Diploma in Digital Learning Design

professional diploma in Digital Learning Design

DESIGN PROJECT

Author: Elaine Taylor

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index

Part 2:Instructional Design Plan & Prototype

Part 3:Rollout & Evaluation Plan

Part 1:LX Design Plan

3.1 Rollout plan

2.1 Introduction

1.1 The WHO of learning

3.2 Evaluation plan

2.2 Scope document

1.2 The WHY of learning

2.3 Wireframe

1.3 The WHAT of learning

Commentary: Part 3

1.4 The HOW of learning

References

2.4 Storyboard

2.5 Prototype

Commentary: Part 1

Commentary: Part 2

LX Design Plan

Analyse Design Develop Implement Evaluate

Part 1

1.1 THE WHO OF LEARNING

LEARNING PERSONAS

Click on each of the personas to view in full screen

COMMENTARY

LEARNING PERSONA ANALYSIS

Common themes identified

Design considerations

• All our learners are good with technology and work on a laptop for a large part of their working week.
• All personas work full-time with busy lifestyles.
• The perception is that cyber security is hard to learn and there are many acronyms making it feel inaccessible to many.
• All enjoy learning through workshops and social learning.

• Need to consider that we are creating content for some learners for whom English is not their first language.
• Microlearning would work well so that it can be fit into busy schedules.
• Asynchronous learning will help suit different time zones and availability.
• Using visual elements such as diagrams and videos would suit our learners well.
• Adopting an element of social learning or workshop would help cement the learning.

1.2 THE WHY OF LEARNING

THE BUSINESS PROBLEM

Our company sells networking solutions and we have ambitions to expand the cyber security part of the business by upselling cyber security products with every network we sell. Currently not all of our sales managers are confident in discussing cyber security and the risks that companies are facing from cyber threats. We are not expecting them to have an in-depth knowledge of cyber security, but just enough to get the customers interested and then bring in one of our security sales specialists to support with the detail. Therefore there is a requirement for a basic introductory course to introduce security concepts and principles in a way that our sales managers can understand and help them to engage in conversations with their customers. This course will also be of interest to others in our company who support our security sales teams and want to understand more.

1.2 THE WHY OF LEARNING

Entry level:

Learning goal:

No prior knowledge of cyber security.

To upskill our sales and account managers on cyber security concepts and principles and, in turn, enable them to upsell our cyber security products.

Target level:

Level 2 'know', 'understand' and 'apply' from Bloom's taxonomy.

Learning objective:

Learning gap:

By the end of the course you will be able to understand the issues facing your customers in relation to cyber security and be able to confidently introduce the subject into your customer conversations.

Our learners currently have no or very little knowledge of cyber security (Level 1 of Bloom's taxonomy) and we need to get them to a level where they are confident in raising the issue and discussing cyber security themes and concerns with their customers (Level 2 of Bloom's taxonomy).

learning outcomes

Here are the learning outcomes that will be covered in the course.

COMMENTARY

RATIONAL FOR LEARNING OUTCOMES

I’ve used Bloom’s taxonomy to ensure that the language is clear and easy to understand, and that the learning outcomes are measurable. This course will work on Lower Order Thinking Skills (LOTS) – remember, understand and apply - from Digital Taxonomy. I’ve used the SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Timely) principle to ensure that the learning outcomes are well structured and well written. To the right I have taken one of the learning outcomes as an example to demonstrate that it follows the SMART benchmark ->

Learning outcome 1: Define what a company’s assets might be and why it’s important to protect these assets:

Specific - it asks the learner to describe something specific – the assets

Measureable - they’ll be able to make a short list of the possible assets

Achievable - they will have been shown examples of what these assets could be within the course

Relevant - if they understand then they can use this information to ensure a customer understands

Timely - we want them to start applying it straight away in their future conversations with customers

1.3 The what of learning

MODULAR FRAMEWORK

Click on the diagram below to see in full screen size.

I created the modular framework by using the bottom up approach. This was the best method as the content already existed as a series of videos which I could review to list and package up the various topics.

1.4 THE HOW OF LEARNING

Delivery mode:

Building blocks:

The training will be delivered in a digital asynchronous format for learners to work through online courses in their own time. For non-sales people, this content will be sufficient for their needs. For people in a sales role there will be further training to deepen their knowledge with workshops to practice what they’ve learned. This was decided based on the learning personas which indicated that our sales people enjoy workshops and social learning. However this will be a future phase and is out of scope for this project.

