Andrea Martens
🇨🇦 Ontario, Canada
STUDENT STORIES
Andrea Martens
Learn how Andrea used her passion for design to start a new career as a learning experience designer.
MEET ANDREAAndrea was always interested in getting into the field of design. Although she didn’t know exactly what type of design she was interested in, she knew she loved how good design could affect the way people interact and behave with a piece of content. Ultimately, this led Andrea to pursue a career in graphic design. And after working several years as a graphic designer, she eventually started working as a professor and curriculum developer at two local colleges.
“I always wanted to work as a designer in some capacity. And while I was working as a curriculum developer, I always found ways to apply my background in graphic design to the content I was creating. This is what got me interested in instructional design and eLearning.”
At this point, Andrea decided to enroll in a graduate certificate program focused on educational technology to pursue her newfound interest. However, to balance what she was learning in grad school, she knew that she needed to learn practical application skills too. And at this point, she started searching for how she could develop herself on more of the tangible eLearning design skills she knew she’d need to land a job and thrive as a corporate instructional designer.
“My graduate certificate program was great, but I really needed to learn the everyday tasks of being an instructional designer and eLearning developer. I wanted to know how to manage a learning project, how to work with stakeholders and subject matter experts, how to draft a storyboard, and how to use Articulate Storyline. This is when I stumbled upon Tim’s program.”
This is when Andrea stumbled upon The eLearning Designer’s Academy. And after looking at several different programs, what she was most impressed by was Tim’s down-to-earth approach, his many years of experience working as a real-world instructional designer, and his unconventional background.
“Besides the fact that I loved how much I could relate to Tim’s story of falling into the world of eLearning and instructional design by accident, the structure of the program, lifetime access to all of the materials, and the quality of it all was top-notch.”
During Andrea’s time in the program, she focused on learning Articulate Storyline and developing a sample project for her portfolio. Utilizing her strong graphic design skills, Andrea built a sample project on the topic of composting from home.
As Andrea worked to develop her sample project, she utilized her 1:1 time with Tim, along with peer feedback from her fellow cohort students, to iterate on the design and interactive elements of her course.
“Working with Tim and implementing his feedback really helped me to feel confident in my skills and creation of my sample project. I was blown away by his timely and actionable feedback. And after completing my project, I was actually impressed with how much my skills improved.”
Today, Andrea now works as a learning and development specialist for a local credit union and runs her own business as a learning experience designer. Her story shows how a passion for design can lead you on an unexpected, but fulfilling journey.
See How Tim Can Help You on Your eLearning Journey Today
- Learn how to become an eLearning designer by checking out this post from our blog.
- Start building and showcasing your skills by getting up and running with Articulate Storyline and building your eLearning portfolio with these collections of videos from our YouTube channel.
- Join us inside The eLearning Designer’s Community to connect with Tim and get feedback on your Articulate Storyline courses, your eLearning portfolio, resume, or anything else!
”Tim’s program exceeded my expectations in every way. I felt confident in enrolling because of the open and flexible structure of the program, the lifetime access to content, and the overall design of what Tim is offering. It is crystal clear that Tim cares about the success of his students through his honesty, guidance, and passion for instructional design. This program was the perfect launch pad for helping me achieve the know-how and skills that I was after.
Andrea MartensLearning Experience Designer
