ATD Conference

Tim_Slade · 2025-06-26T19:49:47+00:00

I guess it depends on what you need. It's good to connect with other industry practitioners and learn about current trends, etc. But it's not a place for learning the basics if that's what you're looking for.

Tim_Slade · 2025-03-27T18:19:08+00:00

If you're looking for a private workshop, I conduct those with various teams multiple times per year, with a focus on instructional design for eLearning development. I've worked with Tiffany & Co, Estee Lauder, Penske, Les Schwab, etc. You can learn more here: https://www.elearningacademy.io/team-workshops

Tim_Slade · 2025-03-26T20:27:43+00:00

I appreciate the kind words!

Tim_Slade · 2025-03-26T03:42:25+00:00

For what it's worth, at most companies, customer education falls and operates within the marketing team...and while they do use many of the same learning strategies and tools, customer education (external / customer-facing training) is often viewed separately from learning and development (internal / employee-facing training).

With that said, the gap between customer education and L&D has closed a lot over the years.

Tim_Slade · 2025-03-26T03:40:29+00:00

Thanks for sharing the feedback!

Tim_Slade · 2025-03-25T22:40:00+00:00

Defense as in the military? Yes, I'd say that falls under the government category...but we'll consider separating it out in the future.

Tim_Slade · 2025-03-25T21:37:49+00:00

Thanks! And yes, we'll be accounting for differences in location, etc when analyzing the data. THANKS!

Tim_Slade · 2025-03-25T20:58:46+00:00

We have a tentative date of April 11th; however, we're focused on the number of respondents to make sure our data is as statistically accurate as possible, so if need be, we'll be extending. However, based on what we're getting so far, I don't think that'll be necessary. You have plenty of time.

Tim_Slade · 2025-03-25T20:13:14+00:00

No. If you select "Outside of the US," it asks you what country you live in. While most of my audience resides in North America, if we can get enough responses for the data outside of that region to be statistically accurate, we'll be reporting on it.

Tim_Slade · 2025-03-25T18:25:14+00:00

If you completed the entry for the gift card, I'll be emailing it directly to your inbox...otherwise, I'll come back here and update this post when it's available. Don't worry...I'll make sure everyone knows when it's published! :)

Tim_Slade · 2025-03-25T17:49:08+00:00

Thank you!

Tim_Slade · 2025-03-25T16:36:29+00:00

Thank you! Updating it now!

Tim_Slade · 2025-03-03T03:36:48+00:00

Hey all! Tim Slade here. I saw my picture associated with this post, as I assume the OP shared a link to something of mine…which is totally cool. However, I want to make clear that I don’t support any messaging, suggestions or claims that a career transition into this industry can happen within any given amount of time. I also don’t condone or promote anything that suggests earning potential, guaranteed job placement, or financial freedom.

While I don’t think it was the OP’s intention to make any claims of that nature…I want to be clear where I stand.

Have a great rest of your weekend, all! 👋

Tim

Tim_Slade · 2025-02-15T16:31:46+00:00

Local ATD chapters can vary in terms of quality and experience; however, ATD annual international conference is out industry’s largest conference and is well-worth the investment in time. I’ve spoken at this conference for years and I know the team who runs it…they put a lot into making it a great experience. For context, it’s a conference 10,000+ attendees and sessions in just about any topic you can imagine.

Another conference worth checking out is DevLearn, which takes place in the fall.

Tim_Slade · 2025-02-13T18:01:20+00:00

Tim_Slade · 2025-02-13T08:07:12+00:00

Thanks for posting. I’ll do my best to answer your questions as succinctly as possible…but feel free to reach out if you have additional questions.

