The Creator's Map

07/04/2026

This crew has been aboard for 52 of America’s 250 years, and most of those adventures have been charted right here in Michigan.

From Great Lakes waters to creative waters, it’s been quite the voyage so far. Here’s to freedom, ideas worth sharing, and the courage to keep sailing toward whatever comes next.

Happy 250th birthday, America. 🇺🇸🏴‍☠️

Captain Sonja
Navigate. Create. Impact. ⚓️✨

06/23/2026

Welcome! ❤️

If you’re interested in being part of this creative podcast adventure, I’m so excited you’re here.

Right now, I’m just gathering a group of women who enjoy creating, sharing ideas, and having real conversations. Writers, entrepreneurs, educators, artists, content creators, or anyone who lights up when talking about something they’re passionate about.

The topics will probably wander a bit because, well, so do I. Creativity, books, publishing, AI, business ideas, life lessons, social media, instructional design, trying new things, and all the twists and turns that come with building a creative life.

To help me get started, please share which days of the week work best for you.

And don’t worry about having fancy equipment. All you need is a we**am, a willingness to chat, and the courage to say yes to something new.

I’m looking forward to meeting you and seeing what we create together. ✨

06/13/2026

I created The Creator's Map after years of helping people build things.
As an instructional designer, professor, nonprofit founder, author, and Creative Pirate, I've spent my career helping others turn ideas into courses, books, workshops, businesses, podcasts, and experiences. Along the way, I noticed that many people weren't struggling with creativity. They were struggling with the questions that come after the idea.
What am I actually making?
Who is this for?
Should this be a book, a course, a podcast, or something else entirely?
How do I make something that fits my life and not just my ambitions?
I asked those same questions myself.
I've written books, built courses, launched podcasts, founded Tranquil Studio, created TEDxJacksonCollege, and helped students, educators, and creators bring their ideas to life. Every project taught me something different. Some took longer than expected. Some changed directions. Some grew into things I never imagined.
The Creator's Map grew out of all of those experiences.
I wanted a place to collect the questions I ask myself before starting something new and the tools I use to decide where an idea belongs. Over time, it became a framework I could share with others.
I still use it myself.
Every new book, course, podcast episode, workshop, or crazy idea gets run through The Creator's Map first. Sometimes the answer is "yes." Sometimes it's "not yet." Sometimes it's "that's a great idea for later."
And sometimes the questions are just as important as the answers.
🏴‍☠️ Welcome aboard, Creative Pirates.
Youtube: https://youtu.be/tY7J0PcDRe0
Website: https://creatorsmap.co/

05/28/2026

After a LOT of research, reading forums, watching videos, testing platforms, and listening to all of your recommendations, I officially decided to move The Creator’s Map to MoodleCloud.

I seriously looked into almost every LMS suggested to me after the Canvas Free for Teacher announcement because I did not want to lose years of course design work, structures, templates, and resources.

Why MoodleCloud won for me:

• Familiar structure coming from Canvas
• Better Canvas course translation/import options
• Built for actual learning systems
• Flexible enough for courses, workbooks, creator projects, and community learning
• Easier to preserve the instructional design side of my work
• Ownership mindset without immediately needing full server setup
• Lower rebuild stress compared to some creator platforms
• Gives me room to grow while I figure out the long-term ecosystem

One of the biggest deciding factors for me was cognitive load. I would rather spend my mental energy building new ideas, courses, and systems instead of completely rebuilding years of work while also trying to learn an entirely different LMS from scratch.

So I guess Canvas is my jam and Moodle is my marmalade. 😅

Now begins the migration era.

creatorsmap.moodlecloud.com

05/23/2026

Apparently I’m following the fad with this one… and honestly, I get the hype now. 😂💜

Somewhere between instructional design, podcast microphones, coffee refills, and “just publish the thing” moments… I created this little snapshot of me.

I’m Sonja.
Instructional Designer & Developer.
Host of The Creator’s Map Podcast.
Creative Pirate.
Professional overthinker with a heart for helping people learn, create, and share what they know with confidence.

Also:
☕ Canvas is my jam
🎙️ Podcasting is my happy place
🗺️ I turn complex into clear
🐶 Rocky is my co-worker
📚 I believe good design changes lives

This one feels a little like my brain on paper and honestly… I love it. ✨

If you want the prompt style for making one of these for yourself, reach out and I’ll share it. 😊

05/21/2026

Late night Podia LMS review and report while navigating all of these different platforms for The Creator’s Map™ 🌙

Tonight I reviewed Podia as a possible LMS and creator ecosystem option.

So far, Podia feels very strong on the creator and usability side. It supports:
• courses and pathways
• embedded video
• downloadable resources
• memberships and community options
• landing pages
• payments and audience management
• replay hosting
• registration workflows
• podcast/course/book integration
• simple navigation for non-technical users

The platform feels approachable and creator-friendly, which matters because I am trying to build an ecosystem that combines workshops, books, podcasts, workbooks, creator systems, and learning experiences together in one place.