The content will include the following building blocks:

Content: Animated videos Infographics Activities: Quizzes Scenario based exercises Assessment and Feedback: Informal assessment and formative feedback Final quiz at the end of the three modules

Content

Activities

Assessment & Feedback

1.4 THE HOW OF LEARNING

Flow model

The training will follow a linear flow model. The online modules need to be completed in order for it to make sense and all learners should complete all parts of the training. Please click on the diagram to the right to see a larger version.

COMMENTARY

part 1: LX design plan

This now completes part 1 of my project which covers the 'A' and first 'D' of the ADDIE process. I have found this process to be a logical way of working through the planning stages of the course and the process acts as a checklist to ensure that all decisions are carefully considered and nothing is missed out. I found it strange that we had to focus on learning personas first of all as it seemed more logical to me that the business problem would come first. However as the project progressed I could see the benefit of having personas to hand at each stage to assist me with all future decision making, and ensure a learner focused outcome.

Now that I have created these personas, I plan to start collating a collection of the various learning personas for the different types of learners within my organisation. This means I can refer to the personas when I'm creating content for the same type of learners in the future. Based on the learning personas, I chose an online asynchronous model which will suit the busy schedules and differing time zones of the learners. As the learning outcomes are lower levels of digital taxonomy using Lower Order Thinking Skills (LOTS) then an online asynchronous course seems sufficient.

COMMENTARY

part 1: lx design plan

I found the modular framework and the flow model the most difficult parts of the project so far. I found it hard to visualise how my course would break down into sections. Initially I had the lessons within module 3 broken down into further sections. However on reflection I realised this was unnecessary at this stage and was over complicating the diagram. I imagine that this part of the process will become much easier with experience. Once I completed these sections, it became much clearer in my mind. It made the next parts of the project much simpler, enabling me to see the benefits of persevering with it.

The course will consist of mainly animated videos, some text and infographics to give some variety from the videos. Each module will start with an activity such as a pre-knowledge check or scenario based exercise. I noted from the personas, particularly the ones in a sales role, that they enjoy workshops and social learning. However I have not included these aspects as this course is only intended as an introduction to the basic principles and concepts of cyber security. However I will be taking this into account for the next phase of training to deepen their knowledge where we will cover Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS).

Instructional Design Plan & Prototype

Analyse Design Develop Implement Evaluate

Part 2

2.1 INTRODUCTION

Part 2 of this project covers the 'development' part of ADDIE. For part 2 of this project, I have chosen to create design documentation for a multimedia eLearning course. From the modular framework I will be working on Module 1 ‘Basics of Cyber Security’. The content already exists as a number of short videos. I want to bring these together into a multimedia eLearning course to give the learner a better user experience. In the multimedia course I will be adding in text and interactive activities to create a more varied learning experience. The multimedia course will include a toolkit of useful links to other resources. Once complete, the eLearning course can be added to our Learning Management System (LMS) and this will enable us to track how many people are completing the course.

For part 2 of this project I will be drilling down and creating the design documentation for 'Module 1: Basics of cyber security' as shown on the modular framework highlighted in yellow below.

2.2 Scope document

I used the Digital Learning Institute template to create my scope document. Please click on the link below to view it.

Scope document

2.3 wireframe

I used the Digital Learning Institute template to create my wireframe document. Please click on the link below to view it.

Wireframe

The storyboard and prototype on the next two pages cover the non-consecutive scenes highlighted in red on the wireframe below - scenes 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 10 and 11.

2.4 storyboard

I am using Rise 360 to create my prototype, therefore I have combined the screenplan and storyboard into one document. I have used the DLI Rise 360 Storyboard template. It covers the 8 scenes indicated previously on the wireframe. Please click on the link below to view it.

Storyboard

2.5 prototype

I have created a prototype using Rise 360 software. Click on the buttons below to view the course in review mode on Rise 360, or to view the PDF version. The prototype shows the same 8 non-consecutive scenes as represented in the storyboard. To make it easier to review I have left the content unlocked so that you can navigate easily through the course.

Prototype - Rise 360

Prototype - PDF version

COMMENTARY

part 2: id plan & prototype

Format

For my prototype I chose to create a multimedia eLearning course. This was a new skill for me to learn as I hadn't used any authoring tools before. I will need to use Rise 360 for my current role at work so it made sense to create my prototype on Rise 360 to help me start to become familiar with the tool. I found the scope document invaluable to help me focus on what we were trying to achieve in module 1 and ensured that I didn't miss out a topic that I needed to cover. It was a good way of seeing what all the topics were and being able to group them in the best manner.

