I believer in gathering information about topics to learn as much as possible. I follow these websites, have read and refer to the texts listed below and I recently joined two professional organizations devoted to instructional design and talent development. I also joined Toastmasters International, an organization that enables members to learn public speaking skills and leadership skills.
Websites that I utilize to grow my instructional designer knowledge and expertise:
- Audrey Watters: Audrey writes and blogs about the history of the future of education technology. She is founder of the blog Hack Education. Her site is both entertaining and thought provoking.
- Brad Hinson (Links to an external site.) (Fellow LDT Faculty): Assistant Dean & Senior Instructor, learning design, digital education, media studies, and etc. @CUDenver@CUDenverEd@thinqstudio
- Bryan Alexander: Bryan Alexander is an internationally known futurist, researcher, writer, speaker, consultant, and teacher, working in the field of how technology transforms education.
- Connie Malamed: This is the website of Connie Malamed, a learning experience design consultant. The eLearning Coach is where Connie shares actionable strategies, practical content, product reviews and resources to help you design, develop and understand learning, instructional design and visual design.
- eLearning Brothers: This website offers a plethora of templates and information about E-Learning.
- eLearning Industry: A website with a great deal of information about E-Learning trends, webinars about E-Learning topics and skills.
- Maha Bali: An Associate Professor of Practice at the Center for Learning & Teaching at the American University in Cairo (AUC). She teaches digital literacies and intercultural learning to undergrads. She is currently co-facilitating Equity Unbound, an equity-focused, open, connected intercultural curriculum, with Catherine Cronin and Mia Zamora.
- OLC Learn: The Online Learning Consortium (OLC) is a collaborative community of higher education leaders and innovators, dedicated to advancing quality digital teaching and learning experiences designed to reach and engage the modern learner – anyone, anywhere, anytime.
- Pedagome: An online, grassroots community of elearning developers, multimedia professionals, instructional designers, learning experience designers, and all other terms for Instructional Design and Technology (IDT) professionals. They also have a Slack Channel for more information.
- Sean Michael Morris (Links to an external site.) (Fellow LDT Faculty): Sean is a digital teacher with experience especially in instructional design, networked learning, digital composition and publishing, collaboration, and editing.
- Taylor Kendal: Taylor is an educator, writer, designer, improviser, community developer, techno-philosopher and Chief Program Officer at Learning Economy.
Books and other resources that I utilize to grow my Instructional Designer knowledge:
Michael W. Allen: Michael Allen’s Guide to E-Learning by Michael W. Allen. https://www.alleninteractions.com/michaels-guide
The Accidental Instructional Designer by Cammy Bean. https://learningsolutionsmag.com/articles/1444/book-review-the-accidental-instructional-designer-by-cammy-bean
Design for how people learn by Julie Dirksen. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13127519-design-for-how-people-learn
Mastering the Instructional Design Process by William Rothwell, Bud Benscoter, Marsha King and Stephen B. King. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/book/10.1002/9781119176589
Professional Organizations that I belong to:
Association for Talent Development Rocky Mountain Chapter. ATD supports the talent development profession by providing trusted content in the form of research, books, webcasts, events, and education programs. ATD hosts a variety of conferences several times a year, including the premier international gathering for talent development practitioners. Through ATD I gain knowledge about the latest trends in Instructional Design and network with others who work in the field.
https://www.learningguild.com/
The Learning Guild is a community of practice for those supporting the design, development, strategy, and management of organizational learning. As a member-driven organization, the Guild produces a countless number of resources all devoted to the idea that the people who know the most about making learning successful are the people who produce learning every day in corporate, government, and academic settings. Our goal is to create a place where learning professionals can share their knowledge, expertise, and ideas to build a better industry—and better learning experiences—for everyone.
https://www.toastmasters.org/about/all-about-toastmasters
Toastmasters International is a nonprofit educational organization that teaches public speaking and leadership skills through a worldwide network of clubs. Headquartered in Englewood, Colo., the organization’s membership exceeds 364,000 in more than 16,200 clubs in 145 countries. Since 1924, Toastmasters International has helped people from diverse backgrounds become more confident speakers, communicators, and leaders.
