De-Escalate & Educate
This scenario-based project is meant to help TriFi
Audience: Employees at TriFi
Responsibilities: Instructional Designing. Acction Mapping, Storyboarding, Visual Design, Prototyping, authoring), eLearning Development
Tools Used: Articulate Storyline 360, Vyond, Figma, Adobe XD, ChatGPT, Canva, Freepik, Snagit, Visual Studio Code, Google Docs
The Problem:
Pawsitive Friendships, an Arizona-based nonprofit with 145 active volunteers, serves clients with autism using service animals. Many volunteers, new to working with autism, struggled to handle certain behaviors during sessions. This caused lost session time for clients and left volunteers feeling unconfident and overwhelmed, leading some to leave.
The Solution:
After gathering data on the learners and consulting the stakeholders, I recommended an eLearning solution for a number of reasons. It lets new volunteers complete the training from home, making it more convenient without needing extra office hours. This also helps volunteers across the Phoenix-metro and Tucson areas avoid the hassle of commuting for training. As most volunteers are comfortable with technology, I didn’t have any concerns with the accessibility of an eLearning course.
Another considered option was an instructor-led training, either virtual or in-person. In person was ruled out quickly because volunteers are spread several hours apart in some cases. Virtual instructor-led training was also ruled out because volunteers join the organization on a rolling basis throughout the year, making official times for an orientation difficult to organize.
My Process:
To propose the best solution for my client, I used the ADDIE model. I started with analysis by meeting with the organization’s founder to understand the big picture problem and goals.
To dive deeper and gain multiple perspectives, I spoke with two SMEs to get insight into how the issue plays out in daily operations, and then gathered data from learners through a survey.
I also attended three in-person sessions with a seasoned volunteer, her service animal, and a Pawsitive Friendships staff member, which gave me a clear understanding of the sessions I’d be replicating in the eLearning and helped me fine-tune the ideal outcomes.
Action Map
As part of the analysis process, I worked with two SMEs at the organization - an occupational therapist and a staff member who works closely with the volunteers. Together, we pinpointed the root problem set the main goal: reducing the amount of session time lost due to disruptive behaviors. A secondary goal, which we knew would follow, was to improving volunteer retention, but we kept the main focus on the clients.
I also guided the SMEs in breaking down this big goal into specific, observable actions for volunteers, prioritizing the top three to keep things manageable and avoid overwhelming the learners.
Text-Based Storyboard
After completing the action map, I began the design phase of the project, starting with a text-based storyboard. This served as the blueprint for the project. My goal was to immerse the learners in a simulated real-world experience where they would be confronted with different client behaviors, and choose how to best respond. All three situations had a correct choice, and two distractors with memorable consequences.
To replicate the real-world situation and provide support, I introduced a mentor character, a Pawsitive Friendships staff member. There is always a staff member to support the volunteers and animals in sessions. The presence of this person in the course serves to guide learners through new situations, and to provide an expectation of what will occur in-person.
Question Wireframe
Additionally, the experience of entering the building and signing in at the front desk is something that is important for volunteers to do, so I wanted them to experience that process as well. It served a dual purpose of capturing their names for their certificate of completion at the end of the course.
Visual mockups
To bring the storyboard to life, I started by creating a mood board to refine the visual style. I then developed a style guide to ensure everything aligned with Pawsitive Friendships’ brand. After that, I iterated on wireframes and mockups to finalize the layout for each slide.
I used the fonts and main colors from the Pawsitive Friendships website to create a sense of connection for learners. I also added accessible color choices to ensure the content was easy to read on-screen.
Question Basic Mockup
Question High-Fidelity Mockup
Interactive Prototype
I created an interactive prototype using Articulate Storyline and Vyond to ensure the functionality was seamless, and that my design transferred proportionally to the development tool.
Using Vyond, I carefully crafted animations and backgrounds that felt playful yet realistic, making sure learners felt immersed in the experience. For example, I added leashes to the dogs so learners could picture themselves in the scene. In the third session, I also had learners introduce themselves to break up the routine of the experience and give them a chance to practice real-life expectations.
Instead of relying on text alone for consequences, I used animations to "show, not tell," which helps to create an emotional connection and reinforces the learning.
In Storyline, I built the first third of the project including the intro, three questions with consequences for the first animal choice, and the conclusion. I focused on text box design, triggers, and variables, including adding one for the animal name. This personalization helped the course feel more tailored while also streamlining the development process.
Accessibility was a top priority for me during development. While I wanted to disable the seekbar for immersion, I made sure to enable it on slides with text boxes and speech bubbles that didn’t have a clear way for learners to control the flow. This allowed users to pause and rewatch if needed. I also added alternative text for all images and videos to ensure inclusivity.
Creating in Vyand
Developing in Storyline
After collecting and applying feedback from the interactive prototype, I developed the remaining two thirds of the course to include the second and third dog options. I gathered feedback from other instructional designers, my client, and potential learners to have a high-quality final product.
One feature I am very pleased with is the scene where learners choose their own service animal. In real life, learners attend sessions with their own service animal. Although I couldn’t create endless options of animals, I wanted learners to have some choice to select an animal they most connected to. The set-up for this slide was also drawn from the Pawsitive Friendship’s website. Their site features cards showcasing the different service animals in the program, using names, photos, and fun facts about the pets. These cards are also used in sessions with clients for volunteers to pass out. I felt it important to include this element in my project, and the recreation furthers the correlation to the organization’s brand and gives volunteers a sample of something they’ll encounter in real sessions.
Survey says…
Results and Takeaways
Take a minute to write an introduction that is short, sweet, and to the point. If you sell something, use this space to describe it in detail and tell us why we should make a purchase. Tap into your creativity. You’ve got this.
FAQs
This is a frequently asked question?
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
This is a frequently asked question?
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
This is a frequently asked question?
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
This is a frequently asked question?
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
This is a frequently asked question?
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
This is a frequently asked question?
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Make it stand out.
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Make it stand out.
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Dream it.
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
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Build it.
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
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Grow it.
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Make it stand out.
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
