Who am I?
The Beginning
Recently an Instructional Designer reviewed one of my courses and fell in love with the visual appeal. "I love the gorgeous visual design and variety of creative interactions!" she said.
That comment completely re-wired my beliefs about creativity and corporate. That creativity and innovation is not only an important skill to acquire but a MUST in the Instructional Design field!
Creative Background
Hi! I am Vanessa, and I am an innovative Instructional Designer/Developer with a strong background in visual art and music. I was a Fine Arts teacher and have been involved with fine arts for more than a decade!
I love using my creative background to design and develop visually appealing, engaging, and interactive courses to help business reach their training goals.
I am a naturally curious person so I ask lots of questions, and want to know how and why things work, ESPECIALLY when it comes to video, adult learning theories, e-learning software, and Instructional Design and Development.
What do I do?
Expertise
Recently I completed a 9 month training program with Applied Instructional Design Academy, where I developed my skills in Adult Learning Theories, creating Learning Objectives that align with business purposes, conducting Need Analysis.
My favorite part of the program was learning from Instructional Designers, and implementing my multimedia skills in Vyond, Camtasia, Storyline, and Rise to create learner-centered courses!
Design Process
I like to begin by doing a needs analysis, if one does not exist. In the analysis phase I identify any knowledge gaps, or problems that are hindering the performance of the company. I communicate with Stakeholders and Subject Matter Experts to discover the goals of the business, the purpose of the training and what learners should be able to do.
From here, I take everything discussed with Stakeholders and Subject Matter Experts, and decide which modality would be best and create learning objectives that align with the purpose of the training and the outcome of what learners need to be able to do. I take this information and create a design document.
Once the design document is approved, if it's an e-learning course, I create a storyboard describing the look and feel of the course. The storyboard will include descriptions of interactions that may be needed to enhance learning, graphics, color palettes, animations, audio scripts, types of assessments, knowledge checks, etc.
After the storyboard is approved then I start developing inside of an authoring tool to bring the course to life. I like to make sure during the Alpha stage that everything is working, and that audio scripts have been approved before sending off to recording or recording myself. I implement any feedback through out the Alpha and Beta stages, making sure the course is solid before preparing for Gold and implementing!
Then I like to evaluate using Kirpatricks 4 levels of evaluation to see if the course was successful, and if learner behavior was changed, and the goal of the business was reached.
I understand the ADDIE model may or may not vary from project to project. In the instances where it does vary then I like to follow follow the SAM model.
What else do I do?
Video Editing
Aside from creating e-learning courses, and exploring variables and interactions in Articulate Storyline, I like to shoot and edit videos in Final Cut Pro and Adobe Suite!
Although sometimes I do drink too much coffee and end up staying up later than I should editing footage and sound, I just can't help myself sometimes!
Color Grading
If I'm not developing in Storyline, I'm usually researching new ways to incorporate technology into Storyline.
As of now I am learning how to color correct video footage so I can add a little pizazz to any video I might receive from clients to incorporate in their online trainings.
Boba and Books
After a productive week of developing and learning new skills, I love to treat myself to a Boba Tea and a personal pizza. Yes...I am a FEROCIOUS pizza lover.
I'm also a big self improvement junkie, I believe there's always room for improvement not only in your career but in your personal life too!