The eLearning Designer's Handbook: A Practical Guide to the eLearning Development Process for New eLearning Designers

This is a great book. I first saw Tim present (virtually) at ATD 2021 and then again at ATD 2022 (again, virtually). I finally purchased the book after the second time. Like Tim, I didn't start my career with the goal of being an eLearning designer. My background is with a degree in secondary English Education, and I was a high school English teacher for 10 years before looking for a change. I fell into eLearning design whilst I was a travel trainer for two years, with PowerPoint as the only tool I could work with to create learning content. I was then hired as an instructional designer and found myself learning and creating web-/computer-based training using a proper authoring tool—Captivate.Through the years, I've done, experienced, or observed a lot of what Tim covers in the book. I'm lucky to work for an organization now—the Florida Center for Interactive Media at the Florida State University—that not only produces some of the best quality learning assets I've been involved with but also promotes constant learning and professional development, as one would hope working for a university. Hence, why I've been lucky enough to attend virtual conferences such as ATD and Adobe MAX.While I learned a lot of eLearning design on the job (remember, I "fell in" to eLearning), what this book does is not only confirm a lot of the processes in eLearning design I've done, it also affirms my own experiences, both good and bad. I think as an instructional designer, that's important to know there are others out there who have experienced the same.What I like about the book is that there are opportunities to reflect on what you've read, the experiences you've had as an eLearning designer, or things you have observed. There is literally space for you to answer "What do you think?" prompts. And there are a lot of them—and not in a bad way. There is also a lot of white space on each page where you can write notes, make connections, even doodle if you need to help make sense of things. Like eLearning, this book is engaging—it encourages you to think, reflect, and respond. It's also written honestly. Tim is not afraid to share his own mistakes, which makes the book that much more relatable.Some of the content doesn't currently apply to me specifically, in part because our PM works with our partners (i.e., clients) to identify learning/performance gaps, recommend a learning solution (our PM does often get input from course ISDs for this), create a project plan/timeline, and evaluate the effectiveness of a course. Even though I may not be involved in those and other tasks, reading about them has helped me understand their importance and why someone on the course/project team should be doing them.If you are an eLearning designer, this book is a must if for no other reason but to get down on paper your own thoughts and reflections of your experiences.

I just read the 2nd edition of “The eLearning Designer's Handbook” by Tim Slade. I found it extremely helpful, clarifying, and insightful.As you might expect, as a master instructional designer who trains other IDs, Tim covers a ton of ground without being overwhelming, the content is paced well, and for a primer, the reader gets a lot of detail. I learned enough to be dangerous in record time. The book has concentrated wisdom and experience on every page, so the return on investment on this book is high, so don’t let its length fool you. I especially appreciate how the book balances theory and practice and concentrates on the core ID skillset while highlighting other secondary domains too. Comprehensive and a joy to tear through. Great for people new to ID and those transitioning from other careers. I'm sure others will find gems there as well. Would love to chat with anyone who also enjoyed the read.

I work in corporate L&D and have begun collecting a library of noteworthy books to reference. I purchased a paperback copy of this book to add to my library. Tim Slade does an amazing job of breaking down the ID process and really emphasizes real-world, practical application. The little asides were definitely my favorite part of the book as they helped affirm my experiences working with difficult SMEs and stakeholders.I would love to give this book 5 stars, but I have to dock a star for the shape of the physical copy. This sounds incredibly petty, but the physical copy is terribly designed; specifically, the dimensions. It's essentially a square, which jettisons out from a bookshelf when placed next to any other books. Whoever printed this for Tim Slade didn't consider the life of a book after a reader has completed it. Though it's a great read, it's a hideous addition to my collection, sadly.

I saw Tim on a TechSmith Youtube broadcast and this book was mentioned. I usually don't do this, but I immediately bought the paperback and I'm buying the Kindle version, too. To say the least, of all the eLearning books and videos I've watched, The eLearning Designer's Handbook is one I wished I had years ago. Highly recommended. Seriously, run--don't walk--and get this! You'll be glad you did. I'm certainly spreading the word to my customers.

I love this book. Tim is a wealth of information and I am inspired by how he shares his knowledge with the community of eLearning designers. His writing is easy to understand, practical and lightened with a spark of personality. I truly enjoy learning from Tim and the community of designers his work supports. Thank you for all that you do supporting others in the industry through your efforts!

Tim's book is an outstanding resource for those new to eLearning and instructional design. His books gives an overview of the entire process and provides helpful suggestions and frameworks along the way to help you apply it on your own.The book is beautifully designed and does not overwhelm you with information. Reading it felt like having a conversation with the author, and the layout provides ease when referencing sections after-the-fact.I highly recommend this book to anyone looking to learn more about eLearning and instructional design!

I’m using this book to train my new L&D Specialists on e-learning. It breaks down the concepts in easy to use nuggets. I cover a chapter a week with my team and it’s helping us to align with a strong foundation.

Looking for ID books to learn but not sure where to start? Purchase this one first. Tim has such relatable stories and examples in the book. He walks you through each step of the instructional design process in a simple and clear way. He even builds in space for you to take notes of your own as you go. This book is affordable and relatable so make sure you grab a copy.

Am starting my e-learning journey and this book has been a god-send! The information is so well laid out and makes total sense. It's giving me more confidence as I create a YouTube course for a friend of mine who is tech adverse!

It's a must read for new IDs

Nicely made, straight to the point, easy to read.As a beginner in it, I really appreciated the Pro Tip information!

volevo approfondire e soprattutto sistematizzare le conoscenze riguardo l'instructional design e ho trovato in questo libro ottimi spunti e chiarezza espositiva, consilgiatissimo

Having read many books in this space, all of which are great, this is easily my favourite. After joining a new company, I wanted to implement a robust eLearning system that we could replicate going forward. This book offers precisely that. Tim Slade presents a fantastic step by step approach to structuring your eLearning project, which for me is a weaker side to my elearning, the project management side. I love the simplicity and the to the point approach. I managed to read it in 3-4 hours, but that in no way detracts from the book, and to me, adds even more; like elearning, it's best to keep things to the point.An outstanding book if you want nuts and bolts of eLearning project management and how to structure the entire eLearning process. Design-wise it's beautifully put together and aesthetically pleasing to read.Easily 5 out of 5.