THE ELEARNING DESIGNER'S ACADEMY
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When you’re in the early stages of designing and developing an eLearning course, it’s likely your subject matter experts will throw a boatload of information…
Tim SladeJune 1, 2019
If you’ve ever created an eLearning course, you’ve experienced the challenge of chasing down your SMEs to get their feedback. All too often, SMEs will…
Tim SladeOctober 4, 2017
If you've been working in the world of learning, instructional design, teaching, or eLearning for any amount of time, you've likely heard about the concept…
Tim SladeMarch 5, 2021
I made the transition into becoming a full-time freelance eLearning designer back in 2019, while I was working as the Director of Global Instructional Design…
Tim SladeAugust 18, 2019
Building and developing a highly effective eLearning team isn’t easy. Whether you’re working with a team of new or experienced eLearning developers, it’s important that…
Tim SladeJuly 9, 2017
When you spend a lot of time creating an eLearning course, it's only natural that you'd want to ensure your learners get as much from…
Tim SladeMarch 18, 2021
If there’s one thing I know to be true about our industry, is that we love buzzwords. Every couple of years a new and exciting…
Tim SladeFebruary 11, 2021
When you’re new to eLearning, the start of any project can seem chaotic. It’s easy to become overwhelmed trying to collect the information you need…
Tim SladeNovember 26, 2016
I’ll be 100% honest when I say that I struggle working with difficult subject matter experts. The fact is, I get frustrated when they want…
Tim SladeMay 12, 2019
A good experience working with SMEs (subject-matter experts) can mean the difference between an effective versus an ineffective course; between a project that finishes on…
Tim SladeJuly 24, 2017
If you’ve been working in the eLearning industry for any amount of time, you know that we work in an industry that is continually evolving…
Tim SladeJuly 2, 2018
The truth is that there was a time when portfolios were only for those working in a creative field, like graphic design or photography. Then…
Tim SladeSeptember 29, 2020
When designing eLearning interactions, it’s easy to become overwhelmed trying to envision the actions the learner will take, how you’ll build them in your eLearning…
Tim SladeMarch 25, 2017
If I’m being 100 percent honest, one thing I’ve always dreaded about my job is working with stakeholders and subject matter experts who tend to…
Tim SladeJuly 27, 2020
Have you ever started an eLearning course, only to discover that you're forced to watch a navigation tutorial on how to adjust the volume and…
Tim SladeMarch 11, 2021
How often do you finish one eLearning project and move right on to the next, without evaluating the success of the last project? The truth…
Tim SladeJuly 16, 2017
Trying to design, develop and deliver good learning experiences is hard enough. However, when you combine that with tight deadlines, demanding stakeholders, and finicky subject…
Tim SladeFebruary 24, 2021
When designing and developing an eLearning course, it’s easy to stuff it with all of the required content and push it to your learners. However,…
Tim SladeJanuary 12, 2019
Have you ever wondered whether or not you need a degree in eLearning or instructional design to be an eLearning designer or instructional designer? Well,…
Tim SladeApril 1, 2021
As I’ve been working within the eLearning industry over the last 10 years or so, I’ve realized there are some questions about eLearning we should…
Tim SladeNovember 3, 2019
Before starting development on a new eLearning project, it’s important to make sure you’ve collected and analyzed all the information used to justify the creation…
Tim SladeJune 18, 2018
Selecting colors and creating custom eLearning color schemes is a struggle many eLearning designers face on a regular basis. In addition to selecting and using…
Tim SladeMarch 11, 2017
If I were a betting man, I’d bet that managing eLearning review cycles with your subject matter experts has given you a headache on more…
Tim SladeJanuary 8, 2017
Whenever I’m at a conference, at work, or online, I often find myself interacting with folks with many misconceptions about eLearning. Usually, these misconceptions “show”…
Tim SladeMay 13, 2018
Graphic design is one of those topics and skills that a lot of new (and experienced) eLearning designers struggle to master. However, I’ve always believed…
Tim SladeJuly 2, 2018
Working with subject matter experts (SMEs) isn’t always the easiest part of developing an eLearning course. Subject matter experts can sometimes be demanding. And they…
Tim SladeOctober 22, 2016
Hi Tim, I work as an eLearning developer at my company, and recently our director asked me to provide an estimate for long it takes…
Tim SladeFebruary 11, 2021
When you’re nearing the end of development for an eLearning course, it’s easy to want to rush through the final review and quality assurance (QA)…
Tim SladeOctober 30, 2017
If you've been attempting to land an eLearning or instructional design job or transition out of teaching, you've undoubtedly heard that you need an eLearning portfolio.…
Tim SladeApril 16, 2021
In the world of instructional design, there are two industry-recognized instructional design models most people follow: ADDIE and SAM. And while each model has its…
Tim SladeMarch 24, 2021
It’s truly amazing to think about how much our industry (and the world) has changed in the last few months as a result of the…
Tim SladeJune 29, 2020
One of the most important lessons I learned when I first started designing and developing eLearning courses was the importance of building performance-based eLearning interactions.…
Tim SladeApril 29, 2019
When you’re in the early stages of designing and developing an eLearning course, you may wonder whether or not you should spend the time drafting…
Tim SladeNovember 11, 2019
Whenever I’m starting work on a new eLearning project, I always like to start my design process by drafting an eLearning storyboard. Not only are…
Tim SladeJune 16, 2019
When starting a new eLearning project, it’s easy to jump right in and start designing the course. However, it’s important to take a step back…
Tim SladeOctober 15, 2017
As someone who designs and develops eLearning for a living, I always love discovering new and different ways it can be used to deliver learning…
Tim SladeAugust 22, 2019
Whether you’re looking to work for a large corporate organization or for yourself as a freelancer, your success depends on how well you market yourself…
Tim SladeFebruary 17, 2017
I spend a lot of time here on my blog, in my online courses, in my book, on my YouTube channel, and at conferences talking…
Tim SladeMay 18, 2018
I’ll be honest: I haven’t always been the biggest fan of using characters in eLearning. I used to think of them as meaningless and cheesy.…
Tim SladeMay 23, 2016
For many folks within our industry, the idea of working as a full-time freelancer is the goal. Not only do you get to set your…
Tim SladeNovember 25, 2020
Bullet points in eLearning have a bad reputation. You might think they’re boring, ugly, or a sign of lazy design. No matter what your opinion…
Tim SladeMarch 10, 2016
If you're a teacher looking to make the transition from teaching to eLearning design or instructional design, you're not alone! According to the Alliance for Excellent…
Tim SladeApril 9, 2021
As an eLearning designer, you’ve likely used photos in eLearning. Photos are a great way to reinforce your message or convey an emotion. Photos can…
Tim SladeApril 17, 2017
What comes to mind when you think of “eLearning”? Do you imagine someone sitting behind a computer, clicking a Next button? Or maybe someone watching…
Tim SladeDecember 9, 2018
During the last few years, more and more organizations have been making greater efforts toward ensuring that diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is a top…
Tim SladeAugust 31, 2020
When you’re starting work on an eLearning project, it’s not always clear what information should and should not be included in your eLearning course. How…
Tim SladeDecember 2, 2019
As I look at the past year or so, there's one thing I know to be true: the eLearning industry is in demand! Not only…
Tim SladeFebruary 17, 2021
Although websites like LinkedIn, Monster, or Glassdoor might seem like obvious choices to find eLearning jobs, they aren’t always the best! These websites are often diluted with ads and…
Tim SladeMarch 18, 2017
When you’re starting the design and development of an eLearning course, it’s usually a good idea to start with a storyboard. But first, before you…
Tim SladeNovember 17, 2019
