Design Learning Experiences, Not Events

Learning Experience Design Essentials explores how new instructional designers and those looking to build their skills and align their function to the business can blend content and context to elevate learning experiences. Expert Cara North maps out the skills and capabilities that define the work learning experience design (LXD) professionals do.

Cara lays out an LXD process to guide readers in creating effective experiences. It includes the all-important task analysis to understand the shoes your learners walk in while performing at work. Other steps include creating assessments, conducting usability testing, and messaging the why behind the learning experience.

Traditional instructional design places undue emphasis on dumping training content on learners through a combination of information, media, and technology. What's missing is the context of how learning happens and the understanding that learning is a process, not a one-time event.

This book will help you craft a 30/60/90-day plan to apply the concepts throughout. By the end, you'll feel confident saying "yes" to the simple question, "Would you want to take your own learning experiences?"

Outreach to ATD audience via emails to ATD audience, book catalog that ATD releases to its members and contacts, blog posts by authors and promotion of those posts to ATD audience; authors will support outreach with social media, help authors line up some podcasts with relevant outlets in TD.

About the Author

Cara North is the owner of The Learning Camel, a learning and development consulting agency. Cara started as an accidental learning and development professional when she was promoted in a role where she trained new hires in a telecommunications company on quality procedures. After her first role, she has worked in corporate, higher education, and consulting with organizations such as Amazon, The Ohio State University, Silfex, and Circulo Health. Cara facilitates online courses for the Association for Talent and Development (ATD). She also shares her experiences on her YouTube channel, Unfiltered ID.

Reviews

"Dive into the core principles of learning experience design with Cara's practical, hands-on guide. She walks you through how to craft effective and engaging learning experiences to enable optimal workforce performance." -Brandon Carson, Vice President, Learning and Leadership, Walmart

"With this book, Cara North shows why she's a respected leader in our field. If you're looking for real talk, practical exercises, and actionable advice that will help you create meaningful learning experiences, this is a must-read." -Jonathan Hill, Head of E-Learning, Entain Customer Services

"Learning Experience Design Essentials transforms ideas to clear paths for creating real-work experience design programs. It inspires designers to add realism and practicality to their learners' learning." -Ray Jimenez, PhD, Chief Learning Architect, Vignettes Learning, Inc., and Situation Expert

"Cara's book is a fantastic resource for professionals who are new to instructional design or those who have been in the trenches for a while, and I love that she includes 30/60/90-day plans as well as other resource tools as guidance in every chapter! I found myself laughing and shaking my head as I read her spot-on reflections and examples." -Debbie Richards, President, Creative Interactive Ideas

"This changing industry demands so much more now than mere instructional design. Fiercely competent and compassionate, Cara plainly maps out each LXD principle to support what our job has always been: empowering people to succeed at their work." -Jonathan Rock, MBA, Senior GMP Training Specialist, Zoetis

"Learning experience design is one of those phrases that can mean different things depending on whom you ask. Cara North does an outstanding job breaking down LXD in a practical way anyone can execute back on the job." -Tim Slade, Freelance E-Learning Designer, The eLearning Designer's Academy

"Cara North provides much needed clarity around the core capabilities of a learning experience designer and how the role can positively affect change in any organization." -Joseph Suarez, Learning Experience Designer, Suarez Media Production

Book Information
ISBN 9781953946423
Author Cara North
Format Paperback
Page Count 224
Imprint ATD Press
Publisher American Society for Training & Development