Proficiency Check | Types of Subject-matter Experts & the Pros/Cons of Each Whether they're new to the process or a long-time SME, it's our job to guide them through the project so they know what to expect when. Let's discuss the SME types and how knowing these types supports your project's progress. (Seriously, figuring this out for me was 🤯) Whether you're using ADDIE or another design process, our subject matter experts aren't necessarily aware of what instructional design is, how the...
13 days ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader! Holy cow, how is it almost the end of our first quarter?! I don't know about you, but for me, it feels like this Q has been a year... business stuff in flux, politics doing stuff nowhere on my bingo card, family chaos (though much of it good like my new nephew 😍). It's been a lot. And I'm sure life has been super lifey for you too, Reader. One way I've been calming my nervous system lately is by putting on my sleep mask and using my noise canceling headphones to listen to an...
17 days ago • 1 min read
Proficiency Check | Let's Talk About ADDIE Here's a quick lesson on ADDIE, a design process in Instructional Design. One thing to keep in mind while I share all this is that ADDIE may feel like the ideal, but IDs hardly ever have an ideal scenario within their projects. While it's important to have all the stages, they aren't exactly linear in action. But here's my quick explanation. (If you need to read the transcript of this, click here.) You can explore ADDIE more with the interactive...
19 days ago • 2 min read
Guidance! | Positioning for Executive Roles A while back, I had an email AMA (Ask Mandy Anything😉). And someone sent a really good question: “ How do I position myself for an executive role with no advanced education? So today I thought I'd answer this. I have interviewed for executive roles since earning my EMBA. I have yet to accept one so take my answer with a grain of salt (as always). Of all those interviews, none of them listed my EMBA as the reason they wanted to talk to me. Here's...
21 days ago • 2 min read
Proficiency Check | SME Preference Sheets A while back I shared about personal user manuals and how having one supports SMEs in knowing how to work best with you. But it wasn't until a coworker shared one of their strategies for working with SMEs that I learned about a SME Preference Sheet. What is a SME Preference Sheet? Sometimes as an ID, you're working with the same SMEs on multiple projects. A SME Preference Sheet is a collection of the notes you've taken from that SME across projects,...
25 days ago • 2 min read
Proficiency Check | What I like most about Instructional Design “ What do you like most about being an instructional designer? - question asked of me at a networking event Before I answer this, let me give some context for my teaching role. I worked as the English department for a Discipline Alternative Education Program (DAEP), which is a fancy way of saying I worked with kids in trauma who made poor decisions and were caught by adults who cared more about their ego. Some of them broke the...
28 days ago • 2 min read
Saving Throws | The Myth of Doing it All A former mentee reached out to me recently to ask for support in their new job hunt. I shared several resources I had created. And after getting all these, they responded with "How do you have time to do all this?" It's a common comparison we make as humans. I'd argue that women tend to be the majority who are making this comparison because of societal pressure, the proverbial "How does she do it?" But I digress... Today I thought I'd attempt to answer...
29 days ago • 5 min read
Hi Reader! Things have gotten busy in the Brown house. So I won't take too much of your time today. I'm just popping in real quick to share that tomorrow I'm going to be at a free networking event that brings ID and educators together. I'll be sharing some about the job market, my experience as an ID, and general AMA ("Ask Mandy Anything" 😉). You can learn more and register here if you're interested. Other articles in today's issue: 🎨 Saving Throws - What to Remember When you Feel Lost (4...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Saving Throws | What to Remember When you Feel Lost I've been reading 101 Essays That Will Change the Way You Think because it's been on my to-read list and the Libby app finally has the audio book for me to borrow. (Love the library ebook app!) I hadn't gotten too far into the recording when the narrator read this line and stopped my in my tracks: “ Feeling “lost” or directionless. Feeling lost is actually a sign you’re becoming more present in your life—you’re living less within the...
about 1 month ago • 4 min read
