As an independent consultant, one of the things I missed the most about working in a company or organization is the exchange of ideas. When I worked for the Educational Technology program at Michigan State University, I was always learning new things through my fellow colleagues in the College of Ed and being able to apply them to my job. Now, it is up to me to make sure I stay on top of the latest research and technologies related to my field.
Luckily there are a plethora of ways to do just that. As part of my own professional development plan I have become a member of the Association for Talent Development and the eLearning Guild. Both of these organizations have helped me to develop my skills as well as stay on top of the latest research and technologies in the field of instructional design. I wanted to highlight two of my favorite tools from each of these organizations - the ATD Career Navigator and the eLearning Guild Learning Exchange.
Luckily there are a plethora of ways to do just that. As part of my own professional development plan I have become a member of the Association for Talent Development and the eLearning Guild. Both of these organizations have helped me to develop my skills as well as stay on top of the latest research and technologies in the field of instructional design. I wanted to highlight two of my favorite tools from each of these organizations - the ATD Career Navigator and the eLearning Guild Learning Exchange.
The ATD Career Navigator is a self-assessment tool that identifies skill gaps and provides you with professional development roadmap to help close any gaps. For the first step you take a self-assessment of your skills for your current job role (or one you hope to pursue). Once you have completed the assessment you will be provided with a list of your strengths and any skill gaps. The navigator also provides you with a list of any learning opportunities (books, classes, websites, etc) that would help close the identified skill gaps. From this personalized learning plan that is created, you can begin to prioritize which gaps you want to focus on and which identified resources you want to use to close those gaps. You can even set target dates for when you will complete the identified learning opportunity.
This is my first year using the Career Navigator. At the start of the year I mapped out my professional development plan and I check back to it regularly to make sure I am keeping on track. At the end of the year, I hope to take the assessment again and see an improvement in the areas that I have worked on this year while at the same time identifying any additional gaps I need to focus on for the upcoming year. It is a great way to organize all the opportunities that are available to you in one location and to truly keep track of your learning.
The other tool that I just got introduced to is the eLearning Guild Learning Exchange. I believe it was just recently launched and already has some great content! It is a peer-based learning community that enables you to connect, share, and learn from others within the community. I am hopeful that it will continue to grow and become a go to place for me to not only learn some new instructional content but also share some of my own expertise.
A great example of one the resources I found helpful on the Learning Exchange was the video series from Artisan E-Learning on the Top 10 Articulate Storyline Tips. I have been using Storyline for several years now, and these videos showed me a few tricks that I hadn't learned yet. I am eager to go through more of the content and see what other things I can uncover!
I have become a paid member of both of these organizations because the resources and tools they have provided have been well worth the price of membership. However, at the time of this writing both of these tools are available for anyone with the free memberships. I believe the Career Navigator is available for free only for a limited time though so you may want to check it out to see if it is something that will work for you!
This is my first year using the Career Navigator. At the start of the year I mapped out my professional development plan and I check back to it regularly to make sure I am keeping on track. At the end of the year, I hope to take the assessment again and see an improvement in the areas that I have worked on this year while at the same time identifying any additional gaps I need to focus on for the upcoming year. It is a great way to organize all the opportunities that are available to you in one location and to truly keep track of your learning.
The other tool that I just got introduced to is the eLearning Guild Learning Exchange. I believe it was just recently launched and already has some great content! It is a peer-based learning community that enables you to connect, share, and learn from others within the community. I am hopeful that it will continue to grow and become a go to place for me to not only learn some new instructional content but also share some of my own expertise.
A great example of one the resources I found helpful on the Learning Exchange was the video series from Artisan E-Learning on the Top 10 Articulate Storyline Tips. I have been using Storyline for several years now, and these videos showed me a few tricks that I hadn't learned yet. I am eager to go through more of the content and see what other things I can uncover!
I have become a paid member of both of these organizations because the resources and tools they have provided have been well worth the price of membership. However, at the time of this writing both of these tools are available for anyone with the free memberships. I believe the Career Navigator is available for free only for a limited time though so you may want to check it out to see if it is something that will work for you!
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