Learning Experience DEsign
Shane Adams
I have a passion for creating engaging and accessible learning experiences. I'm excited to bring a decade of experience and expertise in education to your team.
E-learning Module: The Hoover Administration
The Challenge
Adapt a synchronous classroom lesson to an e-learning module using Articulate Storyline.Audience
Secondary and undergraduate level students including: students with disabilities, English-language learners and high-ability learners.Constraints
Must function on chromebooks.
Completion time must be within 40-60 minutes.
Must align with Nebraska Social Studies Standards.Process
I began by re-establishing the lesson's learning objectives and constructing assessment questions for students to demonstrate learning. Some questions were refactored as objective assessments to better fit the e-learning format.Then, I diagrammed the flow of the module using an digital mind-mapping tool. It's during this process that I settled on the timeline "hub" structure used in the module.Once I had the structure of the module in mind, I collected multimedia resources and composed necessary alt text and closed captions.My focus while building the module was accessible, engaging functionality. Slide designs direct learner attention and minimize cognitive load. Information is presented through multiple modalities for accessibility and retention. Diverse learning checks are frequent to promote engagement. I'm particularly proud of the objective learning checks that allow users to re-attempt material with access to new scaffolds based on their responses.After assembling the module, I continued to iterate on the design in response to user-testing from fellow educators and professional LXDs.Reflection
This was a challenge to myself to see if I could take one of my more robust self-contained lessons and achieve the same degree of rigor that I would be able to achieve in a classroom. I feel successful in my application of learning science and accessibility frameworks. Moving forward, this project has motivated me to grow in terms of my visual design skills.
E-learning Module: Box Breathing
The Challenge
Create an e-learning module teaching a skill requiring self assessment in Articulate Storyline.Constraints
Completion time must be within 10 minutes.
No use of objective assessment.Process
I began by establishing a learning objective. For this challenge, the objective needed to be relatively simple and skill based.I determined that box breathing would be an excellent skill to teach for this task. For someone to demonstrate mastery of this skill, they have to be able to complete the exercise with positive consequences for their emotional state. Because emotional state is difficult to judge externally using objective assessment, this was an ideal skill to experiment with self-assessment in e-learning.After experimenting with several possible assessment tools, I landed on a modified Likert Scale. Using these scales both a pre-assessment and summative assessment, then presenting the results back to the learner allows them to measure their own progress. Additionally, the results of each Likert Scale could be reported back through an LMS to assess the effectiveness of the module.The structure of the module is simple and intentionally repetitive. The central hub structure allows for repeated exposure to the box visual with the goal of improving retention. Learners are able to revisit pages and practice the skill as they progress.After completing the module's initial design, I iterated on it several times over using feedback from user testing, with a particular focus on accessibility.Reflection
This was an experiment in unconventional design. I am satisfied with the use of modified Likert Scales as self assessment tools. I am also quite happy with how this module turned out visually—I believe I achieved engaging and attractive visuals without sacrificing focus or cognitive load. Given the resources, I would like to replace the still images in the instructive slides with looping demonstrative videos. I am of the opinion that narration by a voice actor remains more engaging than AI narration, and would prefer to implement that, especially in a module dealing with this subject matter.