Reports
AI in Corporate Training Statistics for 2026
30 sourced AI in corporate training statistics for 2026: adoption rates, market size, employee sentiment, skill gaps, and outcomes, each with a named primary source and date.
Updated
Free Instructional Design Content
THE FULL LIBRARY
Every free article, all in one list
114 guides, newest updates first
- Portfolio Building
6 AI Portfolio Projects for Instructional Designers
Six buildable AI portfolio projects for instructional designers, from a weekend custom GPT to an AI practice simulation inside a Storyline 360 flagship.
Updated
- ID Theory & Models
How to Use ChatGPT for Instructional Design: Real Workflows
Real ChatGPT workflows for instructional designers: copy-ready prompts for objectives, storyboards, scenarios, and critique, plus exactly where the tool fails.
Updated
- Become an ID
How to Become an Instructional Designer in 2026 (Step-by-Step)
Learn how to become an instructional designer in 2026: the skills, portfolio projects, qualifications, and salary data that hiring managers actually care about.
Updated
- AI & Simulations
Synthesia Roleplay Sessions vs devlin.ai: 2026 Comparison
Synthesia Roleplay Sessions or devlin.ai for AI practice conversations? A side by side comparison from the founder of devlin.ai: formats, learner access, scoring, pricing status, and the five questions to send both vendors.
Updated
- Become an ID
What Can You Do With an Education Degree? 14 High-Paying Jobs
What can you do with an education degree besides teach? Here are 14 high-paying jobs, with sourced salary data, growth outlook, and the credentials each one actually requires.
Updated
- Reports
Teacher Shortages by State in 2026: Full 50-State Data
Is there a teacher shortage in 2026? Yes: about 1 in 8 U.S. teaching positions are unfilled or staffed by teachers who are not fully certified. See the data for all 50 states.
Updated
- ID Theory & Models
Instructional Design Document Template: Guide and Example
See exactly what an instructional design document (IDD) includes, how to write one in six steps, and a filled-in example, plus a free design document template.
Updated
- ID Theory & Models
The Kirkpatrick Model: 4 Levels, Examples, and Free Template
The Kirkpatrick Model's four levels of training evaluation explained with examples, sample questions per level, a free planning template, adoption statistics, and the New World model updates.
Updated
- Become an ID
eLearning Portfolio Project Ideas That Get You Hired in 2026
Concrete eLearning portfolio project ideas grouped by the skill they prove, with scope guidance, an AI-forward flagship recommendation, and a playable example simulation.
Updated
- Become an ID
How to Get an Instructional Design Job With No Experience
Instructional design jobs ask for 3 to 5 years of experience. Here's how to substitute proof for years: reframe your background, build a portfolio, and apply anyway.
Updated
- ID Theory & Models
Mayer's 12 Principles of Multimedia Learning (With Examples)
Mayer's 12 principles of multimedia learning explained with eLearning examples, common violations, evidence strength, and the 3 newer principles from the 2021 update.
Updated
- AI & Simulations
Build vs Buy: How to Evaluate AI Simulation Tools for Your Team
Should your L&D team build AI training simulations in-house or buy a tool? The real build-vs-buy costs, the evaluation criteria that matter, a vendor comparison, and a two-week pilot plan.
Updated
- ID Theory & Models
10 Writing Tips for Instructional Designers (With Rewrites)
Ten writing tips for instructional designers, each with a before and after rewrite, plus my real banned-word list and how to edit AI-drafted course copy.
Updated
- Articulate Storyline
How to Develop a Chatbot in Articulate Storyline: 3 Ways
Three ways to build a chatbot in Articulate Storyline: simulate one with triggers and layers, connect ChatGPT with JavaScript, or embed a no-code AI simulation.
Updated
- eLearning Development
8 Best eLearning Examples (Scenario-Based and AI-Powered)
Study 8 of the best eLearning examples: five scenario-based classics plus three AI-powered simulations you can play right in this article, with a breakdown of why each one works.
