Be an Instructional Design Rockstar

Alexander Salas is a strategic leader, instructional systems and eLearning  designer with 15 plus years of experience specializing in the blend of  learning technologies and gamification for performance outcomes. He’s a  United States Navy combat veteran who served along 3rd Battalion 6th  Marines in Afghanistan in 2001. After service in the Navy, Alex has  worked in every facet of corporate learning and performance enablement  for Fortune 100 enterprises such as Philips, Centene Corporation, Dell  Technologies and fast-growth sales tech firms like Attentive. He has  accumulative experience in several Healthcare, IT, and Sales verticals.  When he’s not creating amazing learning experiences, you can find Alex  giving back to the community at large with articles, workshops,  conferences, and hosting the StyleLearn Origins podcast. LEARN MORE https://www.stylelearn.com CONNECT ON LINKEDIN https://www.linkedin.com/in/stylelearn/

Interview with Kristin Neumayer: Kristin is a bilingual, university-certified  e-learning expert with more than two decades of experience in  instructional design, content development, and LMS administration. She is committed to creating effective, engaging, and easy-to-use learning  experiences based on U/X principles, universal accessibility, and  mindful communication. Connect with Kristin on LinkedIn

In  Season 3 of "Be an Instructional Design Rockstar," I had the unique   opportunity to chat with other online learning professionals. This   season is all about learning from each other. The goal for this season   is to inspire, empower, and connect within the online learning field. Episode 3.6 of "Be an Instructional Design Rockstar" Interview with Sam Gist:  Sam Gist is a graduate of the University of  North Texas, and has worked as a communication specialist, educational  consultant, and instructional designer since 2012, including experience  managing a team of six instructional designers. He holds a Master’s  degree in Communication Studies, and enjoys exploring the intersections  of design thinking, technology, experience, and communication,  particularly as applied to effective educational practices. He currently  resides with the love of his life, Laurie, and two children in Aubrey,  TX. Connect with Sam on LinkedIn.

In Season 3 of "Be an Instructional Design Rockstar," I had the unique  opportunity to chat with other online learning professionals. This  season is all about learning from each other. The goal for this season  is to inspire, empower, and connect within the online learning field. Episode 3.5 of "Be an Instructional Design Rockstar" Interview with Kory Trosclair:  Kory is an Online Media Designer at UNC Charlotte and a previous teacher. He specializes in designing and creating interactive eLearning objects and identifying media needs for training and course development. Connect with Kory on LinkedIn

In Season 3 of "Be an Instructional Design Rockstar," I had the unique opportunity to chat with other online learning professionals. This season is all about learning from each other. The goal for this season is to inspire, empower, and connect within the online learning field. Episode 3.4 of "Be an Instructional Design Rockstar" Interview with Amy Kronberg:  Amy is a previous preschool teacher, current professor, early learning consultant, doctoral candidate, mom, and all around an amazing person. Her goal in her work is to create a better future for our youngest children and their families. Connect with Amy on LinkedIn

In this special edition episode, I present my findings from my dissertation research. Using this episode as a wrap-up, I discuss how the reflections from Season 2 helped me created a new instructional design model and see a design and development process from the faculty's perspective.

In Season 3 of "Be an Instructional Design Rockstar," I had the unique opportunity to chat with other online learning professionals. This season is all about learning from each other. The goal for this season is to inspire, empower, and connect within the online learning field. Episode 3.2 of "Be an Instructional Design Rockstar" Interview with Christy J. Woods: Christy is an instructional designer, coach, and connector. Christy has a background in counseling and uses these skills to create a collaborative, person-first approach to learning design and coaching. She is trained in Quality Matters and utilizes her extensive knowledge inclusive design and accessibility practices such as the Peralta rubric, Universal Design for Learning (UDL), and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.1) to build online courses. She is also a networking coach, who helps to connect the dots and mentor folks to be the best they can be, empowering them to build their networks and go for their dreams. Connect with Christy on LinkedIn.

