My eLearning Designing Process
I am familiar with models such as ADDIE, Gagne’s Nine Events, Kirk Patrick, and Bloom’s Taxonomy. My eLearning designing process is inspired from Cathy Moore’s Action Mapping approach. Here is how I used her approach to develop an eLearning solution for a dummy video design firm.
I developed this concept project for a video design firm to ensure that their clients submit specific video feedback. Getting specific feedback would help them decrease their production time furthermore increasing profits and customer satisfaction. Their clients are mostly CEOs of startups or marketing executives at big firms. It’s an interactive, scenario-based learning experience that allows the learner to experience the real-time impact of feedback provided by them.
- Audience: Video Reviewers (CEOs of startups or marketing executives at big firms)
- Responsibilities: Needs analysis, script writing, video development, and eLearning development
Tools Used: Articulate Storyline 360, Vyond, & Mindmeister
Problem and Solution
CrispTalks, a boutique animated video designing company, reached out to me to ensure their clients (CEOs of startups or marketing executives at big firms) provide specific video feedback which in turn can decrease their video production time.
CrispTalks noticed that their clients often submit generic reviews (ex: I didn’t like the video) that can be interpreted in various ways. This leads to an increase in development time following a decrease in profits and customer satisfaction (no repeat business and negative reviews).
I proposed a scenario-based eLearning solution where the learner has to choose feedback (for a series of video clips) and, depending on their response, they will see what actions the animator takes and how that affects the development cycle.
The scenario-based eLearning will educate clients in real-time on how generic feedback increases the development time, as well as how to speed up the development cycle with specific feedback.
Process
With my 5+yrs experience in designing animated videos and handling 600+ clients, I acted as a SME for this concept project. I analysed some of the generic feedback given by my previous clients to ensure that this learning experience would be realistic. I specifically reviewed those videos where the development cycle got stretched quite a bit more than the normal development cycle and compared it with video feedback with the normal development cycle.
I used Cathy Moore’s Action Mapping approach to ensure that learners learn by doing and each scenario is mapped with a specific behavioral change.
Action Map
The above analysis brought forward various cases where the feedback was quite generic and could be interpreted by the animator in different ways. Most of the cases had one issue – the feedback was not actionable. The animator has to reach out to the client repeatedly for clarifications to work on the video and complete it.
I took these cases as the starting point for writing various scenarios. In this concept project, I showcased the five most common issues that the CrispTalks team faces regardless of the kind of video. I kept my focus on writing actions that needed to be taken and then I translated these actions into real-world questions.
Text-based Storyboard
I used the action map as the basis for writing different scenarios. I employed the storytelling technique to set the context properly.
I started with a story introducing Bob, the CEO of a B2B tech product startup that is launching its new software tomorrow. I further set the context by telling that the CEO’s goal is to get an animated video done for the product landing page before the launch date (tomorrow) and to do that he has to ensure that he provides specific video feedback. I also introduced a character named Crispy whom a learner can reach out if they need any help.
The whole story was narrated by a narrator. I wrote various options for each scenario question and the consequence of every option to determine the overall flow of the learning experience. I added a summary slide to give the learner a chance to recap what they learned before leaving the experience.
Visual Mockups
I started by choosing a colour palette using coolors.com to ensure consistency. After that, I designed the title slide, introduction slide and scenario slide. Then I collected feedback for these slides before proceeding with the entire production. The visual mockups went through two iterations guided by the principles of design such as Contrast, Alignment, Proximity, White Space, Balance, and Repetition.
Interactive Prototype
I created an interactive prototype for a scenario to receive feedback before working on the entire project. I also added various layers as per the option chosen to allow stakeholders to fully experience the flow of the scenario. I made a few colour related changes in the states of the button as per the feedback. At this stage, I also found some Storyline related limitations while using videos on the slides and solved them before proceeding with the rest of the scenarios. This step helped me set a standard design for all the scenarios that ensured consistency. I focused on designing an intuitive user experience and tweaked the design based on reviews by stakeholders.
Full Development
I developed this concept project using Articulate Storyline as the development tool and Vyond as the video creation tool. I extensively used layers, triggers, and hotspots in Storyline to make this project interactive. I was also able to address a few video integration-related limitations of Storyline.
Results
I showed my concept project to my fellow Instructional Designers and this is what they said.
