eLearn: So You Want to Be an E-learning Consultant...
Beyond the Glass Ceiling: Telecommuting Lowers Job Stress, Especially For Women
In the Middle of the Curve: Spit-Takes and Good News
Instructional Design Central: Instructional Design Forums, Resources, and Community
Resources, job openings, college degrees, and communities related to instructional design
5 Simple Ways to Get Started with E-Learning Development - The Rapid eLearning Blog
Good advice for getting started by doing simple projects using rapid development tools. Includes good resources for people just starting out in e-learning (or hoping to get into the field).
For higher pay, learn to say you're sorry - Oct. 17, 2007 - Ask Annie
Fortune Magazine article that cites a study showing a direct correlation between income and a willingness to apologize. So how do we create organizational cultures where people feel open to admit mistakes and apologize (and hopefully learn from those mistakes)?
People earning over $100,000 a year are almost twice as likely to apologize after an argument or mistake as those earning $25,000 or less, the survey found.
They were also asked whether they would apologize in three situations: when they felt they were entirely to blame for a problem; when they thought they were only partly at fault; and when they believed they were blameless.
In all three cases, "a person's willingness to apologize was an almost perfect predictor of their place on the income ladder," the study says.
Learning Visions: Instructional Designers with Degrees: Survey Update
Update on Cammy Bean's survey results. Only about a quarter of IDs have an advanced degree; very few of those who don't have ever been denied work due to the lack of a degree. Interesting comments from Brent Schlenker about how degrees may open doors but don't necessarily teach much useful for skills needed today.
KMWorld.com: The Future of the Future: Boundary-less living, working and learning
Blurring the lines between work, life, and learning. I don't think most of us are completely at this boundary-less balance yet, but working from home certainly does change where my boundaries are.
<p>The bottom line: Organizations can no longer focus strictly on working, while ignoring living and learning. Neither can you, as a knowledge professional. The enterprise of the future must bring all three of those areas into balance.</p><p>Living means loving what you do and finding fulfillment in it. Working means doing what you love, in a way that is both challenging and rewarding. Learning means continually making new discoveries and putting those discoveries to work, both personally and professionally.</p><p>In essence, you and your organization, and your extended network, are now co-dependent. Your ability to grow is limited if your organization and network aren’t growing. Likewise, if you aren’t growing, you are inhibiting the growth of the organizations to which you belong. Think brain trust, as opposed to assembly line.</p>
Online Programs that Offer Training in eLearning? : eLearning Technology
Bookmarking an old post of Tony Karrer's since I had to hunt for it today--check the comments for suggestions on online programs for elearning and masters degrees
A List Apart: Articles: The Rules of Digital Engagement
Communication for virtual teams, including ideas for dealing with conflict and keeping morale up. I agree with the idea of debriefing on long projects regularly rather than just at the end of a project; you can adapt and correct course more easily, plus everyone stays more connected.
The Bamboo Project Blog: What Work Zone Are You In And Is It Time for a Professional Change?
Looking at jobs and work environments in terms of how much learning is happening. If you aren't learning in your job and haven't been for a while, it's probably time to change your environment or change your job.
The Bamboo Project Blog: Dump Your Resume--Build a Reputation Instead
Even perfect resumes won't always get interviews, according to a recent small-scale experiment. So what do you do instead? Build your reputation online, create an identity for yourself, and develop your online portfolio.
The Bamboo Project Blog: Guide to Using Free Tools to Create an Online Portfolio
6 steps to create your online portfolio (something I really should start working on one of these days)
TravelinEdMan: Job Searching in Educational Technology and Instructional Systems Technology?: Hold Your Head Up High!
Collection of sites for finding jobs in ed tech and related fields. (I'm not looking, but I get requests from people looking sometimes.)
Harold Jarche » Is Johnny Bunko Right?
Summary of the career advice in Daniel Pink's book "The Adventures of Johnny Bunko." Jarche would add to the list that many typical qualifications (like degrees and certificiates) don't really correlate with actual work.
The only job that a university degree directly qualifies you for is another university degree. Sitting in a classroom, writing essays and answering tests is not the workplace. Solving real problems, of importance to others, within existing constraints - is what most work is about.
MOO.com | We love to print
Upload your own pictures from Flickr or use the designer options provided to print mini-business cards, stickers, postcards, etc. I think this would be very cool to have some cards the next time I go to a conference.
Take Your Résumé and Shove It - US News and World Report
Interview with someone who did a successful search for employees using only social networking tools--no resume, no email allowed.
