Getting Started in Instructional Design and Digital Learning Design- Part 3
Updated: Feb 23
This is the third part of a series of blog posts aiming to cover some aspects of getting started in the field of instructional design and digital learning. This part is going to be about learning some of the necessary skills to land the job you want and making the first steps towards preparing to start applying to opportunities or be found by recruiters.
Here are the posts available so far and feel free to browse through the other blog posts on the website if you would like to check out other content. 1. Decide which area you would like to focus on more depending on your interest, background and possibilities
3. Start developing your skills based on #2 while possibly trying to establish your online presence by creating a portfolio or doing some small projects on the side or in your current job
Learning new skills and establishing online presence
Learning to be able to create learning
We previously talked a lot about identifying the area of the industry you are interested in and the tools and theoretical foundations you need to acquire as first steps. In order to be able to master specific skills, it's good to have an idea about the journey to get there.
Here is a possible step-by-step process for choosing and learning a new tool (e.g. Storyline):
Find the tool you would like to learn ✓
Make sure the tool aligns with the requirements of the job you would like to get ✓
Check reviews and free trials of the tool to confirm that you're interested (like it) enough and comfortable to sign up ✓
Think about and try out a few methods to find what works best for you. These can be: from LinkedIn Learning videos, YouTube tutorials, researching information in forums, attending a course. Try to vary them to make your process more fun and receive information from more sources.
Identify the different steps involved - for example - Storyline: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, Pro - as per the checklist below
Make a plan with milestones related to your learning journey to know where you want to be using deadlines and "deliverables"
Reach out and learn from others, keep track of your progress and appreciate the steps that you take while you're learning something new
The steps (1-7) above work differently for everyone as we all learn things slightly (or very) differently. The good news is that based on your interest in learning means that by this time of your career, there's a big chance that you've already found out what kind of learning works best for you so it's likely that you won't be in the dark with creating a learning journey for yourself.
Establishing your online presence
The next step is related to establishing your online presence which mostly means creating a portfolio and a website to showcase your skills and demo projects and optimising your LinkedIn profile. The good thing about this step is that it's very much in alignment with the previous points mentioned in Part 1 and 2 of this series. For example, building your portfolio requires a lot of background research, process analysis and understanding of real-life projects. This can help you to try yourself out without the pressure of having to do it "live".
There are plenty of resources on the topic of building a portfolio and getting ready to start applying to instructional design jobs on LinkedIn, YouTube and other forums, but let's have a quick Q&A to cover a few of them. As mentioned before, it's always a good idea to reach out to a number of people and research experiences and opinions to make sure your decision is well informed.
Q: Is it necessary to have a portfolio?
A: The answer is "yes" and "no" and it highly depends on the route you're taking. There are employers who don't take applicants without a portfolio and there are jobs which don't require you to have one in the first place as the interview process can allow you to demonstrate your skills. This is usually mentioned in the job description, so you will know more once you start doing your research.
Q: How many projects should I have in my portfolio?
A: Similarly, there's no exact answer to this question. One thing that is usually mentioned is that the there's no "the more the better" rule in this case. The recommendation is often the opposite which is: "quality over quantity". There are many portfolios which only have one main flagship project which contains a very comprehensive process development plan and description plus the learning experience itself. There are also a lot of portfolios with two or three projects to showcase different skills (visual design, adult learning theoretical background and awareness, user experience design etc.).
Q: What kind of tools should I use to create my portfolio projects?
A: There's no rule for this. If you would like to show that you can use e-learning authoring tools confidently, then it's worth having a project that demonstrates that skillset. If your goal is to showcase your learning design skills, there's a chance that you would be focusing more on presenting a clear roadmap or learning journey than on the specific tool that you are using.
Q: Should I design portfolio projects related to "current" topics?
A: There might be different opinions about this, but I think the answer is: not really. It is usually much more important that you can show that you understand the steps of creating learning experiences than what the topic is. This can mean that you describe the procedure of the needs analysis, the target audience, the learning objectives and various other elements of the process.
The portfolio entry I have been most asked about was the one that is about making goulash. I think this says a lot about how "current" the topic needs to be.
Before you start building your portfolio, it could be worth considering that you raise the idea of doing a mini-project in your current job which could lead to creating materials that you could include on your website.
Many people also do a few small freelance projects on Upwork or Fiverr to get a bit of experience and have something to put in their collection.
How it worked for me
I'm a step-by-step kind of person, so I devoted some time to focusing on creating my website and the portfolio. I've had a couple of ideas in mind already, so it wasn't too difficult to find topics. These were mainly based on things that I was interested in or found engaging (goulash), and things based on places I worked before (invoice processing and customer service). In terms of learning new skills, I started with LinkedIn Learning and the Storyline training videos - beginner, intermediate, advanced if I remember well. I followed and copied everything they said in these which helped me to understand the basic functionality and settings. In the meantime, I was watching and listening to tons of videos about website and portfolio building and learnt a lot about the usual dos and don'ts.
By the time I finished my portfolio, I'd already started looking for opportunities on UpWork and soon found a couple of opportunities to get my first mini paid projects going.
This is the end of the third part of the series of blog posts. The next part is: 4. Keep learning about the industry via being active online, networking, asking questions and attending training sessions if there’s a need while applying to jobs / doing small projects
Let me know in the comments where you are with your journey! If you are interested in any other topics in the world of instructional design, e-learning and digital learning, check out my other blog posts.
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