This episode, I am talking with JR Dingwall, a higher ed instructional design consultant who I first met through Jennifer Maddrell and Designers 4 Learning. I chatted with JR over email and I’m super excited to have him on the show because he has a really important story that I want to make sure we cover this season. JR went freelance for a while, and then decided that it wasn’t for him. As someone who is sort of always on the crossroads of this, I’m really interested in how this worked for him!...
Nov 29, 2018•39 min•Ep. 57
This episode we are back with Wes Atkinson, Co-founder and Lead Technical Consultant at Appitierre Ltd, the makers of the Evolve Authoring tool and the Bloom LMS talking about Evolve as a potential tool. Last episode, Wes and I talked about the challenges surrounding instructional design freelancers. This episode, I’d like to shift focus to looking a bit more at Evolve as one tool in our toolbelt to solve some of those problems. I’m always interested in free and low-cost tools for myself as an i...
Nov 01, 2018•32 min•Ep. 56
This episode, I’m with Wes Atkinson, Co-founder and Lead Technical Consultant at Appitierre Ltd, the makers of the Evolve Authoring tool and the Bloom LMS. And we are going to keep on theme about the freelancer journey but with a bit of a twist, from the perspective of a vendor. Which is super awesome! Vendors get a lot of our flack when we talk or complain and they’re at all of these conferences and events, so they talk to a lot of IDs, and so I’m really excited to be hearing things from this p...
Oct 11, 2018•22 min•Ep. 55
This episode I wanted to talk a bit about how I’ve built and continue to build my network from the perspective of an introvert. I’m going to tackle this in a three-fold answer. First, I want to talk about the impactful things I’ve been able to do in a way that has still allowed me time to think and articulate myself and be generally introvert-y. Second, I want to talk about conferences especially since I’m such a newbie with them. And then, third, I want to talk about the activities I’d like to ...
Sep 27, 2018•17 min•Ep. 54
We’ve heard in the last couple of episodes with Christy Devlin about some of the things that they have in their freelancing toolbox, things that they feel are worth paying for and using. In this episode, I want to share a bit more about my own toolset, in a few categories. We’ll look at business tools, productivity tools, and professional development. Resources Bobby App to track subscriptions: http://www.bobbyapp.co/ Cloudinary Image Hosting: https://cloudinary.com/ Netlify website hosting: htt...
Sep 13, 2018•21 min•Ep. 53
This episode, I am talking with Devlin Peck, a recent instructional design graduate student who jumped into freelancing with both feet while still a student. This episode is particularly exciting for me because Devlin had reached out to me previously as he was looking to break into ID and it’s amazing to see how far he’s come and what I can learn from his approach to his instructional design and elearning development business. Get to Know Devlin Twitter: https://twitter.com/devpeck Portfolio: ht...
Aug 30, 2018•45 min•Ep. 52
This episode, I am talking with Christy Tucker, an instructional design consultant who has made her name by thinking deeply about what good instructional design is and sharing those thoughts and her learning experiences via her blog. She’s also a frequent contributor the instructional design subreddit, which is where I met her. Today, she is going to tell us more about her journey into freelance instructional design work. Get To Know Christy Blog: https://christytucker.wordpress.com/ Company Web...
Aug 16, 2018•45 min•Ep. 51
In this episode, I try my hand at answering one of the toughest questions around becoming a freelancer: How does that whole feast and famine cycle work? Resources Freelancer's Union Resources: https://blog.freelancersunion.org/ Breaking the Feast and Famine Cycle: https://blog.freelancersunion.org/2018/05/30/breaking-the-freelance-feast-or-famine-cycle/ Are you Charging Enough? https://blog.freelancersunion.org/2018/05/24/are-you-charging-enough-probably-not/ On Workflows: https://blog.trello.co...
Aug 02, 2018•20 min•Ep. 50
In this episode, I take a walk down memory lane and talk about my journey into freelancing. I talk about how I fell into freelancing, mistakes I've made that you should definitely learn from, frustrations I've faced, and rewards I've reaped. If you're looking to dive into freelancing, it's my hope that listening to my story will give you one perspective into what the journey might be like. Resources Resources for freelancers: https://medium.com/@freebiesbug/15-new-tools-to-supercharge-your-freel...
Jul 19, 2018•17 min•Ep. 49
In this episode, I (finally!) wrap up season 3 and talk about the future of Dear ID. Thanks so much to all of you for listening! Resources Emanuelle Feranto: https://www.emanueleferonato.com/ Color Curriculum: https://twitter.com/ColorCurriculum UXLX (my app!): http://www.lxresearch.info/
Jul 05, 2018•8 min•Ep. 48
In this episode, I sit down with Svein-Tore, the founder of H5P, an amazing open source authoring tool for creating elearning interactions. We discuss the story behind H5P, the benefits of using an open-source tools and the opportunities that H5P brings newbie IDs. This is an amazing set of tools bundled together FOR FREE! If you're an ID newbie looking to create interesting things, including interactive video, give H5P a try! ##Learn More H5P: https://h5p.org/ Twitter: http://twitter.com/H5PTec...