<strong>Is transparency one of the key benefits to this sort of job search?</strong> <br>
Absolutely. I wanted the transparency. The problem with traditional résumé interviewing is it's so one-dimensional and it's so easy to paint yourself as something. If I can look at your social network, I can see much more. This took a level of trust for the people who were reaching out to me. But I did say that I'm a big enough boy, that I'm OK if you talked about partying or things that you do in your personal life. I want to know who you are. I'm a human being as well, and I don't care that you do things, because I expect that human beings would do these things.
Career Advice '08 » SlideShare
Garr Reynolds (Presentation Zen) slideshow summarizing the 6 career tips from Daniel Pink's book, The Adventures of Johnny Bunko. Reynolds also gives his own ideas on each of the points. I love the point about doing things that are you believe are intrinsically valuable even if they don't lead you on an obvious career path; we should learn what we're passionate about.
Instructional Technology Program Student Resources Instructional Designer Skills
An old (1995) list of skills for instructional designers, very focused on the corporate training side of the field. I wonder why there's so little here about working with others; communication skills are kind of tacked on the end of the list as an afterthought. Communicating and collaborating with SMEs is such a big part of instructional design that I'm surprised that's never mentioned here.
Working from home « Design for Learning
Natalie Kilkenny writes about how much more productive she is as a telecommuter than working in a cube farm and answers the question "How do they know that you're working when they can't see you?"
Ruminations of a Learning Professional: Call a Spade a Shovel - but make sure you describe!
One learning professional asks if the title "instructional designer" is perhaps not the most accurate description for what we do, especially with learning 2.0 and increases in learner control.
Is the term Instructional Designer a dead description, title, category or classification?<br><br>In light of web or learning 2.0, there are theories that in fact a better name would be an <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">information and instruction architect</span>.
Learning Visions: Instructional Designers with ID Degrees? Survey Results...
Cammy Bean has updated her ID degrees survey results. It's up to 34% of IDs having an advanced degree in instructional design--higher than it was the last time she reported, but still clearly a minority.
Getting Started with Instructional Design
Manish Mohan on getting started in the field of instructional design, responding to several reader questions. Includes links to blog posts about ID careers (including my 2007 series), companies that hire IDs, courses and certificates available in India, and salaries.
An open letter to Baby-Boomer Managers from Gen X/Y Employees : UberNoggin
What matters to Gen X/Y employees at work, written as a letter to Baby Boomers. Very much about what we value and what drives us crazy when working.
4. We don’t respect titles; we respect people.<br>
The internet has served as a great social equalizer. In most online communities your value (and therefore reputation and power) are based on what you contribute not who you are. A well-read 18 year old who knows his stuff and is constantly active in the editing process of a Wikipedia article may be revered more than the heavily credentialed professor who interjects, corrects, and condescends to the community of the page. These relationships break down entitlements and, instead, center on accomplishment and contribution.<br>
So if you want to respected, simply play your part and contribute. You’ll be known for the actions you take that probably earned you that title in the first place.
In the Middle of the Curve: Wendy W - Knowledge Gardener
Tony Karrer suggested we might be known as "management consultants" in the future, but I like Wendy's "Knowledge Gardener" much better
Thinking about the tools I'm building and the programs I'm developing - that seems more akin to the way I want my job to evolve. As a "knowledge gardener."
So I've decided that my next 5 years will be spent as a "knowledge gardener." Helping people get the information they need. Encouraging people within my organization to talk to each other and share what they know. Facilitating learning when they need and want it (preferrably in much smaller chunks than they are getting now).
Jonathan's ID: The Various Roles of Instructional Design (work in progress)
Ideas on the different types of roles played by instructional designers, attempting to differentiate between instructional designers vs. instructional developers, instructional multimedia developers, etc.
Here’s Why You Need an E-Learning Portfolio - The Rapid eLearning Blog
Benefits of a portfolio plus tips on what to include and what to do if everything you do is proprietary
The Effect of Recessions on Employer/Employee Relations
I've felt for a while that job security was a myth; this backs up that general feeling and shows how the workplace and employment has changed since the 80s.
Clive on Learning: It's not enough to be a professional, you also have to act like one
Good points on acting like real professionals, not just "order takers" when developing training/learning
<p>You wouldn't hire an interior designer only to inform.them that you've already chosen all the colour schemes and furnishings; you wouldn't engage an accountant and then explain to them the way you wanted them to process your figures; you wouldn't employ a fitness trainer and then tell them what to include in your workout; you wouldn't buy a dog and then insist on doing all the barking.</p> <p>So why, then, do we continue to encounter situations in which line managers tell the guys from l&d exactly what they want in terms of learning interventions, with the expectation that the they'll simply take those instructions and run. </p>
A.J. Hyman’s blog » Conferences & Jobs
A collection of conferences & events for ed tech & e-learning, plus some job boards