A few areas I am still evaluating:
• limited drag-and-drop design flexibility
• fewer reusable templates than I expected
• no caption/transcript support
• limited custom branding on lower plans
• analytics appear more moderate than enterprise LMS systems

Right now, Podia feels less like a traditional academic LMS and more like a creator-centered learning and business platform, which may actually align better with where The Creator’s Map™ is heading. It seems simple compared to what I am use to, but that might not be a bad thing.

Still researching. Still mapping. Still learning.

Navigate. Create Impact.

Plus Rocky (puppers) and Leo (kitty Meows)

Watch the review on Youtube.

05/20/2026

2 minutes until the EDUCAUSE Demo Day on Applications of AI and I’m genuinely excited for this one.

The lineup is packed with conversations around AI in education, accessibility, student engagement, learning analytics, collaboration tools, and what real implementation is starting to look like across higher education. Seeing companies focus not just on “AI tools,” but on ethics, accessibility, instructional support, data visibility, and faculty workflows feels like an important shift.

I’m especially excited about the Instructure IgniteAI session because Canvas is absolutely my jam. I really want to see what it can actually do inside real workflows, especially across course design, admin support, and faculty efficiency. The idea of completing complex tasks through Canvas APIs with natural language prompts has my instructional designer brain fully awake this morning.

A few other sessions I’m curious about:
• YuJa Accessible AI Umbrella
• D2L Lumi
• Harmonize Learning
• Answerr
• CampusLens

One thing EDUCAUSE consistently does well is create spaces where institutions can explore emerging technology with actual educational context instead of hype alone.

Coffee is ready. Notes are ready. Let’s see where higher ed is headed next. ☕

05/20/2026

CreatorsMap.co

05/19/2026

The Venture by Design Workbook is a guided business development workbook designed to help you build, organize, and strengthen your business idea step by step. Through structured questions, reflection prompts, planning exercises, and strategy activities, this workbook helps entrepreneurs and creators move from idea to ex*****on with greater clarity and direction.

Built around a practical 5-step framework, the workbook helps you think through every stage of the business you are building.

The 5-Step Venture by Design Process

See the System
Define the problem, audience, opportunity, and purpose behind your business idea.

Design the System
Map out your business structure, offers, customer experience, workflows, branding, and communication.

Test the System
Evaluate your ideas in real-world situations through feedback, audience response, usability, and practical application.

Strengthen the System
Refine weak areas, improve systems, clarify messaging, and strengthen the overall business foundation.

Lead the System
Prepare your business for long-term growth, leadership, sustainability, partnerships, and expansion.

Inside the workbook, you will answer questions and complete activities related to:

• Your business idea and mission
• Audience and customer needs
• Competitor and keyword analysis
• Branding and messaging
• Products, services, and offers
• Marketing and communication
• Workflow and system planning
• Revenue and sustainability
• Growth and leadership strategies

Whether you are starting from scratch or refining an existing idea, Venture by Design was created to help you build a business with structure, purpose, and momentum.

Created by Sonja L. Howell, PhD
Founder of Tranquil Studio, Inc.
Creator of TMID and The Creator’s Map™

🌐 Visit: CreatorsMap.co
📚 Explore books and resources
🎙 Follow The Creator’s Map™ Podcast
⚡ Build the business. Strengthen the system. Lead the vision.

The Venture by Design Workbook is a practical guide for turning ide...

05/18/2026

I almost did not make this video because it’s honestly embarrassing to admit. A few days ago, I discovered a Trojan on my computer.

As someone who works in instructional design, educational technology, publishing, AI tools, online systems, and digital workflows every single day, I wanted to share this experience because if this happened to me, it can happen to anyone.

This video walks through:
⚠️ The warning signs I noticed
⚠️ The mistakes I made
⚠️ The strange software behavior that started happening
⚠️ The steps I took to protect my files and accounts
⚠️ What I backed up and disconnected
⚠️ Why I chose to do a full factory reset
⚠️ What I learned during the recovery process

I also share an important reminder to be careful with downloads, browser pop-ups, suspicious prompts, and keyboard commands you do not fully understand, especially commands connected to system tools or the Windows Run feature.

What I did next:
✔ Backed up important files
✔ Disconnected external drives
✔ Ran hardware diagnostics and scans
✔ Changed passwords
✔ Checked startup programs
✔ Monitored account access
✔ Performed a full factory reset
✔ Carefully restored files and programs

I also included a recovery checklist in the video description for anyone going through something similar.

Sometimes charting new territory means sharing the mistakes too 🏴‍☠️

Stay safe out there.

A few days ago, I discovered a Trojan on my computer. As someone who works in instructional design, educational technology, publishing, course development, A...