DIY Instructional Design

So you’ve decided that you need to create a portfolio of your work and even created a website to host it. Congratulations - that’s a huge accomplishment! Now there’s just one more tech issue to handle. At this point, you’ve got to figure out a way to make your elearning course(s) visible online. Normally, this is easily handled by publishing your course and hosting it within an LMS. But in this situation, you’re hosting your personal learning deliverables for public consumption, so you’ll need another method of course hosting. Before going into exactly how to do that, let’s start with an understanding of why that’s necessary. If you already know this information, feel free to drop down to the part of the post where we’ll explore how to host your Storyline and Captivate files online. What is online hosting? Information hosted online lives on a server, a computer hard drive that contains the files and makes them publicly available whenever a specific URL is entered into the address bar o...

  There’s no shortage of opinions on the topic of what should be included in an instructional design portfolio.  Like any good instructional design project, I’d challenge you to start by considering your audience and your intended outcomes. Afterall, isn't the goal to teach someone a little more about yourself and what you can do for them? So, start by thinking about your personal objectives and what you want to achieve by having this portfolio available to share with others. Consider your objectives  Most people want to use a portfolio to do one of the following: Land a new job at a different company Land a new role at their current company Land some job - any job! Compile a history of past work If you’re not sure what you want to do with your portfolio, you might consider it helpful to read the post 4 Reasons Why You Need an Instructional Design Portfolio first.  No matter what your reason is for having the portfolio available, you’ll want to tailor the content in...

If you’re reading this post, you’re very likely either getting ready to create your own portfolio, or considering how you might revamp an already existing one. If so, that’s great! It means you’re taking the time to invest in yourself, share your work, and have dedicated examples showcasing what you can do.  On the other hand, If you’re on the fence about whether you actually need a portfolio, you might want to check out the DIY ID post 4 Reasons Why you Need an Instructional Design Portfolio first.  4 Reasons Why you need an Instructional Design Portfolio Either way, getting your instructional design portfolio together can seem like a daunting task, but it’s not nearly as complicated as you might think. Basic steps for creating an instructional design portfolio As someone who has had several portfolio iterations, I find that creating an ID portfolio generally means considering 3 main factors: Deciding what to include in your portfolio Decid...

So you’ve heard that every ID needs a portfolio to land their dream job. While that’s not always 100% true, having a portfolio certainly improves your odds. This is especially true for new instructional designers, or those with limited experience. If you think about it from a logical perspective, there are at least four good reasons why every instructional designer should build a portfolio of work: Everyone likes a sample You’ll benefit from the practice You can use it as a benchmark You can repurpose the content First, think about it from the perspective of your potential employers. They need someone who can do the work, and who can contribute to their team without needing to be trained. But how can they be sure that you’re that person? They need you to show them that you’re just what they need. If you were the hiring manager, and you were choosing one more person to interview, would you choose a mystery applicant, or one who showed good work samples? Naturally, most people would fee...