Jun 29, 2017•26 min•Ep. 48
In our last episode with Simon, we segue from using Adapt (an open source authoring tool) to the Open Source Way and how IDs can benefit by jumping in to open source projects. If you're looking for a way to get started making interesting projects for real people, helping out with learning experience design in open source projects is an amazing way to get started. There's an opportunity to do real, meaningful work that goes out into the world and into your portfolio. #Get to Know Simon Twitter: h...
Jun 15, 2017•16 min•Ep. 47
Our second chat with Simon Date of King's College, London. We dive deep into "Why use Adapt?" It was amazing to be able to speak with someone who has actually use Adapt on a regular basis as a main tool for real people. If you've got questions as to why you would ever use Adapt, or how it works in a real shop, this episode is for you! #Get to Know Simon Twitter: https://twitter.com/simondate King's College Twitter: https://twitter.com/KingsOnline #Other Resources Adapt Learning: https://www.adap...
Jun 01, 2017•23 min•Ep. 46
The first of three (I say four in audio) episodes with Simon Date, Adapt developer extraordinaire! Simon took me up on my ridiculous pitch at the end of Season 2 to have an extended conversation. Simon and I will be talking all things open and the intersection between development and instructional design and open source. In this episodes, we're talking about MOOCs at King's College, London! #Get to Know Simon Twitter: https://twitter.com/simondate King's College Twitter: https://twitter.com/King...
May 18, 2017•19 min•Ep. 45
This episode, I talk with Zsolt Olah, one of my ID heroes, about two different projects that illustrate how context is king. Zsolt shares how, in two separate situations, the thing that he was asked for, a course, turned out to not be the thing that was needed. He discusses his design process and how we, as newbies, can learn to ask the right questions about context that will guide our clients to the real problem and more effective solutions. ##Get to Know Zsolt Twitter: https://twitter.com/rabb...
May 04, 2017•37 min•Ep. 44
This episode, I sit down with our "newbiest" ID yet, Ellen Hayes, and we talk about her process building an online course for a student maker space. Ellen shares her interesting journey towards ID, and how she combined code and software development processes (namely Agile) to go out and study her users and the space, iterate, and build a solution to an understaffing situation. Get to Know Ellen Website: http://www.ellenhayes.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/heyellenk Try the Course Arduino Basi...
Apr 20, 2017•35 min•Ep. 43
In this teardown episode, I dive (punny, right!) into the interactive video/simulation, Sortie en Mer (A Trip out to Sea). This is another one of my favorite interactive video-type interactions. It has a simulation game as a major part of the experience and I think you'll really enjoy taking a deeper look into why it works. This episode, I talk the original context of the interaction, taking a look at the video narrative setup and the game mechanics, and how this sort of thing might be integrate...
Apr 06, 2017•16 min•Ep. 42
In this teardown episode, I dive into the game-based one-page Adapt course from Sponge UK on following the rules of street fundraising. I talk context, game design, and metrics and what you can appropriate into your own tool box from this excellent real world project example. Resources to Check Out Try the Course: https://www.adaptlearning.org/index.php/sponge-uk/ That awesome yes/no game I mentioned: https://graebor.itch.io/sort-the-court Check out the video teardown: https://youtu.be/_jj4DLB6X...
Mar 23, 2017•21 min•Ep. 41
This episode, I sit down with Leslie Sandoval, instructional designer of 11 years, and we talk higher ed and a project supporting faculty with online courses. We’re digging into what is probably a universal issue for higher ed IDs: supporting faculty in the pedagogy and technology necessary to teach online courses and the online portions of hybrid courses. Leslie shares the ups and downs, ins and outs of implementing their first wave solution to tackle this need. Resources to Check Out Adventure...
Mar 09, 2017•29 min•Ep. 40
This episode, I’ve got a real treat: a cutting edge tech project from my friend, David Fusco! David’s interested in emerging technologies like the voice controlled tech in Amazon’s Echo or Google’s Home devices. He’s created a voice activated quiz using Amazon’s Alexa technology and is generating xAPI statements from it. I wanted to talk to him about the whys and hows of working on a cutting-edge project like this. Get to Know Dave A related project using Amazon Alexa and IFTTT: http://drdavefus...
