Role: Learning experience design, project management, UX design, event planning and facilitation
Team: TechChange Education Team, funded by USAID
Tools: Genial.ly, Google Workspace, Miro, Padlet, TechChange LMS, YouTube Studio, Zoom
Timeline: September 2021 - December 2021
TechChange is a consumer-centric B2B SaaS education technology (edtech) startup company specializing in design and implementation of online learning experiences. Past clients include international NGOs and large-cap private companies.
My team’s goal was to transform a 5-day in-person training on health policy advocacy for West African youth leaders into a month-long engaging online learning experience.
I joined this project after the course curriculum had already been developed by Palladium. My responsibilities included designing and executing interactive learning elements, managing the course on TechChange’s proprietary learning management system (LMS), and analyzing learners’ course participation data. I also facilitated the technical execution for the course’s online live webinars.
Course implementation goals included:
Palladium consulted TechChange for creating interactive learning elements that would keep users engaged and excited about the content they developed. I identified opportunities for interactivity and designed interactive infographics to be embedded into the course platform. I used HP+'s style guide to align the course's identity with the client's brand and to mirror our target audience. Although we initially planned to build these assets in Articulate, we opted to use Genial.ly as a lightweight option that could build interactive elements much faster. Below are some examples of the interactive learning elements I developed using Genial.ly.
This course included 6 synchronous webinar panels with local subject matter experts and youth leaders who had already completed the program in previous years. I facilitated the technical execution of these live events, including:
We incorporated a final project where users create a policy advocacy action plan that describes how they were going to apply what they had learned in the course to their real lives. This project served as a way to assess users’ understanding of the learning objectives while also creating engaging avenues for participants to contextualize what they were learning.
We implemented a form on the TechChange LMS consisting of prompt questions that would guide users through the necessary steps of the final project. Learners could edit and update their answers in the form as they progressed through the course. This solution lacked the ability for learners to view and interact with others’ projects, but learners who were eager to share their projects had the option to share in the discussion threads.
We registered over 1,000 youth leaders in over 24 countries across West Africa during this course’s blended facilitation phase. Not only did these youth leaders learn how to leverage their power to create change in their communities, but they also forged connections with peers across the continent to boost the impact of their work. The learners reached over 18,000+ comments in the course discussion boards, with even more interaction in the organically-created course WhatsApp group chat that continues to be active.
Over 150 participants submitted a final project, kickstarting health policy initiatives based on their submitted action plans and bringing the impact of this course to the real world.
99% of surveyed learners said they felt confident in applying what they learned in the course to their work. 100% of surveyed learners reported high engagement throughout the learning experience.
Collaboration drives learner engagement
A learning experience is nothing without its learners. What kept our learners coming back in our blended course was the opportunity to connect with and learn from their peers. Creating a sense of community for learners to interact and collaborate is key in driving their motivation to continue learning.
Always keep learning!
In creating interactive learning elements for this course, I worked with tools such as Genial.ly for the first time. I am so excited to integrate even more interactive tools into my learning design and cannot wait to tinker with other design tools as I continue to learn!
