2017 was a big year for me, career wise.
I joined Welk Resorts.
I joined Welk Resorts back in August as the Corporate E-Learning Specialist, leading their online learning strategy. It is a very exciting opportunity since I am the first in this role and had the autonomy to create standards, systems and processes from ground up. Since then, I took a deep dive into micro-learning, explored game-based learning (I’m in the process of developing an instructional card game!), and rolled out our LMS.
My first reaction was, “why is it my job to roll out an LMS?” But throughout the process, I had a revelation that users getting to my e-learning is a part of the e-learning experience! (This was a part of my big a-ha moment, see below.) So as I took part in the LMS roll out, location-by-location, I kept that in mind and streamlined the user experience to make it simple and intuitive.
I immersed myself in learning.
Throughout the year, I attended many classes as a part of UC Irvine’s E-Learning Instructional Design Certificate. In fact, I am just one class away from completing the program! #letsgo It was tough working full-time and taking two classes at night, but it was so worth it. I learned a lot of skills that I was able to apply right away on the job, such as managing stakeholders and developing a strategic evaluation plan.
In the second part of the year, I was also a part of ATD San Diego’s Mentor-Protégé program. The program took place from June to November, and I learned a lot from my mentor, Mike Andrews. I worked with Mike to create goals and expand my toolkit as an instructional designer and e-learning developer. Surprisingly, I think my biggest gain was the cohort of mentors and protégés. I always seemed to walkaway from our group check-in meetings buzzing with new ideas. (Quick shout out to Jeff Toister who inspired me to embark on creating video-based learning! See his fantastic Lynda.com courses here.)
I had a big a-ha moment.
Through a random series of events, I stumbled upon Melissa Milloway’s website and blog. She talks about her approach as Learning Experience Designer instead of an Instructional Designer and while reading her blog posts, I had a big a-ha moment.
FOCUS ON THE EXPERIENCE. 💡
I needed to rethink my role. My role isn’t just to design and develop training, it is to craft learning experiences (that ultimately close performance gaps and promote behavior change.) We need to stop thinking of Instructional Design, Coding & Development and Design as silos, and start integrating all these elements to create a fluid and immersive learning experience.
I hope you can tell how excited I am about this! I’ve always obsessed over the role of design, video, and UI/UX in e-learning, and finally found a way to verbalize the reasoning in a cohesive way.
With that said, in 2018 I want to keep learning, innovating and adding value.
So, here are my 2018 Learning Goals:
- Start a personal portfolio and a blog to document my learning. (Already in progress!)
- Learn JavaScript and utilize it in my e-learning.
- Explore Adobe Character Animator and create a “coach” character that guides learner through courses.
I’ll start writing blog posts as I learn new things and embark on personal projects. Stay tuned!