Marina Arshavskiy - Instructional Design for ELearning: Essential guide to creating successful eLearning courses

When I first entered the field of instructional design, I reviewed a lot of literature and read many books on the subject. However, I did not find a single guide that offered a combination of theoretical and practical information. As a result, I had to supplement the theoretical knowledge I gained from these books and other resources with on-the-job experience. Instructional Design for ELearning: Essential guide to creating successful eLearning courses combines both theoretical aspects of instructional systems design and practical information from field experience to help instructional designers create the most compelling and effective courses. In this text, you will find the best knowledge, skills, and tools I could glean from the market. In addition to introducing theory and providing practical advice, this book aims to offer best practices drawn from many years of personal experience in the field of learning and development.

The Instructional Design for eLearning book can serve as a desk guide for instructional designers at any level and of any professional experience. Whether you are an aspiring instructional designer looking for a career change, a novice instructional designer trying to learn the basics of eLearning course development, a seasoned instructional designer needing a desk reference guide, or a human resources professional designing professional development training programs for employees, this book is your new go-to resource. Even though it concentrates primarily on designing eLearning courses for the workplace, curriculum developers and instructional designers who create face-to-face training programs can also benefit from it, as it covers all the important elements of course design regardless of the context.

The book is divided into four sections:

Part I Basic Elements of Instructional Design

Part II Designing Instructionally Sound ELearning Courses

Part III Interactive Elements in ELearning Courses

Part IV Advancing Your Skills

This text includes 27 exercises that will help you put your newly acquired knowledge into practice. Even though the activities will not be graded or reviewed, they are an excellent way to recap the information from each chapter and put it into perspective. Note that the first exercise sets the foundation for your project but does not provide all the content needed to create a project. Therefore, to complete the exercises, you will have to make certain assumptions about the topic and its content. Alternatively, you can use a project you are currently working on or simply invent one to complete these exercises.

In this edition, I have added and rewritten content to keep it current. I also added new chapters that reflect the changes in the field of eLearning and instructional design in general. Additionally, I added quizzes to help readers assess their understanding of the content. More templates and case studies found in this edition should also help eLearning professionals succeed in the field of instructional design.

Read each chapter, apply the knowledge you gain, and enjoy your learning quest!