Wireframe

I created the wireframe with assistance from Gagne’s (1965) Nine Events of Instruction principles. First of all I will be gaining their attention with a hook at the beginning, then informing learners of the learning objectives, etc. I did not include ‘recalling prior learning’ as this is a course for complete beginners and so previous knowledge is not required. I broke the content down into segments and used various formats so as to keep the learners interest. In the wireframe I decided to put a summary section only at the end of the overall module rather than at the end of the individual sections due to the fact that the content sections are short and it will feel repetitive to the learner to have a summary so soon after learning the content.

Scope document

COMMENTARY

part 2: id plan & prototype

Prototype

Storyboard

Once I had created the revised design documents, building the course on Rise 360 was quick and easy as I had everything I needed (titles, text, images, links to videos, etc) all ready just to populate on the system. This showed that spending time at the start creating each of the design documents was time well spent. Another benefit I saw was that this part could be handed over to a colleague to build, if required, as they would have everything they needed. The prototype was the most enjoyable part of the process for me as finally I was having the chance to be creative. It was really satisfying watching my course come to life and seeing the benefits of the planning and design stages.

Initially as I was working through my project I chose to create a separate screenplan and storyboard. However when I came to build the prototype, I realised that the format of Rise 360 didn't fit the design documents that I had created. I hadn't realised this before as I hadn't previously used Rise 360. This did lead to a bit of confusion for me! To overcome this, I revisited the documents and instead used the combined screenplan/storyboard DLI template which suits the format on Rise 360 better.

COMMENTARY

part 2: id plan & prototype

Visual design principles

Multimedia design principles

When designing the look and feel of the course I kept in mind CRAP visual design principles (Contrast, Repetition, Alignment, Proximity). This was made easier for me by the fact that I used my organisation's brand guidelines which meant that things like the colour contrast, font, etc were already adhering to the CRAP principles. I designed the layout of the module so that each lesson would follow a pattern: an intro, a video to watch and then an activity to complete, providing repetition for the learner. In addition I found that the format of Rise 360 helps to ensure that you are following CRAP guidelines for alignment, spacing and layout.

To ensure a good layout and design for the screens on my eLearning course, I referred to Richard E. Mayer's 12 principles of multimedia design. For example, I made sure that we used a combination of words and pictures, whilst leaving out anything unnecessary. I decided to break up the larger videos into smaller more digestible segments and to present the basics first before moving on to more complex content. In the videos themselves we are using an engaging human voice for narration using a conversational style. We are highlighting the essential material and presenting corresponding words and pictures at the same time.

Rollout & Evaluation Plan

Analyse Design Develop Implement Evaluate

Part 3

3.1 rollout plan

learning platform

To ensure a high quality learning experience, this course will be hosted on SuccessFactors which is one of our organisation’s existing Learning Management Systems (LMS). The following features of the platform were instrumental to the decision to use it:

Learner considerations

Business considerations

Access - the colleague demographic that this course is targeting are already using this LMS and are familiar with the platform meaning ease of use for them. Single Sign On (SSO) - this functionality will make it as easy as possible for colleagues to access the system, without having to remember a unique password, and ensures they aren't put off completing their learning due to access issues.

Strong analytics - enabling us to accurately track who has completed the training. This is important as we will be expecting everyone in a sales role to complete it and we will be able to follow up on anyone who hasn’t completed it. Regulatory compliance - this LMS platform complies with global data protection laws, which is important as we have colleagues based all over the world. Compatibility - I have built the course on Rise 360 which outputs as a SCORM 1.2 file and this file format is compatible with SuccessFactors. Pricing – as we already use this platform it means that there will be no extra cost to the organisation.

Learning Experience Platform (LXP)

To help the course reach a larger audience we will also add it to our company's LXP which is 'Degreed'. We'll tag it with specific skills such as ‘cyber security’, and then the LXP will then suggest the course to anyone looking to develop these skills. It can also be curated by others to be included in learning plans and pathways.

3.1 rollout plan

resource requirements

To ensure a successful rollout of the course I will need to enlist the support of the following people and resources.

Staff required

Community Manager – will be responsible for developing and implementing the learning marketing plan by: sending email communications to the learners; posting on our internal work social media platform; attending webinars and team meetings to promote the course. They will also act as a point of contact for anyone with a query, and review the feedback and analytics. PMO admin – will be covering the role of the IT administrator. They will be responsible for customising the LMS, loading the content onto the LMS, technical testing and producing the reporting analytics. Digital Learning Professional – for this project it will be myself who will carry out these steps. I will choose the appropriate LMS, test the course on the LMS pre-prod system and coordinate the user testing/UDXL. Testers – the user testers will be my Digital Learning Professionals peers in my team, the Community Manager and the SMEs who assisted with providing the content. Plus we have chosen 4 sales graduates who will give us feedback from a learner perspective.

