New to Instructional Design - Advice Appreciated!

Start with ADDIE to learn the high-level project roadmap—especially the Analysis phase so you solve the right business problem. Then pair it with Gagné’s 9 Events when you're actually sitting down in Storyline to map out the step-by-step flow of your lesson!

Hi Maureen,

I hope that your are well!

Thank you for the advice! I will most definitely put this into practice! Would you also be willing to share with me how you yourself got involved in this industry? If so, I would love to know if you pursued a degree or not. I have read and heard many different opinions on what employers are wanting from instructional designers that they prefer to hire. Some require a degree, while others accept equivalent experience, or even simply hire based on the quality of the portfolio.  

Hey Antonia — welcome! Maureen covered the theory side well, so I'll take the builder side.

1. Build something tiny, now. Pick one tool — Storyline if you want interactivity, Rise if you want speed — and make a real 5-minute module on anything you know well. Theory sticks when it's attached to something you actually shipped.

2. Do the weekly E-Learning Challenges. They're small, constrained, and the feedback culture here is genuinely kind. You'll build a portfolio without even trying.

3. Learn to take feedback early. Post drafts in this community before they're polished. Your first three builds will be clunky — that's the tuition.

4. Read Tom Kuhlmann's Rapid E-Learning blog. Years of practical building tips, zero fluff.

Theory tells you what good looks like; reps are what make you good. Start the reps this week.

Hi Ronald!

Thank you for the welcome! These are all very helpful and I appreciate the input. Looking forward to collaborating with and learning from the community here!

Hi Antonia!

There’s already some fantastic advice here, so I’ll share one thing that surprised me when I became an instructional designer: the tools are often the easiest part to learn.

Learning Storyline, Rise, and other design tools is important, but a big part of the job is understanding people, asking good questions, solving problems, and figuring out how to make learning meaningful and relevant.

I'd also encourage you to start creating early. Some of my biggest lessons came from building real projects, experimenting, getting feedback, and occasionally realizing my "great idea" wasn't as great as I thought it was. 😄

Stay curious, keep learning, and don't be afraid to share your work with others. The eLearning community is full of people willing to help. Oh, and YouTube has tons of great videos to help you learn the how's. 

Good luck on your instructional design journey!

Hi Luis!

Thank you for your insight! I really appreciate it.

I agree that a big part of an instructional designer's role is actively seeking to understand people and developing good communication in order to really make content that actually helps facilitate real learning/training outcomes!

I have already participated in last week's interactive timeline E-Learning Challenge! I am looking forward to continuing to gain skills through this and from all the other great resources here. Thanks again!

What you should definitely do is join our new to instructional design peer pod cohort in January :) 

Peer Pods: Learn Together, Grow Together | E-Learning Heroes 

Hi Noele! 

Thank you for suggesting this! I'm signed up and am looking forward to learning alongside others when it starts in January!