What I've learned by starting a Blog

I had a blog on blogger.com before, but I have been changed my gmail address, and to do that I had to delete my Google profile and start again.  My old blog is still there, actually, it’s just not connected to any profile, and it uses my old last name.

I've always found the blogger interface sort of confusing.  I found it amusing in a sort of irritating way that Google has a blog page that says “Lost your blog? Click here.”  If that many people “loose” their blog that Google needs to post directions to find it, it would seem like Google would know their interface needs to be redesigned.

Anyway, I added my blog to my new email/Google profile and clicked around until I found the page to compose a post.  Writing the blog is easy, adding graphics, and publishing.  I used the “simple” graphic template because I think simple is usually best with graphics.  I found it a little confusing getting to the published page of my blog after I had clicked off it, just as Google suspected I might.  However, one of the ways to get there is to click on the Posts>Published link in the blog back end page.  Finding the back end page is another challenge, and I think I got there by clicking on the orange "B" Blogger logo.  This is not intuitive and I had to go the the help files originally to learn it.

After I wrote my first post, I completed some of the information for my Google profile.  I’m uncertain how much is public at this point.  I haven’t developed my google+ contacts so far.  I've been using Facebook for friends and family, and LinkedIn for professional contacts.  I like to have some privacy and I want to keep the two profiles separate.  I am wondering if there is a way to put meta-tags in the page so that people can find it, or if Google just does that automatically.

I think blogs need something that holds the posts together, it either has to be an area of expertise, a writing genre, or a persona that is interesting to readers.  So I knew I had to choose a theme or persona for my blog, and I chose to start writing about being an instructional designer.  My first post is about how I got into instructional design.  And this is my second post, a homework assignment for Ashford University class EDU521, Collaboration and Learning in a Virtual Environment.

I would love to put the Ashford University logo here, just to give this post a little color, but I think that would be violating copywrite.

 Regards,

Begin at the Beginning

I'm a writer and artist that has gone digital.  My family has generations of teachers in it, and I have always leaned in that direction myself.  So much of my graphic work was for online learning companies, designing eLearning interfaces and content.

For the last year I have been working on a Master's in Teaching and Learning with Technology.  It's a continuation of instructional design and graphic design I have done for years for various companies.  It is refreshing to be approaching the work from a verbal point of view instead of a graphics point of view.  This year I have designed the verbal and graphic content for several online courses, as well as developed the eLearning course application.  It is the kind of work I am used to doing with a team of experts for every stage, but now I am the expert.

I miss having the luxury of time to develop the graphical look and feel of courses.  I've been using Articulate Storyline, and it provides the interaction and "skin" for the courses.  Here's a screenshot of a course I designed, using my own photography and graphics.

I've used screen capture video and recorded voice over audio for several courses, and created presentations for clients.  I've designed ILT (instructor lead training), and CBT (computer based training).  I've learned about and done needs assessments and worked with SME's (subject matter experts).

It's been an exciting year, and I'm looking forward to finding a full time job as an Instructional Designer soon.