Resources required

All resources that we need are already available to our staff. We will be using communication tools such as our internal social media platform, Workplace. Also, the mailing platform, OneShot Lite, which will also give us analytics on who is opening emails and clicking through on links. We will be using Microsoft Excel for viewing and analysing the reports and Microsoft Teams for sharing files and communicating within the rollout team.

3.1 rollout plan

go-live plan

This table shows the activities to be carried out as part of the rollout plan and includes the details of who is responsible for each task, and when.

3.1 ROLLOUT PLAN

lEARNER ENGAGEMENT

To ensure that we have as many people participating and benefiting from in the course as possible we’ll be carrying out the following learner engagement tactics:

Course branding – to make this course more engaging and easy to understand, we’ve compared cyber security to the elements of a castle. We’ve named the training ‘Once Upon a Time in Security Land’ and our brand team have created eye catching castle related images for our videos. We will use this branding in all the learning marketing listed here. Email campaigns – we will invite the learners to complete the training via email. We’ll be using the mailing platform, OneShot Lite, so that we will can reach a larger audience that traditional email platforms and we will be able to view analytics on the email engagement. We will use this platform for nudging those who haven’t completed the course on a weekly basis.

Social Media – the community manager will be using the internal social media platform, Workplace, to promote the course and to share league tables of completion per team area to encourage everyone to get involved. Senior Management Endorsement – include introduction video from the Sales Managing Director to explain the purpose of the training and to promote the benefits of upselling security – explaining: 'What’s in it for them?' Peer endorsement - the community manager will be presenting a slot on the sales team’s regular team meetings to promote the course and will invite an account manager who is already successful in selling security products to help endorse the benefits to them and to share hints and tips.

3.2 EVALUATION model

Click on the table to view in full screen

For the 'evaluation' stage of the ADDIE process I'll be using Kirkpatrick's Model of Evaluation, to measure the impact of the multimedia course..

Business outcome

The results at level 4 of the evaluation will take a lot longer to show in the company's bottom line. However if we have shown a positive impact at levels 1, 2 and 3, then we can make assumptions that it will have an impact at level 4.

3.2 accessibility EVALUATION

What

To assess the UXDL (User Experience Design for Learning) for this course, we will use the DLI template 'Honeycomb Model Checklist’ below. This checklist is derived from the UXDL framework recommended by Waterloo University, based on Peter Morville's Honeycomb.

Honeycomb Model Checklist

Why

Well-designed content can significantly facilitate learning. The framework checks the various design elements to ensure that they are: valuable, useful, desirable, accessible, credible, findable and usable.

Who

The checks will be carried out by myself as the creator of this course and also one of my Digital Learning Professional peers.

When

The checks will be carried out after the development stage of ADDIE but before the implementation stage. This means that any improvements can be made before we rollout the course.

3.2 EVALUATION

Click on the table to view in full screen

learning analytics

For this final section of my project, I've listed below the analytics we are planning to gather and what we will use the data for.

COMMENTARY

3.1 rollout plan

Learning Platform

Prior to working on this project I was not aware that our organisation actually has a number of different LMS platforms for various groups of learners. This is incredibly useful information for me to be aware of and will ensure that I always take the time to consider which LMS platform is most appropriate for each project rather than just assume it’s the business as usual platform.

Staff and resources

As this is an relatively short online asynchronous course I didn’t need to involve too many people as part of the rollout plan. Within my company some of the roles are known by slightly different names so I’ve used those names within the project but made it clear what their responsibilities are in the description. I found it easy to match up the roles required with the existing roles within my organisation, as our roles are clearly defined. In terms of other resources, we already have suitable applications that we can utilise. This is a bonus as it means no extra cost to the organisation and also our staff are familiar with the tools meaning that we don’t need to allocate time to train up on these resources.

Learning Experience Platform (LXP)

Although our main focus with this course is to upskill our sales team, there are many potential benefits of making this course available to everyone in the organisation. Therefore I decided that it was important to also add this course to the catalogue on our LXP to reach a larger audience. This means that it will reach anyone searching for courses on cyber security and also anyone who has specified that they’d like to develop their cyber security skills. This course has the potential to appeal to colleagues in a variety of roles. For example, we have many field engineers and call centre employees who’d like a career move into the field of cyber security. We need to encourage this as the cyber security industry in general has a skill shortage and staff retention is a prominent issue. The course will give them an insight into cyber security and help them determine whether it's something that they would like to pursue. If we can upskill colleagues from other roles within the business then it helps us not only fill our resourcing gaps but also create loyal, fulfilled employees.

