By Jiaqi Wang
*Earlier this semester, the Versatile PhD website held an email discussion on careers in e-learning and instructional design.  (Incidentally, if you don’t know the Versatile PhD website, it’s worth taking a look. Its periodic discussions on various careers are excellent.)  The good folks over at Versatile PhD have allowed us to summarize some of what was discussed here on our blog over the next week or so–Jiaqi Wang wrote these very helpful posts.   Versatile PhD will be archiving the discussion–along with sample resumes and cover letters from those working in the field–later in the spring or summer.

I’ll add a few resources.  HASTAC and EDUCAUSE are two resources with which you should all be familiar.  And here at the GC, we have the terrific Interactive Technology and Pedagogy Certificate program, which publishes the Journal of Interactive Technology and Pedagogy.

– Jenny

Nowadays, people are not easily satisfied with their current knowledge and skills, due to either professional or personal reasons, which raises the need for continuing education. This comes in different forms. Some people go back to school, some choose online education, and many others attend short-term seminars organized by their companies. Among these options, e-learning is playing an increasingly significant role in that people realize that learning this way is both convenient and cost-effective. This opens up a whole new career for those interested in instructional design and technology.

Not everyone has been a beneficiary of e-learning, but I believe we all have heard of MOOC’s, massive open online courses. Coursera.com, as a leader in this field, sets a prime example. If this still does not ring a bell, log on to coursera.com and take a free course today.

If you are interested in education in general and are comfortable with a little technology, I am pleased to tell you that you might have just found yourself a new career option. I have listed a multitude of sources below–all from the Versatile PhD discussion– to help you familiarize yourself with this emerging field.

– Jiaqi Wang

Websites:

• Rapid E-Learning:  This is a very useful blog covering most of the basics in E-learning. You can maneuver your way around through the column on the right side titled resources.
• E-Learning Heroes:  This site, also hosted on articulate.com, claims to be the largest online community for E-learning. On this site, you can find tons of interesting things, including engaging forum discussions, informative expert blogs, tutorials, and E-learning templates&course assets free to download.
• ASTD Certification Institute: As the name implies, this is a certification institute, similar to EST which is responsible for TOEFL, GRE and other exams. Since E-learning and instructional design is an emerging field, a couple of institutes and associations plan to standardize it in the form of certification and re-certification.
• The E-Learning Guild: This is a professional association which researches the field regularly and holds its own conferences. For those who want to do research in E-learning or who take a creative leading role in product design, this association might prove to be highly significant.
• The eLearning Coach: This site is similar to E-Learning Heroes where you can find a plethora of ready-made templates and useful discussions, blogs, and reviews. In addition, this site also provides suggestions on the business side which is enormously important for those who have entrepreneurship deep inside.

Books:

• Michael Allen’s Guide to E-Learning (2003)
• Julie Dirksen’s Design for How People Learn (2011)
• Tom Kuhlmann’s Insider’s Guide to Becoming a Rapid E-Learning Pro

Different books have differing perspectives and aims in introducing readers to the field, e.g., some target at corporate training and others focus on the how-to&delivery issues. Before setting your mind down on any book, you might want to search for some reviews and get a sense of the content. (You can freely download the third book by logging on to Rapid E-Learning and subscribing to the blog.)

LinkedIn Groups:

• Instructional Design & E-Learning Professionals’ Group
• eLearning Edge
• Kineo ELearning Professionals

 

Like other LinkedIn professional groups, these are more for networking and solving particular problems than for introductory survey. You can sniff around on both their LinkedIn and professional websites, and request a membership of the group that most interests you.