An excellent start... IDOL Courses is a great place to begin if you're thinking about transitioning to Instructional Design. Everything you need to get started is right there at your fingertips, AND you have lifetime access to it. It has been such a rewarding experience. I have learned so much, and I feel very ready to apply to jobs and move into the next phase of my career.

This is what I needed This is what I needed, the way I need it. Organized but not rigid; friendly and empathetic, while all about realistic business results. Some of the training is very formal and demanding, and some is social and fun...in two weeks, I've moved past the "overwhelming" phase and am able to make judgments about what to learn next.

IDOL is an incredible academy to learn… IDOL is an incredible academy to learn instructional design skills. There is absolutely no way I could have accomplished as much as I have the past 7 weeks on my own. The community is the best part about the course. The feedback and support from fellow cohort members as well as the guidance and leadership from coaches and mentors makes the course worth every penny. The reason why I would not rate the academy a 5/5 is because I do believe the course could be improved in several ways. Some of the lessons are include too much information that is not broken down enough for beginners. It is also difficult to locate materials at times. The course has undergone changes recently that have made it better, but the videos do not always reflect those changes. For example, it is not uncommon for the instructions or videos to refer to course materials that are no longer available or in use in the academy. This makes meeting expectations difficult. Overall, I would highly recommend this course.

Some questions were confusing Some questions were confusing; especially the options given for ADDIE. I think that the options need to be clearly expressed concerning the tasks done during each of the phases. This would make it more meaningful. It would also be helpful if the answers to the questions were explained once the responses are submitted.

IDOL: Supportive and Informative I loved the community, the support, and the plethora of PD available to refer back to as much as needed. I found areas I felt drawn to and really dug in there first. I loved the options to get my work reviewed in multiple settings, and I loved learning how to review others (and knew my craft was sharpening in my ability to do so)