In Season 3 of "Be an Instructional Design Rockstar," I have the unique opportunity to chat with other online learning professionals. This season is all about learning from each other. The goal for this season is to inspire, empower, and connect within the online learning field. Episode 3.1 of "Be an Instructional Design Rockstar"  Interview with Tyler Watts: Tyler is a professional educator with experience in higher education administration, curriculum & instructional design,  technology implementation, professional and organizational development, and distance education administration. Professional educator with experience in higher education administration, curriculum  & instructional design, technology implementation, professional and  organizational development, and distance education administration. Connect with Tyler on LinkedIn

Season 2: Reflections of an Instructional Designer Episode 10: The Final Countdown Season 2 involves weekly reflections as I move through an entire  course design and development process. Each podcast will be a different  reflection as I work with faculty members to create online  courses. I  will discuss my weekly successes, challenges, and how the Active  Learning Course Planning Map that I created based on the ICAP framework  has impacted my work as an instructional designer through the process. In this final episode of the season, I present my solution for working on 4-5 projects during the final weeks of the semester. I also summarize the interviews conducted with the faculty members I specifically worked with during the Spring 2022 cohort.

Season 2: Reflections of an Instructional Designer Episode 9: Crunch Time Season 2 involves weekly reflections as I move through an entire course design and development process. Each podcast will be a different reflection as I work with faculty members to create online  courses. I will discuss my weekly successes, challenges, and how the Active Learning Course Planning Map that I created based on the ICAP framework has impacted my work as an instructional designer through the process. In this episode I discuss crunch time. Crunch time can be defined as the final few weeks before the end of the semester and process ending. There is often stress and blurring of projects during this time, but it always works out!

Season 2: Reflections of an Instructional Designer Episode 8: Let's Build Season 2 involves weekly reflections as I move through an entire   course design and development process. Each podcast will be a different   reflection as I work with faculty members to create online courses. I    will discuss my weekly successes, challenges, and how the  Active    Learning Course Planning Map that I created based on the ICAP     framework  has impacted my work as an instructional designer through    the process. In this episode I discuss what the building process and development phase really looks like from the instructional designer perspective as 3 out of my 5 courses are now being developed. I also give a bit of an insight into how problem solving looks for courses that were primarily presented in the face-to-face modality.

Season 2: Reflections of an Instructional Designer Episode 7: Mid Process Reflections Season 2 involves weekly reflections as I move through an entire  course design and development process. Each podcast will be a different  reflection as I work with faculty members to create online courses. I   will discuss my weekly successes, challenges, and how the  Active   Learning Course Planning Map that I created based on the ICAP    framework  has impacted my work as an instructional designer through   the process. In this episode I discuss how I approach courses that have a lot of face-to-face group activities and how to move these into the online modality. I will also reflect on how the Active Learning Course Planning Map is impacting my work in the development phase. 

Season 2: Reflections of an Instructional Designer Episode 6: Transitioning from the Design to Development Season 2 involves weekly reflections as I move through an entire course design and development process. Each podcast will be a different reflection as I work with faculty members to create online courses. I  will discuss my weekly successes, challenges, and how the  Active  Learning Course Planning Map that I created based on the ICAP   framework  has impacted my work as an instructional designer through  the process. In this episode I will discuss how the ICAP framework has impacted my work as I move from the design phase to the development phase. I also share some great news about colleagues accidentally using the Active Learning Course Planning Map in their own design and development process.

Season 2: Reflections of an Instructional Designer Episode 5: Mid-Design Phase Reflections Season 2 involves weekly reflections as I move through an entire  course design and development process. Each podcast will be a  different  reflection as I work with faculty members to create online  courses. I  will discuss my weekly successes, challenges, and how the Active  Learning Course Planning Map that I created based on the ICAP  framework  has impacted my work as an instructional designer through the process. In this episode I will discuss how the ICAP framework has now shifted my work process during the design (or planning) phase of course development.

Season 2: Reflections of an Instructional Designer Episode 4: Some Initial Realizations Season 2 involves weekly reflections as I move through an entire course design and development process. Each podcast will be a  different reflection as I work with faculty members to create online  courses. I will discuss my weekly successes, challenges, and how the Active Learning Course Planning Map that I created based on the ICAP  framework has impacted my work as an instructional designer through the process. In this episode I will discuss some initial realizations I had as we completed week 3 of the design and development process.

Season 2: Reflections of an Instructional Designer Episode 3: Reflecting on the Initial Consultation Meetings Using the Active Learning Course Planning Map Season 2 involves weekly reflections as I move through an entire   course design and development process. Each podcast will be a different   reflection as I work with faculty members to create online courses. I   will discuss my weekly successes, challenges, and how the Active   Learning Course Planning Map that I created based on the ICAP framework   has impacted my work as an instructional designer through the process. In this episode I will discuss my initial reflections as I kick-off the official Spring 2022 course design and development process. I have now started working the ICAP framework into official conversations and begun working with faculty using the Active Learning Course Planning Map.