Updated
- Articulate Storyline
How to Generate Closed Captions in Articulate Storyline 360
Three ways to add closed captions in Articulate Storyline 360: generate them with AI Assistant, import an SRT file, or use the built-in editor. Plus review, styling, and WCAG compliance.
Updated
- eLearning Development
How to Use an LMS: A Practical Guide for Instructional Designers
Learn the five core LMS tasks every instructional designer needs: creating courses, adding users, enrolling learners, uploading SCORM packages, and tracking completions.
Updated
- eLearning Development
Where to Get Graphics for eLearning: Stock, AI, and Custom
Where to get graphics for eLearning in 2026: the best free and paid sources, when AI image generation works (and when it looks like slop), plus licensing and accessibility rules.
Updated
- eLearning Development
Visual Design Principles for eLearning (With Examples)
Learn the seven visual design principles that make eLearning look polished and professional, plus the most common mistakes and the workflow to apply them.
Updated
- Become an ID
How to Find Instructional Design Jobs in 2026
Where instructional design jobs actually get posted in 2026, which job titles to search, and the weekly routine that turns applications into interviews.
Updated
- Resume & Interview
The Top 15 Instructional Design Skills You Need in 2026
Which instructional design skills do hiring managers actually want in 2026? See the top 15 skills ranked by real hiring data, from Storyline and AI to learning theory.
Updated
- ID Theory & Models
33 Instructional Design Theories, Models, and Principles
What are the top instructional design theories? Get all 33 theories, models, and principles in one guide, with a quick-reference table and help choosing the right one for your project.
Updated
- eLearning Development
Online Learning Statistics: The Ultimate List for 2026
What do the latest online learning statistics say in 2026? Enrollment, market size, online vs classroom effectiveness, cost, and AI adoption, all with sources.
Updated
- Become an ID
The 15 Best Instructional Design Certificate Programs in 2026
Compare the best instructional design certificate programs in 2026, with prices, durations, and graduate credit options, plus a straight answer on whether a certificate is worth it.
Updated
- Become an ID
The 15 Best Instructional Design Courses in 2026 (Free to Paid)
Compare the 15 best instructional design courses of 2026, from free Coursera classes to university certificates and mentored career programs, with prices and AI coverage.
Updated
- Articulate Storyline
Articulate Rise vs Storyline: Which Should You Use in 2026?
Storyline 360 or Rise 360? Get a clear verdict, a side-by-side comparison table, the 2026 AI features, current pricing, and which tool to learn first.
Updated
- Become an ID
Instructional Designer Resume: Examples, Keywords, and Template
Real instructional designer resume examples, an ATS keyword table, teacher-to-ID translations, and a free template that gets you to the interview.
Updated
- ID Theory & Models
Instructional Designer vs. eLearning Developer: Key Differences
Instructional designers plan the learning experience and eLearning developers build it. Compare responsibilities, skills, and salaries, and see which path makes sense as AI reshapes both roles.
Updated
- Become an ID
What Does an Instructional Designer Do in 2026?
What instructional designers actually do in 2026: core responsibilities, a real day in the life, salary data by setting and experience, and how AI is changing the role.
Updated
- ID Theory & Models
The Successive Approximation Model (SAM): A Complete Guide
Learn how the SAM model of instructional design works, including its three phases, SAM1 vs SAM2, how it compares to ADDIE, when it fails, and how AI-speed prototyping changes the loop.
Updated
- ID Theory & Models
AI in Instructional Design: The Complete 2026 Guide
How instructional designers actually use AI in 2026: current adoption data, a workflow integration playbook, practice simulations, the skills that pay, and the honest risks.
Updated
- ID Theory & Models
Will AI Replace Instructional Designers? My Honest Answer
No. AI is replacing instructional design tasks, not designers. See the hiring manager data, PwC and BLS numbers, and which ID skills matter most now.
Updated
- ID Theory & Models
The Best AI Tools for Instructional Design (2026): What I Actually Use
The AI tools for instructional design I actually pay for in 2026, organized by job: analysis, authoring, media, practice simulations, automation, and QA. Plain verdicts, real pricing.
