Instructional Design & eLearning
How improving and standardizing eLearning design practices and adopting ADA practices helped engage students more optimally in online learning
As an eLearning Graphic Designer for Saint Leo University, I created multimedia-driven presentations with the purpose of aiding in online learning. These activities adhere to the accessibility standards outlined in the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Criminology Courses
Objectives
Presenting criminology courses (often boasting strong imagery of homicide cases) in a way safe way for students.
Crafting a compelling narrative involving two detectives (the narrators) helping the students understand each case through linear module progression.
Delivering the material in a structured format suitable for university education.
Improving upon outdated university code
Adhering to ADA best practices for students with disabilities.
Challenges
Adopting a student-friendly approach being inherently difficult due to the nature of the field often presenting strong imagery.
Revamping existing code while also simplifying it enough for future designers to adapt in their own courses.
Approach
The story was presented in a linear ‘Detective Noir’ style text-adventure with accompanying visuals. Strong imagery was made optional through branching paths and students were given explicit trigger warnings.
All code was re-built from the ground up so that there would be no conflicts with future activities if code were to be recycled.
The entirety of the course was built around ADA practices to ensure ease of use for students with any form of auditory or visual impairment.
Human Resources Training
Objectives
Presenting HR training courses in a way that is engaging and relevant for all students.
Crafting a compelling narrative without the use of narrators or literary devices to aid student module progression.
Challenges
Student survey reported the subject was often described as “tedious”.
Faculty restrictions on imagery limited the use of stock photos, and a strict color palette emphasized the use of ample white space in course design.
Approach
To enhance engagement, each module incorporated various interactive elements, including click-throughs and activities, regardless of their direct educational impact.
To address the limited stock photo options, custom icons were designed and vibrant accent colors were chosen for highlighting important parts of the material through the course.
Multilingualism Training
Objectives
Creating a series of activities on how to assess language training using best ADA practices without sacrificing usability for regular users.
Previous courses were deemed to be exceedingly outdated and students were responding adversely; this course needed a complete revamp.
Challenges
Activities that could work for regular students might prove challenging for students with visual and / or auditory impairments, meaning all activities should be engaging and easy to complete for students regardless of physical condition.
Approach
Video-based activities used in previous iterations of the course were dropped entirely and adapted as instructions that complied with ADA practices.
All activities involved some type of auditory training, which was addressed for students with auditory impairments via transcripts.
