Let’s assume you fell into the eLearning field completely by accident and that your primary skills and expertise lie elsewhere. Perhaps you’re a subject matter expert in a critical business area. Or maybe you’ve got killer writing skills and someone figured, “hey, she/he could write good training materials”. Whatever your path to this field -and most of us have similar stories- here you are. It’s time to step up to the plate and get passionate about your work commit to making eLearning courses that don't bore people to tears, but instead inspire and motivate them to learn a new skill, change a certain behavior, or improve their performance. My top tip for becoming an eLearning Pro is really just that: commitment. Decide that you’re going to do good work and then go out there and figure out how.
Here are some ideas, taken from my very own personal life story:
- Check out the Kineo website. Yeah, I work for Kineo, I know. But many years ago, I was just a fan and read all the rapid guides and top tips. It opened my eyes to better eLearning practice and, well, now here I am.
- Read blogs on eLearning and instructional design. While you’re at it, start your own blog to document and share what you’re learning. My blog got me connected to a whole world of eLearning professionals, who had made that commitment and were willing to share their knowledge.
- Go to eLearning conferences (the eLearning Guild’s DevLearn and ASTD’s TechKnowledge are two good ones). It really does make a difference to connect face-to-face with other people who are in the trenches, doing what you’re doing.
- Read books on eLearning and general design. Some of my recent faves: Change by Design by Tim Brown, 100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People by Susan Weinschenk, and Design for How People Learn by Julie Dirksen.
- Finally, try new approaches and see what works. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. This is exactly how we learn!