Updated
- eLearning Development
AI in Design 2026: Best Tools, Real Workflows, What's Next
An independent 2026 guide to AI in design: the best tools compared by job and price, real workflows from a working designer, and clear answers on jobs, quality, and copyright.
Updated
- eLearning Development
37 Employee Training Statistics and Trends for 2026
How much do companies spend on employee training? Who actually gets AI training? Here are 37 employee training statistics for 2026 covering budgets, retention, AI, and skills.
Updated
- Become an ID
Action Mapping: Cathy Moore's Model Explained with Examples
Action mapping is Cathy Moore's goal-first training design model. Learn the five steps, see a worked example, and compare it with ADDIE.
Updated
- Become an ID
How to Create an Instructional Design Portfolio in 2026
See real instructional design portfolio examples, then follow a step-by-step process to build a portfolio (including an AI project) that gets interviews in 2026.
Updated
- ID Theory & Models
Scenario-Based Learning: The Complete Guide
What scenario-based learning is, when it beats other formats, and how to design challenge, choice, and consequence scenarios step by step, with real examples and tools.
Updated
- AI & Simulations
AI Training Simulations: The L&D Leader's Guide
What AI training simulations are, how they compare to live role-play, VR, and branching scenarios, what they cost in 2026, and how L&D leaders keep them accurate and safe.
Updated
- AI & Simulations
AI Role-Play Simulations: What They Are and When They Work
AI role-play simulations let employees rehearse high-stakes conversations with realistic AI characters. Here is when they outperform branching scenarios, and when they are the wrong tool.
Updated
- ID Theory & Models
What Is Instructional Design? Definition and 8 Real Examples
Instructional design is the practice of creating learning experiences that help people build skills and perform better. Get the definition, the five step process, and eight real examples you can explore today.
Updated
- Performance Consulting
The Ethics of Designing Training: Should You Build That Course?
The real ethics problem in instructional design is building courses that no analysis supports. See which codes of ethics actually exist, when training is the right solution, how to push back on course orders, and the new duties AI creates.
Updated
- AI & Simulations
The ROI of Practice-Based Training: What the Data Says
How to make the ROI case for practice-based training and AI simulations: the research, the measurement framework, and how to structure a pilot that proves impact.
Updated
- AI & Simulations
Rolling Out AI Simulations: What Your Team Needs
What an L&D team actually needs to roll out AI training simulations: roles, a 30-60-90 day plan, quality ownership, and the failure modes to avoid.
Updated
- Reports
Employee Onboarding Statistics: Top Trends & Insights (2025)
What are the top employee onboarding statistics? Here's the full list!
Updated
- Reports
10 Top Online Learning Trends for 2025: Definitive Guide
What are the top online learning trends in 2024? This report includes all the trends you need to be aware of in the eLearning space. Read on!
Updated
- Portfolio Building
eLearning Portfolio Reviews
Learn what stands out in an eLearning portfolio in of this portfolio review series.
Updated
- Articulate Storyline
How to Learn Articulate Storyline 360
Want to learn Articulate Storyline 360? Today, you'll learn how to use Articulate Storyline!
Updated
- ID Theory & Models
Best eLearning Books for Instructional Designers
Are you looking for the best eLearning and instructional design books? Check out this article for five books that will bring your eLearning skillset to the next level.
Updated
- Articulate Storyline
Generate a PDF Certificate from an eLearning Course
Learn how to generate a dynamic PDF certificate from an Articulate Storyline 360 course. The certificate includes the user's name and the date.
Updated
- eLearning Development
Best Laptops for Instructional Designers in 2025
This article serves as a buying guide (with specific recommendations) to help instructional designers find their perfect laptops for instructional design and eLearning development work.
Updated
- Resume & Interview
50+ Instructional Designer Interview Questions for 2025
What are the top instructional designer interview questions? Read on for the most common ID interview questions.
Updated
- Articulate Storyline
60+ Best Instructional Design Software Tools & Resources in 2025
What are the best instructional design software tools? Read on to get 60+ top software tools instructional designers use every day.
