With the power of community-based learning, we help others build their skills and grow their careers by sharing everything we know.
From catching shoplifters to designing award-winning eLearning and everything in between, ours is a story unlike any other!
Like a lot of folks in instructional design and eLearning development these days, Tim Slade landed in this industry by total accident. Back in 2007, he was nabbing shoplifters for a living, and then - boom! - he got the chance to become a training coordinator to teach others how to catch shoplifters for a big-box retailer.
Without a moments hesitation, Tim jumped at the opportunity and found himself moving across the country with a new job in instructional design and eLearning developer without having the slightest idea of what any of that actually meant. And so, like most folks throw into the deep end of the pool, he FITFO'd it (figured it the f*ck out).
Over the next several years, Tim climbed the corporate ladder, led an instructional design team for a global tech company, spoke at dozens of conferences all around the world, freelanced during his spare time, wrote multiple books, won a several of industry awards for his eLearning work, and became a LinkedIn Learning instructor.
Then in 2019, Tim decided to say 'goodbye' to the corporate world and start his own gig. He wanted to share everything he had learned from his career to help others who have just landed in the industry and are trying to figure out where to start. And that's how The eLearning Designer's Academy was born.
With Tim's decade and a half of real-world experience backing us up, we're here to help new instructional designers and eLearning developers grow their careers by building skills first. This is our story, this is Tim’s story, and this is a story about the power of community + learning.
Unlike others who make big promises and unrealistic claims, we prefer an honest and practical approach. As a human-centered organization, we believe:
Others can't want for our goals more than we want them for ourselves. Our journeys to success starts with each of us as individuals first.
No two people are the same and each person's journey is different. We are empowered not by uniformity and comparison, but striving towards uniqueness.
Growth only happens when we push ourselves outside of our comfort zone. We do this by courageously taking it one step at a time.
Magical thinking, toxic positivity, and unrealistic promises have no place in serious professional development. We strive for individualized solutions for each person's unique needs.