Feb 23, 2017•31 min•Ep. 39
This episode, I try something a little different! A detailed teardown of the interactive video, Will You Fit into Deloitte? In keeping with the theme of this season, taking a look at real projects out in the world, I'm doing a series of episodes where I take a deep dive into some interactions, videos, courses, and other learning objects to talk about what I think works, what maybe doesn't work so well, and ideas I think we can take to use in our own work. As a part of these episodes, I'm also re...
Feb 09, 2017•16 min•Ep. 38
Season 2 of Dear ID is finally over! In this episode, I share some stats about my 2016 year of projects, takeways from Season 2's focus on tools and tech, and what's next for Season 3 of Dear ID. I'm sick (for the first time in forever!) but I wanted to get out this season review. Also, a call to action for a crazy idea: If you wouldn't mind talking with me for a few episodes in Season 3, reach out! ##Books I Read This Year (Highly Recommended, All!) Design for How People Learn by Julie Dirksen ...
Dec 22, 2016•9 min•Ep. 37
In this episode, I want to gaze into the future and talk about three areas I think may be useful for other instructional design newbies looking to develop their skills or dive into a niche area: virtual and augmented reality, chatbots, and interactive video. Tons of shownotes today. ##Chatbot Examples: Duolingo Bots: http://bots.duolingo.com/ How I Turned my Resume into a Chatbot: http://lifehacker.com/how-i-turned-my-resume-into-a-chat-bot-1775565350 ##Chatbot Tools Chatfuel: https://www.produc...
Dec 15, 2016•9 min•Ep. 36
In this episode, I make an argument for adding livestreaming to your toolbox to show and share your work without the commitment of a regular blog or podcast, but also staving off the isolation that can come with engaging in deep work. I'm reading more and more around doing effective work, being in flow, and being productive and all of that suggests that all of these shallow attention-pulls like social media and phone apps, etc. should be shunned (for the most part) in favor of getting things don...
Dec 08, 2016•10 min•Ep. 35
In this episode I talk about game makers and why they might be a good option to help you start building learning experiences. When I say game makers, I mean tools that democratize making (mostly 2D) games. This broad category of tools can be less expensive, more versatile, and still allow offer you the same experience in creating effective learning experiences. With the recent announcement about Articulate 360, while exciting, I got to thinking that this episode may be even more relevant for oth...
Dec 01, 2016•9 min•Ep. 34
In this episode, I respond to a listener request for more talk about creating effective, interesting animated video. I could have gone high-tech, but instead, I challenge you to think about using PowerPoint for effective animated video. ##Using PowerPoint (or Keynote) for Animated Video Here are a couple of examples of creating animated video in presentation software. My PowerPoint Example: http://www.knanthony.com/blog/engaging-animated-video-in-powerpoint/ An Example in Keynote: https://vimeo....
Nov 24, 2016•10 min•Ep. 33
Today, I sit down with Hadiya Nuriddin, an instructional design and training veteran, who now owns her own consultancy, Focus Learning Solutions. I was interested in having Hadiya on when I heard about her new venture FreshEye Reviews, where she’ll be focusing on simplifying the quality control process for organizations. In this episode, we talk about quality control vs. quality assurance and how we should implement these processes as a non-negotiable in our creation process. Website: http://www...
Nov 17, 2016•48 min•Ep. 32
Piggybacking on last week's episode on learning to program, I discuss how we might carry over some of the principles of open source software development as a part of our solution-building toolbox as learning experience designers. I've been contributing to an open source project myself for several months now and I've started a daily(ish) coding practice on game development and the further along I go into my coding and LX design journey, the more admiration I have for the principles of open source...
Nov 10, 2016•10 min•Ep. 31
This episode, I talk about my coding journey and how coding helps us to solve more problems as learning experience designers. You may be evaluating whether or not learning to code is a worthwhile endeavor. I show how coding has helped me to expand my solution options, as well as why coding may not be for everyone. ##Recommended Reading## Please Do Learn to Code: https://medium.freecodecamp.com/please-do-learn-to-code-233597dd141c#.z999b2yza Please Don't Learn to Code: https://techcrunch.com/2016...
Nov 03, 2016•8 min•Ep. 30
Twine is an open source tool for creating interactive, non-linear stories. It’s a tool for interactive fiction and story game development. In this episode, I talk about how it might be used for prototyping and creating elearning. ##Get to Know Twine## Get Twine: https://twinery.org/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/twinethreads ##IF Examples## Zork: http://textadventures.co.uk/games/view/5zyoqrsugeopel3ffhz_vq/zork Victorian Detective: http://textadventures.co.uk/games/view/w207ce4zekubenmwgss5pa/vi...
Oct 27, 2016•7 min•Ep. 29
