One of my goals each year is to read one book a month that will help sharpen my course-building skills. I’m always asked for book recommendations. Some of the recommendations are for those getting started, even if you’re an experienced course designer it helps to review familiar course design concepts or expand to other fields like UX or graphic design.

If your goal is to read twelve books this year, here’s a list to help you get started. Even if you don’t read them all this year, some of these are good to have on hand in your elearning reference library.

Instructional Design Books

• Design for How People Learn (recently updated with 3 new chapters)
• ISD From the Ground Up: A No-Nonsense Approach to Instructional Design
• Understanding by Design
• E-Learning Fundamentals: A Practical Guide
• Michael Allen’s books. I recommend starting with one from his E-Learning Library series.

Gamification Books

Gamification is more than a buzz word and the principles that make games work can be applied to course design to create more engaging and effective elearning.

• Gamification of Learning and Instruction
• Even Ninja Monkeys Like to Play
• Actionable Gamification

Graphic & UX Design Books

Courses are more than content. The look and feel of the content is also important as well as the user experience. Here are some good books to help you learn more.

• Non-Designer’s Design Book (4th edition)
• About Face: The Essentials of Interaction Design
• Graphic Design for Non-Designers

Video Production

Video is viable for elearning now so it doesn’t hurt to learn more about using it in your courses. The challenge for many of us is how to do it on a budget. Here are two books that have been recommended to me. I haven’t read either yet. If you have, let me know what you think.

• Rapid Video Development for Trainers: How to Create Learning Videos Fast and Affordably
• Creating Video for Teachers and Trainers: Producing Professional Video with Amateur Equipment

The links to Amazon books may produce a slight commission.

12 Free eBooks

I’ve mentioned this before, but there’s a good list of free ebooks in the elearning community. If you don’t want to spend money, this is a good place to start. You have one free ebook for each month.

• E-Learning for Beginners

• The Insider’s Guide to Becoming a Rapid E-Learning Pro

• 5 Highly Effective Strategies for Creating Engaging E-Learning

• 9 Steps to Better E-Learning Project Management

• The Essential Guide to Working with Subject Matter Experts

• Building Compelling Interactions: What You Need to Know

• The Secret to Creating Great E-Learning Videos

• Essential Guide to Visual Design

• How to Use Typography to Improve Your E-Learning

• 6 Best Practices for Designing Accessible E-Learning

• Getting Started with Articulate Storyline

• Getting Started with Articulate Studio

My first book to read will be Even Ninja Monkeys Like to Play. What are you reading this year?

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.