Now’s a good time to get started in the elearning industry. It’s still growing and doesn’t look like it’s going to slow down any time soon. Knowing how to get started with elearning is one of the most common questions I get. People usually want to know about schools and formal education as well as where to gain practical skills.

What skills do I need to be an elearning pro?

One of the challenges for today’s designers is that the authoring tools are easier to use and empower you to create all sorts of interactive content. That means you are doing more to create your courses which means you need well rounded skills.

When I build elearning courses I try to answer three questions because they help guide how I’ll approach the course:

What content needs to be in the elearning course?

What will the elearning course look like?

What is the learner supposed to do?

Based on these questions, here are a few skills that are critical for course design:

Understand performance consulting and how to get learning objectives appropriate to meeting the organization’s learning goals.

Know how to apply instructional design concepts to craft a good learning experience.

Able to apply a basic understanding of graphic design and visual communication to course design.

Since you need to build onscreen content and interactivity, learning more about user experience (UX) design is important.

Obviously, there’s more to course design than those skills, but that’s a good start. What would you add to the list?

Which schools will help me become an elearning pro?

In the past we’ve discussed whether or not you need an instructional design degree to be successful. There are pros and cons. However, if you do want to go to school, which ones are best?

You don’t need to go to a Master’s program to learn about elearning. Many schools offer very good certification programs. They take less time, cost less, and typically focus on practical application.

Personally, I’ve had friends go through the programs at San Diego State University and University of Washington. I’ve also been impressed with what people have been doing at UMBC, Boise State, and Bloomsburg.

Here’s a list someone in the community compiled of schools with different programs. If you attended a program at one of these schools or another, please share your thoughts and recommendations in the comments. Just so you know, I’m just looking for feedback from graduates to help blog readers; so I’ll delete spam links from schools.

I don’t have a lot of money. How can I become an elearning pro without going to school?

There are all sorts of open degree programs and MOOCs that help you learn more about things related to elearning and instructional design. MOOC List is a good resource. Here are a few classes that are relevant to course design. You can search for more.

Of course, that requires the same type of discipline you’d need in a more traditional learning environment. If you want something less formal, try these resources in the elearning community. They’re relatively short and can be reviewed at your own pace or when you want to learn at the point of need.

What about some book recommendations?

Here’s a list of book recommendations that cover a broad range of topics.

Build Your Skills with These Online Training Books. This post has a pretty big list of books, more than enough to get started.

Book Recommendations from the community.

Here’s a question: Assuming you went to school to learn about instructional design, what are some of the books they had you read? Feel free to list them in the comments.

Apply what you learn to become an elearning pro.

Reading books and going to classes are both valuable activities. But the key is that you apply what you learn to real projects. That’s one of the reasons I like the weekly elearning challenges. They’re a great way to practice little things. And to see how others have approached the same projects.

The one step missing in the challenge is soliciting feedback. That’s up to you. Submit a project and ask for specific feedback. Be forewarned. You have to have thick skin, ask for honest feedback, and be willing to hear it and apply what is being advised.

Here are other posts on becoming an elearning pro:

The elearning industry is hot and now’s a good time to get started. There are a lot of ways to move forward from formal education to informal practice and application. Ultimately you want to gain the skills so you can demonstrate your understanding of course design and ability to meet the organization’s needs.

Is there anything you’d like to add? Books? School experience? Feel free to add your thoughts to the comments section.

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