Season 2: Reflections of an Instructional Designer Episode 2: Creation of the Course Planning Map Interactive Walk-Through and the Addition of the ICAP Framework Season 2 involves weekly reflections as I move through an entire  course design and development process. Each podcast will be a different  reflection as I work with faculty members to create online courses. I  will discuss my weekly successes, challenges, and how the Active  Learning Course Planning Map that I created based on the ICAP framework  has impacted my work as an instructional designer through the process. In this episode I will discuss how I created an interactive walk-through using Rise 360 to help explain the reasoning and steps for completing the course planning map. Additionally, I will discuss my concerns of using the Active Learning Course Planning Map with the Spring 2022 Course Design and Development Cohort. 

Season 2: Reflections of an Instructional Designer Episode 1: Creation of new Course Planning Map Season 2 involves weekly reflections as I move through an entire course design and development process. Each podcast will be a different reflection as I work with faculty members to create online courses. I will discuss my weekly successes, challenges, and how the Active Learning Course Planning Map that I created based on the ICAP framework has impacted my work as an instructional designer through the process. In this episode I will discuss the process taken to develop a new course planning map to help all of the IDs on the team start from the same place and make our processes easier and smoother.

Season 1: Becoming an Instructional Designer Episode 5: How to Make Networking Work for You Season 1 is all about becoming an instructional designer. We're in a  large transition phase in the education and corporate world. As we begin  to open back up after COVID, more and more instructional designers are  needed to create successful online learning courses and trainings. In  this season we will discuss tips and tricks for applying for jobs, nailing the interview, and what you need to know about becoming an  instructional designer. In this episode I'll share how I have made virtual networking work for me. You will soon find out how small the instructional design world really is as you jump into virtual networking. However, this means you can really learn from and grow from the experts in the field. Take a listen to see how you can network using social media.

Season 1: Becoming an Instructional Designer Episode 4: Instructional Design Tools Season 1 is all about becoming an instructional designer. We're in a large transition phase in the education and corporate world. As we begin to open back up after COVID, more and more instructional designers are needed to create successful online learning courses and trainings. In this season we will discuss tips and tricks for applying for jobs, nailing the interview, and what you need to know about becoming an instructional designer. In this episode I'll share the tools I use as an instructional designer. I'll talk about the TPACK theory and how it isn't about having the skills to use a technology, but more about how you use the technology to ENHANCE the course.

Season 1: Becoming an Instructional Designer Episode 3: A Day in the Life of a Higher Education Instructional Designer Season 1 is all about becoming an instructional designer. We're in a large transition phase in the education and corporate world. As we begin to open back up after COVID, more and more instructional designers are needed to create successful online learning courses and trainings. In this season we will discuss tips and tricks for applying for jobs, nailing the interview, and what you need to know about becoming an instructional designer. In this episode, I will describe what my day-to-day life looks like throughout the life cycle of a design and development process!

Season 1: Becoming an Instructional Designer Episode 1: My Background in Instructional Design Season 1 is all about becoming an instructional designer. We're in a large transition phase in the education and corporate world. As we begin to open back up after COVID, more and more instructional designers are needed to create successful online learning courses and trainings. In this season we will discuss tips and tricks for applying for jobs, nailing the interview, and what you need to know about becoming an instructional designer. In this episode, I describe what instruction design is based on my own experiences as an instructional designer. Definition used in the podcast:  Khan Academy. (n.d.) What does an instructional designer do? https://www.khanacademy.org/college-careers-more/career-content/educate/career-profile-instructional-designer/a/what-does-an-instructional-designer-do

Season 1: Becoming an Instructional Designer Episode 1: My Background in Instructional Design Season 1 is all about becoming an instructional designer. We're in a large transition phase in the education and corporate world. As we begin to open back up after COVID, more and more instructional designers are needed to create successful online learning courses and trainings. In this season we will discuss tips and tricks for applying for jobs, nailing the interview, and what you need to know about becoming an instructional designer. In this episode, I will discuss my introduction into instructional design (which was a complete accident) and the credentials I have that I believe have helped me be the best instructional designer possible.