Updated
- Become an ID
50 Best Jobs for Former Teachers in 2026 (High-Paying & Remote Options)
Looking to leave the classroom? Explore 50 high-paying career paths for former teachers in 2026, including remote-friendly roles like instructional design, corporate training, and project management. Compare salaries and transition difficulty at a glance.
Updated
- Reports
Instructional Designer Salary Report 2024
How much money do instructional designers make? Learn more about the average instructional design salary in this detailed report.
Updated
- Become an ID
How to Create a Storyboard for eLearning (Instructional Design)
Learn how to create a Storyboard for eLearning and why you should make one in your next project.
Updated
- Become an ID
Top 25 Non-Teaching Jobs in Education (2026) | Salary & Guide
Explore 25 high-paying non-teaching jobs in education for 2026. Compare salaries, degree requirements, remote options, and learn how to transition from teaching.
Updated
- Become an ID
How to Become a Freelance Instructional Designer in 2026
How do you become a freelance instructional designer? Here are the 9 steps to successfully start your own freelance business as an ID!
Updated
- Become an ID
UX and LXD vs ID: What You Need to Know
What is the difference between UX and LXD vs ID? Here's what a UX does versus an instructional designer.
Updated
- Become an ID
The Full History of Instructional Design
What is the history of instructional design? Here’s how instructional design evolved over the last decades.
Updated
- Become an ID
15 Teacher Shortage Statistics (2025)
What are the most important teacher shortage statistics? Here’s how teacher shortage rates have developed in the US.
Updated
- Reports
The eLearning Market Size and Trends in 2025
How big is the eLearning market? Here’s the full eLearning market size report on the size and growth rate of eLearning.
Updated
- Become an ID
Quitting Teaching Mid-Year: Can You Really Do It?
Do you want to quit teaching mid-year? Here's everything you need to know about quitting teaching and what you should think about before you do.
Updated
- Become an ID
Why Teachers Quit + What You Can Do Instead
Why do teachers quit? Here's why you might want to quit teaching – and what you can do instead with your existing skills.
Updated
- Become an ID
“I Hate Teaching”: What to Do Next
Do you hate teaching and want to change careers as quickly as possible? Here's how to decide what you should do next.
Updated
- Become an ID
How to Change Your Career from Teaching in 2025
What are the best career options for former teachers? Here's how to approach career change for teachers.
Updated
- Become an ID
15 Transferable Skills from Teaching (2025 Guide)
What are the top transferable skills from teaching? Here's the full list of teaching skills you can use in your new career.
Updated
- Become an ID
How to Transition From Teacher to Instructional Designer [2025 Guide]
How do you transition from teacher to instructional designer? This guide shows you the exact steps to start your instructional design career.
Updated
- Become an ID
Tech Jobs for Teachers: The Best Alternatives in 2025
What are the best tech jobs for teachers? Here are the top jobs for you if you're wondering how you can switch careers.
Updated
- Become an ID
Instructional Design Hiring Manager Report 2024
What do hiring managers consider when hiring instructional designers? Which application materials are the most important? What can instructional designers do to stand out? Check out the 2024 ID Hiring Manager Report for answers.
Updated
- ID Theory & Models
The Key Principles of Instructional Design (2025)
What are the key principles of instructional design? Here's what you need to know about all the top instructional design principles.
Updated
- Become an ID
Remote Jobs for Former Teachers: The Complete Guide
What are the best remote jobs for former teachers? Here are the top careers for teachers who want to work from home.
Updated
- eLearning Development
Top eLearning Trends: The Ultimate Guide in 2025
What are the top eLearning trends right now? Here is how online learning is developing and the future of eLearning.
Updated
- Become an ID
The 21 Best Instructional Design Master’s Degree Programs
What are the top instructional design master's degree programs? Here are the best programs for IDs who want to get a masters degree and up their career.
Updated
- Become an ID
Teacher Burnout Statistics: Why Teachers Quit in 2025
What are the top teacher burnout statistics? Here is a collection of data and facts on why teachers feel burnt out and are leaving their teaching profession. Read on!
Updated
- ID Theory & Models
The Best Instructional Design Models for Creating Great Learning Experiences
Create amazing learning experiences with Gagne’s Nine Events, Merrill’s Principles of Instruction, and Action Mapping.
