Instructional Design Contractor

Instructional Designers are set up to work as contractors if this type of work suits them. Is this something you've considered? I've been interested in this idea of having a few companies in a similar industry that I would create instructional content for them. I envision the projects as 3-10 month projects for a specific need. I know I would like the flexibility of working on a variety of projects over time.

Ideally, I'd like to have projects that I produce deliverables asynchronously. I would get to know the team and check in once a week, but otherwise I would produce the work on my own. If you have experience with this I think many of us would like to hear more about it.

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Smartsheet: an alternative to Microsoft Project

For years Microsoft Project dominated the market for project management software. It has a steep learning curve and is an expensive per seat cost. I was a technical writer for a small software company that used MS Project for the three project managers and myself. While I enjoyed learning about the science of project management from them in our meetings, I discovered that using the software was not that intuitive. I plugged in the tasks and timelines for several projects only to discover how challenging it was to have to refactor dates. It seemed to mess up the entire project such that I just stopped using it. It was more time consuming setting it up and refactoring it than just inputting status to show our progress. It looks like a better option is SmartSheet which is used by many major companies. You can sign up for a free trial to get familiar with it. The more you can learn about tools to manage instructional design projects, the more likely you are to be considered for the team. T...

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The U.S. Distance Learning Association

The USDLA is the oldest organization for distance learning https://usdla.org/ They conduct research and have weekly podcasts as well as local/state chapters. Are any of you members or planning on becoming a member? Higher Education is one of the specialties I'm considering, so I want to check out this organization. However, this organization is not limited to just Higher Education -- their members include corporations, healthcare, and government. This past week they held their annual conference. They also offer a certification for universities to demonstrate their adherence to the 91 standards of the organization. Maybe this is something you would propose to a future university team to consider. Here's their monthly podcast about the future of distance learning: https://inkandescentradio.com/series/distance-learning-roundtable/

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