A First Look at The eLearning Designer's Handbook

The past several weeks have been very exciting for me, as I’ve been working hard to market my upcoming book, The eLearning Designer’s Handbook, while at the same time, trying to finish it! Well, I’m happy to say that I’ve finally finished writing the book and I’m less than a month away from self-publishing it on Amazon.com.

The book will go live on Tuesday, July 17th!

The eLearning Designer’s Handbook is an idea that’s been bouncing around in my head for the past two years, and I’ve spent the better part of the last six months making the time (and sometimes forcing myself) to write it. In this post, I thought it would be nice to give you a small preview of the book.

What is The eLearning Designer’s Handbook?

If you haven’t already visited the landing page for The eLearning Designer’s Handbook, I suggest you check it out! I started writing this book about six months ago, with the intention of providing a practical and straightforward guide to the eLearning development process, specifically for new eLearning designers.

As I was writing the book, I pulled inspiration from two very pivotal moments in my eLearning career. First and foremost, I drew inspiration from the challenges I faced the first time I was tasked with creating an eLearning course. At the time, I had no idea what I was doing! I didn’t know what a storyboard was supposed to look like, and I could tell the difference between a stakeholder and subject matter expert.

I also pulled a ton of inspiration from the past year and a half I’ve spent building a new eLearning team at GoDaddy. When I joined GoDaddy, I inherited a small team of eLearning designers that were facing many of the same challenges I encountered when I first started. Through the experience of teaching them the eLearning development process, I realized that my experience, as a new eLearning designer, wasn’t unique—there are many others in this industry facing the same struggles. It’s these folks—folks who never dreamed of becoming eLearning designers—that I’ve dedicated this book.

With The eLearning Designer’s Handbook, you’ll explore how to…

• Plan your eLearning project by conducting a kickoff meeting with your stakeholders.
• Draft an eLearning project plan and development timeline.
• Collect and organize your learning content into an eLearning storyboard.
• Create a prototype and develop your course with an eLearning authoring tool.
• Review your eLearning course with your stakeholders and subject matter experts.
• Implement your eLearning course.
• Conduct an eLearning project retrospective.

The Book Trailer

As part of my marketing plan, I also recorded and published a trailer for the book. In this short, two and a half minute video, I wanted to give you a sense of what The eLearning Designer’s Handbook is all about. Considering the fact that I filmed it in my bedroom, with some amateur equipment, I think I did a pretty good job…if I do say so myself!

What Others Are Saying

In addition to the video trailer, I also sent out copies of the book this past week to 30+ folks within the eLearning industry to obtain some reviews and feedback. While I still have some reviews on the way, the first couple that has trickled in have been glowingly positive!

Download a Sample Chapter

This week, I also released a sample chapter from the book, giving you the chance to preview it before it’s released on July 17th. Check it out and let me know what you think!

Thank You!

Finally, I want to thank everyone that’s helped or inspired me in the process of writing The eLearning Designer’s Handbook. I’m beyond excited to see how new eLearning designers will benefit from the knowledge I’m sharing.

The eLearning Designer’s Handbook will go live on Amazon.com on Tuesday, July 17th. Stay tuned and mark your calendars!