Updated
- ID Theory & Models
The Instructional Design Process Made Simple (ADDIE, SAM, and Action Mapping)
Learn the three top processes for analyzing, designing, and developing instructional design solutions.
Updated
- eLearning Development
How to Design Effective eLearning
Would you like to design effective eLearning or become an eLearning designer? This proven process will help you design scenario-based eLearning, delight your audience, and land better opportunities.
Updated
- xAPI
Custom xAPI Statements in Articulate Storyline - First Impressions
Learn what a xAPI is and how you can now use it in Articulate Storyline 360 in this video
Updated
- Become an ID
Instructional Designer Full Report 2021
See the latest instructional design data—includes salary information, job satisfaction, work-life balance, common tasks, most-used tools, and much more.
Updated
- Performance Consulting
Is Lack of Training a Problem?
L&D teams run into many problems when they assume that lack of training is a problem. In this video, we explore the different causes for human performance issues.
Updated
- xAPI
How to Send Custom xAPI Statements in 2025
Learn about how what xAPI is, how to create xAPI statements, and how to send xAPI statements in this detailed tutorial guide.
Updated
- eLearning Development
How to Track eLearning Without an LMS
Learn how to collect data from an eLearning course without uploading the course to an LMS. Track completions, question responses, duration, and more.
Updated
- Become an ID
How to Write Learning Objectives
Learn how to write learning objectives with Bloom's Taxonomy in this video
Updated
- ID Theory & Models
Learning Experience Design vs. Instructional Design
What's the difference between learning experience design and instructional design? Gain clarity once and for all with this detailed comparison.
Updated
- eLearning Development
What is eLearning? eLearning Explained [Updated in 2025]
What is eLearning? Learn more about what eLearning is, what its benefits are, and whether or not eLearning is effective in this comprehensive article.
Updated
- Freelancing
How to Use LinkedIn Effectively
You can use LinkedIn effectively to land new full-time jobs and high-value clients. Use this article to ensure that you’re using LinkedIn effectively.
Updated
- xAPI
Send an xAPI Statement from a Glide App Button
In this tutorial, you'll learn how to add a button to a Glide App that sends an xAPI statement to Watershed LRS whenever it's selected.
Updated
- Freelancing
Hourly Pricing vs. Project Pricing
Pricing plays a key role in any freelancer’s success. In this article, you'll learn how to use project pricing to make more money while working less.
Updated
- Freelancing
Top 5 Red Flags for Freelancers
As a freelancer, you want clients that respect your time and expertise. However, "problem clients" don't respect you, and they cut into your bottom line. By looking out for these red flags, you can identify problem clients before agreeing to work with them.
Updated
- eLearning Development
Top 5 No-Code Tools for eLearning
The no-code movement introduces thousands of new tools that we can use to design and develop eLearning. These tools make it possible to develop fully-functioning software without writing a line of code, and they provide easy-to-use graphic interfaces so that we can “code” visually.
Updated
- Portfolio Building
The Evolution of my eLearning Portfolio
Learn about the evolution of my eLearning portfolio website — from Wix, to a custom build, to Gatsby.js, to Webflow.
Updated
- xAPI
The Full Guide to xAPI and Storyline
Do you need to send custom xAPI statements from your Storyline course? This definitive resources teaches you how to write and send custom xAPI statements, as well as how bring that data back into your eLearning.
Updated
- xAPI
Common xAPI & Storyline Troubleshooting Steps
This page lists the most common issues and associated troubleshooting steps that you can use when sending custom xAPI statements from a Storyline course.
Updated
- xAPI
Create an xAPI-Powered Leaderboard in Storyline
In this final xAPI and Storyline tutorial, you'll learn how to pull data from the LRS to create an xAPI-enabled leaderboard within your Articulate Storyline course.
Updated
- ID Theory & Models
How to Apply Gagne's 9 Events of Instruction
This article explains how you can use Gagne's 9 Events to design an effective eLearning course. Examples included to show how you can apply each of Gagne's events.
