Erika J Nelsen - About Me

What I Do
I am an instructional designer and LMS adminstrator.

Instructional Design
Instructional design is difficult to master -- it requires loving to learn, listening to the experts, and questioning what's the optimal path over and over again. I enjoy the diverse skills that instructional design requires and always strive to improve.
Learning Technology
Technology can be a great tool in training. As my portfolio shows, there's many ways to use learning technology to solve a problem. To do so, you have to know the tools, work with specialists when needed, test out new approaches, and stick to the basics when there's a simple solution.
Learning About Me
See a selection of my interests.

Instructional Design
Instructional Design is the foundation for great courses.
In professional development courses, and preparing for the CPTD, I've become familiar with the core concepts of the field.
Learning Engineering
Data-driven learning experiences are one of the goals of learning engineering, an emerging speciality.
There is a recently published book by Jim Goodell that I would recommend on this topic if you are still exploring this topic like me. There is also an industry consortium on learning engineering.
Behavior Design
Tackling behavior change is the end goal of many instructional design projects.
From classics like The Design of Everyday Things to the more recent Atomic Habits, behavior design has many applicable ideas to instructional design.
Education

Smith College
Bachelors of Arts
Major: Spanish Literature
Minor: Discrete Mathematics
Northampton, MA
Association for Talent Development
Certified Professional in Talent Development
Certification earned in 2018 and currently maintained.
CPTD requires passing a proctored exam on domain knowledge in talent development including topics such as instructional design, training delivery, measuring impact, and change management.
Articles and notes
Selected writings on instructional design and related topics
Accessible Colors for Learners (WCAG)
WCAG accessible colors help learners in many ways: they enhance readabilitysupport color-blind...
Action Mapping in Instructional Design
June 14, 2023
Action mapping is a process used in instructional design to align learning objectives with...
The importance of play
Neutral ground The importance of understanding play in education and morality A reflection...
Photography
Landscape photography
View my portfolio.

Portfolio site
Reach Out
Drop me a line so we can collaborate and learn from each other! You can connect with me on LinkedIn or use the contact information below.

"There is no universally applicable rules, no magic wand, that we can apply to every situation and to all the structures we find in the real world. Our job is to think of, and then do, the right things at the right times and in the right way. There may be rules for accomplishing this, but the rules are local -- they are to a large extent dictated by specific circumstances." - Diedritch Dorner, Logic of Failure

Chicago metro area, Lake county
Highland Park, IL 60035
312-282-0801
312-282-0801
erikajnelsen@gmail.com