning courses you have created. Make these examples lively and interesting, this may not always be the style you are going to have to create but while you have free reign, go for a subject you know about. These are what employers are looking for.

 

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2021-06-04 12:12:47
2021-06-04 12:12:47

I think a good instructional designer should also be a model for lifelong learning.

Always be willing to expand your skillset, learn new tools, master new strategies, obtain new knowledge.

Over the years – I have worked with a lot of different subject matter experts and have learned a lot of things on a variety of subjects in the process. Get comfortable interviewing these experts and take a genuine interest in the knowledge they have to offer. In my opinion, it will make the creative effort much more valuable.

Over the years – new technologies will hit the market and lobby for your attention. Avoid using tools for the sake of using new tools but pick the tools because they best help you create the experience the learner needs. But do investigate them so that you are aware of what benefits they can offer. Always be willing to experiment with new ideas.

As a graduate – I can say I have learned that I am always a student.

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Greg Stager
's comment
2021-06-05 01:42:08
2021-06-05 01:42:08
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Greg Stager
's comment

This is some great advice Greg. Well said. Agree with every singe point.

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Greg Stager
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2021-06-05 07:57:03
2021-06-05 07:57:03
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Greg Stager
's comment

Congrats, Greg, and I point to your last sentence ‘…I have learned that I am always a student’.

It reminds me of a situation in university college, first meeting with my former colleagues when I got charged with some responsibilities in management. I asked them what they had learned in the past month, and did see only confusion on the faces. Why should a teacher still have to learn, was the answer for most. This was so saddening, have tried to explain with limited success. My moto (was on my profile as Adobe Education Leader) was: ‘A teacher needs to be a passionate learner’…  A day without learning is a lost day.

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Greg Stager
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2021-06-21 22:38:52
2021-06-21 22:38:52
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Greg Stager
's comment

I believe always being a student is so vital in this field. What works in ID today may not work in 5-10 years.

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2021-06-04 03:08:58
2021-06-04 03:08:58

That is a tough question to answer, and there have been some responses that provide some decent information.

My recommendation is to read up, learn what ID is, explore the different principles, methods, theories and beliefs. There is a lot of reading out there that can help you get an idea of what you will be doing as an ID.

Personally, I learn every day. I search out learning every day. I have never been one to believe there isn’t more I can learn about a topic, and I believe that is important with any job. Once you stop learning, you’re just going through the motions.

Here are a few links as a place to start:

https://elearningindustry.com/understanding-instructional-design-basics

https://www.shiftelearning.com/blog/bid/345615/a-quick-no-nonsense-guide-to-basic-instructional-design-theory

 

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2021-06-03 17:17:40
2021-06-03 17:17:40

My #1 piece of advice would be to never lose sight of the reason ID is here: to build a sustained capability among our learning audience. The coolest learning intervention in the world (online or classroom) that doesn’t move the learners toward achieving the learning objective, is a waste of everyone’s time.

Instead of starting with a cool solution and looking for ways to hammer your learning objectives to fit it, start with valid learning objectives that are aligned with organizational goals, and design solutions that have pedagogically sound reasons that they fit that objective.

If you haven’t already, no doubt you will come across the acronym ADDIE – Analyze, Design, Develop, Implement, and Evaluate. In my experience, too many people spell it DDI. In other words, don’t compromise on a thorough analysis up front, and don’t forget to measure how well your solution achieves its goals.

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2021-06-03 14:59:36
2021-06-03 14:59:36

I’m in the same boat!

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2021-06-03 08:40:41
2021-06-03 08:40:41

If you ask 100 people, you’ll get 100 different advices.

My first question would be: what is your background, what is your history in that field (both IT and Pedagogical), do you feel comfortable with explaining live to learners, can you easily imagine and detect possible problems for learning…

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