Donette Brantner - About Me

About Me

Motivations

As an instructional designer and eLearning developer, I am driven by curiosity, creativity, and collaboration. I thrive on working closely with colleagues, SMEs, and other stakeholders to achieve shared goals and bring effective, innovative learning experiences to life.

Influences

I’m especially energized by connecting with people from diverse cultures and creating training that reflects the real-world challenges learners face; my years of working with adults from a wide variety of professional and cultural backgrounds as well as my experiences in living and working abroad have honed my ability to adapt and respond to challenges as I develop courses for learners with complex, broadly-ranging needs.

Beliefs about Learning

A firm advocate of life-long learning, I truly enjoy diving deep into new subject matter and consistently seek ways to enhance the relevance, accessibility, and impact of my work. This value is also reflected in my commitment to professional development: I stay current with advancements in the science of learning, and I’m passionate about expanding my technical skills, always eager to learn new tools and platforms to elevate the learning experiences I design.

My Design Process & Services:

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As a seasoned learning experience designer, I’m available to develop engaging, customized training solutions for both contract work and full-time learning development positions.

To create effective learning solutions, I follow a flexible process tailored to each organization’s needs and timeframe:

🟫 I begin by researching pertinent subject materials and working closely with stakeholders and subject matter

experts—always mindful of their time and availability.

🟫 To ensure the training aligns with business goals and addresses real performance challenges, I:

Conduct a needs assessment
Review relevant data
Analyze learner gaps/potential causes of performance shortfalls

🟫 Once we agree on the optimal training approach, I create a design document based on the project scope,

audience needs, and organizational preferences. The solution may include:

eLearning modules
Instructor-led (ILT) or virtual instructor-led (VILT) training
Blended learning programs
Microlearning tools such as job aids, short videos, or gamified scenarios

🟫 With the approved design, I apply adult learning principles and visual design best practices to build engaging

content using tools like Articulate Storyline or Rise. The training features will include:

Realistic scenarios with content that is meaningful for learners
Interactive elements such as tabs, accordions, and branching
Kirkpatrick’s Level 2 Evaluation--knowledge checks that reinforce objectives and help learners track their progress
Kirkpatrick’s Level 3 Evaluation--graded assessments to measure understanding of training objectives, followed by targeted evaluations to gauge successful application of learning in the workplace

🟫 I outline the full experience in a detailed storyboard, which I review with SMEs. I work closely with them through

each feedback round and refine the training accordingly. The final deliverable is fully SCORM compliant and

ready to be published to a learning management system.

➡️ Let's discuss how I can leverage this process to help your organization foster effective behavior

change and attain measurable and durable gains in performance.

Skills & Proficiencies

Technical

Articulate Rise 360
Articulate Storyline 360
Canva
Google Workspace
Microsoft 365
Learning Management Systems (LMS)
iOS (Mac) and iOS Applications
Zoom
VoiceThread
Slack

Professional

Adult Learning Theory
ADDIE & SAM Models of Instructional Design
Design Documents
Storyboarding
Needs Analysis
Collaborating with SMEs
eLearning
Microlearning
Blended Learning
Instructor-Led Training (ILT)
Virtual Instructor-Led Training (VILT)
Training Facilitation
Ethical Application of Generative AI
Professional Presentation Skills
Professional Writing Skills
Copy Editing

Certifications & Credentials

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The Applied Instructional Design Certification is the culmination of a 9-month program, Applied Instructional Design Academy (AIDA). I mastered the content of 400+ lessons, received extensive coaching, and completed a rigorous set of learning activities with practice, feedback, and multiple revisions. I finished the program having created simulated client projects by applying a range of skills and techniques.

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