Build Your Skills with These Online Training Books

It’s almost summer time and what’s better than laying in a hammock reading a book on how to build online training? Not much, I’m sure.

I’m always asked about books to read to get better at building online training courses. Here are a few books I’ve mentioned at recent workshops and below that a list of books I’ve mentioned in previous posts.

New Online Training Book Recommendations

Here are a few books I haven’t mentioned before that I think work for those just getting started:

Online Training Books: Getting Started

• Instructional Design for E-Learning: What I like about this book is that it has short chapters that cover a broad range of topics. They’re almost like abstracts of a lot of the things you need to know.
• E-Learning Uncovered: From Concept to Execution: This book also covers a lot of what you need to know to build courses. Also has some good checklists.
• Designing Effective E-Learning: A very practical approach to course design. He covers a lot of stuff. This is really more like a course on designing courses.
• The Accidental Instructional Designer: I like Cammy and she’s a lot like many of you who kind of stumbled into the role as elearning designer. Her book offers a lot of simple tips & tricks to help you get started.

The links to Amazon books may produce a slight commission.

Learning the Articulate Software

• E-Learning Uncovered: Articulate Storyline
• Learning Articulate Storyline
• E-Learning Uncovered: Articulate Studio ‘13
• Articulate Studio Cookbook

Blog Posts with Online Training Book Recommendations

I’ve mentioned a few books in previous posts. They cover a broad range of topics because today’s course designer needs to understand instructional, visual, and interaction design.

• Are These the Three E-Learning Books You Would Recommend?
• Become a PowerPoint Rock Star!
• 5 Simple Ways to Get Started with E-Learning Development
• 3 Ways to Improve Your E-learning Design Skills
• 10 Tips to Help You Get Started
• The Project Management Tip You Can’t Ignore
• These Simple Tips Will Help You Build the Right E-Learning
• Here Are the 3 Building Blocks for Interactive E-Learning
• 7 Proven Techniques for Keeping Your E-Learning Customers Happy

Online Training Book Recommendations

Here’s a list of the books mentioned above in case you don’t want to go digging through the previous posts:

Course & Instructional Design

• Design for How People Learn
• Multimedia Learning
• E-Learning & the Science of Instruction
• E-Learning by Design
• Training Design Basics
• Guide to e-Learning
• E-Learning by Design
• Scenario-based eLearning
• Training Design Basics

Working on Projects with Clients

• Performance Consulting
• The Performance Consultant’s Fieldbook
• Hamster Revolution: Manage Your Email Before It Manages You
• First Things Fast

Visual & Presentation Design

• Non-Designer’s Design Book
• Beyond Bullet Points
• Slide:ology
• Presentation Zen
• The Back of the Napkin
• White Space is Not Your Enemy

User Design

• Don’t Make Me Think
• Seductive Interaction Design: Creating Playful, Fun, and Effective User Experiences
• About Face 3: The Essentials of Interaction Design
• Rocket Surgery Made Easy: The Do-It-Yourself Guide to Finding and Fixing Usability Problems
• The Elements of User Experience: User-Centered Design for the Web and Beyond

PowerPoint

• Better Than Bullet Points
• Various PowerPoint books

You can also finds a pretty long list of other books in the elearning community. Enjoy your summer reading!

Events

Free E-Learning Resources

Want to learn more? Check out these articles and free resources in the community.	Here’s a great job board for e-learning, instructional design, and training jobs	Participate in the weekly e-learning challenges to sharpen your skills
Get your free PowerPoint templates and free graphics & stock images.	Lots of cool e-learning examples to check out and find inspiration.	Getting Started? This e-learning 101 series and the free e-books will help.