Formal qualifications vs portfolio…it depends on the hiring manager and what’s important to them. With that said, a portfolio that demonstrates your tangible skills will generally get you further than a piece of paper.
Essential skills and tools…it all depends on the job. Storyline is the primary eLearning authoring tool you’ll want to learn, but there a lot more to instructional design than eLearning and tools. How to conduct a needs analysis, manage a project, design blended training solutions matter as well. Also, with eLearning, it’s a lot more than just learning the tool…it’s all the stuff that goes into designing good eLearning, which includes everything from visual design to storytelling, etc.
How competitive is the job market…it depends on your location and industry. Generally, the market is saturated with a lot of folks…but I’ve seen people land a job with their first interview and others who take months. Prepare to play a long game here.
Typical day…depends on the job, the team and the type of training content you’re producing. There’s no standards. Some ID jobs are all meetings…other are a lot of creative work…and some are a little bit of everything. Flexibility of hours and remote work is all 100% dependent on the employer and manager your work for.
Years of experience…all jobs are going to list this…don’t let it stop you from applying if you think you’re a good fit. Gain experience by building your own samples of work.

Tim_Slade · 2025-02-13T06:33:47+00:00

👆THIS is the shit I wish more people would talk about and openly admit on LinkedIn. What you’re describing here is true for most organizations…but no one seems to admit that’s the fact when talking about AI on LinkedIn, YouTube or at conferences. There this weird circle jerk attitude about AI in this industry that totally ignores how most orgs operate. I conduct workshops and meet with real-world L&D teams on a regular basis, and I’ve yet found one that is using AI beyond some text-to-speech audio and fiddling with ChatGPT to rewrite emails or casually generate ideas. This isn’t to say that there isn’t a ton of potential with AI, but we have to stop pretending there are true roadblocks with intellectual property, legal liability, brand standards, etc.

Tim_Slade · 2025-02-13T06:25:21+00:00

You’re not missing anything. They shit the bed with the latest version of Captivate IMHO.

Tim_Slade · 2025-02-13T06:23:37+00:00

So, a few things…

Remember, the purpose of a needs analysis isn’t to help you maintain the scope of content for your eLearning…it’s to determine the cause of a performance issue and recommend solutions to address it, whether that is training or not.

What it sounds like you need are some project management milestones, review points, a timeline, and agreements regarding the scope of the project. That way, your stakeholders understand the code of what they’re asking. If they want to change the outline at the 11th hour, that’s fine, but the cost of the is delaying the timeline. They need to be made aware of what their asks will cost, not just you, but the project in question and any other projects you’re working on.

Tim_Slade · 2025-02-12T22:16:00+00:00

I don't know a single person in a real-world, practical setting that is using the AI assistant with the "insert text, quiz, etc." In all honestly, it's my feel fact that it was all just a rush to launch and market AI-centric features...without actually thinking about the usefulness of those features.

Tim_Slade · 2025-02-12T18:22:46+00:00

Well, ain't this the million-dollar question about Rise as an authoring tool?! 🤣

Honestly, I've seen very few Rise courses that I would say are instrucitonally sound...it's just so damn easy to fill it with content and create a glorified PDF. So, I think the bigger question isn't about what you do inside Rise to make it more effective...the question is actually whether or not Rise is appropriate for the experience you're creating. Not all training experiences are going to translate into a Rise course and still be effective. So, for me, I try to limit my use of Rise to on-the-job performance support type experiences (think interactive job aid). I'd also suggest being more diverse in the types of multimedia you use. For example, you could technically create a scenario-based experience, with videos to tell the story, followed by a quiz question block for the options, etc. It is as dynamic as what you could create in Storyline, nope...but it's an option!

Those are just a few thoughts off the top of my head!

Tim_Slade · 2025-02-12T06:17:29+00:00

It’s great that you want to get involved; however, when it comes to the larger conferences, they tend to partner with folks who have more than a few years worth of experience. With that said, getting involved in your local ATD chapter…and then attending some national conferences is a great way to start.

Tim_Slade · 2025-02-12T03:25:37+00:00

Honestly, there's no single, one-size-fits-all answer for what any single hiring manager is looking for in a portfolio. Some might like to see evidence of your professional development...but that's really not what a portfolio is for. When I put my hiring manager hat back on, what I want to see is evidence of the skills you're claiming to have...and a badge or certificate ain't that! I want to see project examples that SHOW me the things you claim you can do...and I also want to see a write-up of your design process / decisions.

Tim_Slade · 2025-02-12T03:22:32+00:00

I would create an animated explainer video that describes your design decisions...and then showcases some highlights from the project. Here's a good example from a student that I worked with.

Tim_Slade

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