Updated
- xAPI
How to Query the LRS (xAPI Tutorial)
In this tutorial, you'll learn how to query your Learning Record Store (LRS) to work with the xAPI data that you've collected. This is a prerequisite for xAPI-powered adaptive learning experiences, leaderboards, dashboards, and more.
Updated
- xAPI
Managing Your Project: xAPI and Storyline
This tutorial teaches you how to manage your Articulate Storyline xAPI implementation project. Specifically, we'll look at how to organize your xAPI verbs, JavaScript file, and JavaScript functions.
Updated
- xAPI
How to Measure Duration with xAPI, Storyline, and JS Timers
This tutorial teaches you how to measure course and slide duration in a Storyline course using xAPI and JavaScript timers. Designed for eLearning designers (you don't need to be a coding expert!).
Updated
- xAPI
How to Collect Quiz Score Info with xAPI and Storyline
This tutorial teaches you how to collect quiz score information using xAPI and Storyline. Particularly, we look at min, max, raw, and scaled score.
Updated
- xAPI
How to Collect Text Responses with xAPI and Storyline
This tutorial teaches you how to collect a user's open text response in a Storyline course using xAPI. It uses the result element's "response" object to do so.
Updated
- Articulate Storyline
How to Collect Activity Info with xAPI and Storyline
This tutorial teaches you how to collect additional activity information using xAPI and Storyline. Specifically, we dive into the Object Type, Activity Description, and Activity Type components of an xAPI statement.
Updated
Book Review: Map It by Cathy Moore
This review explores Cathy Moore's flagship book: Map It, The Hands-On Guide to Strategic Training Design. I discuss the book's impact on the industry, its core tenets, and its strengths and weaknesses.
Updated
- ID Theory & Models
How to Conduct a Needs Assessment
Are you ready to design training for issues that training will actually solve? This article explains how to conduct a needs assessment to get to the root of human performance problems.
Updated
- ID Theory & Models
What is Performance Support and Why is it Effective?
This post explores performance support as a technique to improve human performance. It outlines why this approach is so effective, as well as some of the terminology used to discuss the different types of performance support.
Updated
- ID Theory & Models
What is the ADDIE Model of Instructional Design? 2025 Guide
The ADDIE model, developed by Florida State University in the 1970s, is the most well-known framework for designing instruction to improve human performance. In this article we'll explore each phase of the model, then we'll discuss some of its shortcomings.
Updated
- ID Theory & Models
4 Types of Analysis for Instructional Design
You've likely heard about the importance of analysis for instructional design, but what are you supposed to analyze? This article outlines four common types of analysis for instructional design and why they're useful.
Updated
- ID Theory & Models
What is a Training Needs Assessment?
The training needs assessment, also referred to as "needs analysis" or "front-end analysis," is a process used by organizations to identify their human performance needs. A performance consultant typically conducts a needs assessment for an organization when...
Updated
- Performance Consulting
What is Performance Consulting?
Learn more about performance consulting, a viable approach to improving the performance of employees and organizations.
Updated
- Articulate Storyline
How to Send an xAPI Statement from a Storyline Course
Part 3 of 3 in the Getting Started with xAPI Tutorial Series. In this tutorial, you'll learn how to send an xAPI statement from an Articulate Storyline project to Veracity Learning LRS.
Updated
- xAPI
How to Collect a User's Name & Email from a Storyline Course
Part 2 of 3 in the Getting Started with xAPI Tutorial Series. In this tutorial, you'll learn how to use JavaScript to populate an xAPI statement with the learner's name and email address after they enter it in a published Storyline course.
Updated
- xAPI
How to Write an xAPI Statement from Scratch
Part 1 of 3 in the Getting Started with xAPI Tutorial Series. In this tutorial, you'll learn how to write an Experience API (xAPI) statement from the ground up. This guide is intended for beginners who are not already proficient with JavaScript.
Updated
- Articulate Storyline
How to Upload eLearning Projects to the Web
In this tutorial, you will learn how to upload your Articulate Storyline projects to Amazon S3, generating a public link that you can share with others.
Updated