This is a collection of resources to aid in the career search process and professional development for current and former students in the Information and Learning Design Program at the University of Colorado Denver. Please contact Leela Welch with specific inquires or additions.
Blogs and Webinars
How to Become an Instructional Designer
This blog post by Cathy Moore describes her advice for how to obtain a career in the eLearning or Instructional Design field. In addition to enrolling in a formal program, Cathy stresses the importance of taking on new responsibilities at your current job such as training or technical writing, creating and maintaining a professional portfolio of work samples and completing independent inquiry into areas of interest.
Transitioning from Teaching to Instructional Design
This resource is a collection of different materials. The first and most notable item is a webinar by Christy Turner describing her experiences as she transitioned out of the classroom. She goes on to provide her own curated list of resume resources, professional organizations and literature. I was excited to see some of the resources I had chosen prior to finding her website were already included.
Books
The Accidental Instructional Designer
Author Cammy Bean describes her own journey and how she accidentally fell into Instructional Design as a career. Bean offers her perspective on designing better instruction with specific and actionable steps to help you build on existing skills and develop new ones. Although the book is geared toward those who are just starting out in the field much of her writing can be utilized by working professionals who want to advance and hone existing skills.
Design for How People Learn is a fantastic introductory book to the field of Instructional Design. Julie Dirksen provides a guide for how to design instruction based on best practices. Unlike other books that are heavily steeped in theory and text, Dirksen’s book is approachable and not intimidating to newcomers in the field of Instructional Design. She provides hands-on and relatable examples and fun, light-hearted examples that help drive home the principles she writes about.
Communities and Groups
Instructional Designer Facebook Group
This group is sponsored and moderated by the eLearning Industry and has over 6,000 members. There are active polls, discussions, chat opportunities, job/internship postings and resources/recommendations. This page is a valuable, active and growing community for both new and seasoned instructional design professionals.
Instructional Designers in Education Facebook Group
This group is smaller with only 3,000 members but it provides members the opportunity to find a mentor who has experience in the field and is willing to provide advice. This group is geared more toward professionals in the educational field rather than the corporate world. It also offers recommendations/resources, discussions, chats and polls.
Instructional Design Reddit Subpage
This community has 4,000 members and provides a forum for professionals in the field to discuss questions and concerns, share resources and ask for advice. Additionally, members can participate in monthly challenges to show their work and help build and grow their professional portfolios.
Conferences and Events (2019)
ATD International Conference and Expo
The ATD Conference will be held May 19 – 22, 2019 in Washington DC. It is a comprehensive learning and development expo featuring keynote speakers such as Oprah Winfrey. The ATD member rate for students is $800 and non members $1000.
The DevLearn Conference will be held October 23-25, 2019 in Las Vegas, NV and focuses on emerging learning technologies. The 2019 pricing is not yet available but the student cost for the 2018 conference was $495.