COMMENTARY

3.1 rollout plan

Rollout

Although I have previously been involved in training rollouts, I have never project managed one before. I can see that it's a good idea to make it clear at the outset who is responsible for what task and when. This ensures that there are no misunderstandings and no part of the process gets forgotten about. In my current role I am unlikely to need to create a rollout plan but the knowledge that I've gained from this process will enable me to assist the project manager and help to positively influence timescales with the knowledge I've learned. By listing all the tasks and allocating a reasonable timescale to them, it makes it easier to determine when the course will be ready for launch. If the launch is required earlier then we can use the table to see where we can perhaps overlap tasks or complete certain tasks earlier than scheduled, shaving off some time.

Learning engagement

I found this part of the project quite easy to complete due to the experience I gained in my previous role within Sales Enablement, which involved many similar engagement tactics. Our sales teams love an endorsement from their peers, rather than hearing from people in a non-sales role how they should do their job, they, understandably, prefer to hear hints and tips from a sales colleague who has been successful in closing the deal. I feel that learner engagement tactics are a crucial part of the process that are perhaps often overlooked. All of the time and resources that have gone into creating the eLearning will have been wasted if the uptake of the course is not high. I’ve also witnessed how creating a buzz around an eLearning course with the correct marketing can really make a difference to people’s attitude to undertaking the course. Meaning that once they’ve heard about it, they’ll go and seek it out proactively rather than feeling made to complete it. The ‘carrot versus the stick” approach.

COMMENTARY

3.2 Evaluation

Evaluation model

I chose the Kirkpatrick model for my evaluation as it is the most established and well known of the evaluation models.By focusing on each of the four levels you are automatically evaluating the course from all aspects. And by planning down the way, you are ensuring that you focus on the most important aspect, which is had an impact on the business problem.

Learning analytics

Usually I would be focused on knowing the number of people who have completed a course. However in future I will make sure I'm looking at the bigger picture and evaluating the impact the course has on the business problem. This will give me more satisfaction to know that it has been effective. I will also give equal value to the user survey and thanks to the DLI sample survey questions template, I will be able to include more directed questions.

Accessibility evaluation

It is usually practice within my organisation to peer review each other’s work before showing it outside of the team. This is because different people pick up on different things and a fresh pair of eyes can sometime spot errors more easily. In future I will use the UCDL Honeycomb Model Checklist which will ensure I don't miss anything out and will mean that all future courses will be reviewed against this high benchmark.

COMMENTARY

3.2 Evaluation

Evaluation

One of the takeaways I've learned is that the evaluation doesn't just happen at the end of the ADDIE process, but should be happening at all stages and some ADDIE diagrams put the 'E' in the middle to demonstrate this. The fact that I was asked to reflect on each of the parts of this project has forced me to evaluate and learn from each part of the process. I aim to keep this inquisitive mindset on my future projects and ensure that I include evaluation at each stage.

DLI course

In summary, this DLI course has taught me the theory behind digital learning design and has provided me with lots of tools and templates to take away and use in my future projects. I may not have retained all information, however I now know where to look for more information and guidance if I need it. The DLI course has given me the knowledge and tools that I need to produce quality multimedia learning content, and the confidence to be able to guide others and question anything I come across that does not meet these high standards.

REFERENCES

bibliography/publications

Krathwohl, David R. (2002). "A revision of Bloom's taxonomy: An overview". Theory into Practice. 41 (4). Routledge: 212–218. doi:10.1207/s15430421tip4104_2

Churches, A. (2008). Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy.

Gagne, R. M. (1965). Conditions of learning. https://agris.fao.org/agris-search/search.do?recordID=US201300459774

Mayer, R. E. (2001). Multimedia learning. https://doi.org/10.1017/cbo9781139164603

Kirkpatrick, D. L. (2009). Evaluating training programs : The four levels. https://ci.nii.ac.jp/ncid/BA53731154

Morville, P. (2004). User Experience Honeycomb. https://semanticstudios.com/user_experience_design/

Centre for Extended Learning. (n.d.). UXDL Honeycomb. University of Waterloo. https://cms.cel.uwaterloo.ca/honeycomb/index.aspx

Digital Learning Institute. (n.d.). Professional Diploma in Digital Learning Design. https://www.digitallearninginstitute.com/courses/digital-learning-design-course