Telecommunications Inc. Project

Overview

Audience: Newly Hired Telecommunication Inc. Technician
Responsibilities: Instructional Design, eLearning Development, Visual Design, Storyboarding, Action Mapping, and Prototyping
Tools Used: Articulate Storyline 360, Adobe Illustrator, Canva

This portfolio piece is a concept based project for a fictitious company, Telecommunications Inc. The course walks the learner through simplified steps in how to assemble an RJ-45 Ethernet cable including the correct wire order for connectivity. It is imagined that this course is one of several skill training modules for Telecommunications Inc.

In this course the learner practices the skill in a gamified drag and drop scenario. Upon completion, there is a downloadable guide that reviews the steps which can be used in the field as a reference.

Client Problem

Telecommunications Inc. explains that there isn’t enough seasoned staff to train each new hire. Moreover, those that train do not include all the required skills.

This presents as decreased competencies in the technicians’ skill set. As a result jobsite installations are prolonged as technicians have to fill gaps in knowledge at the site through online searches/videos. When a solution cannot be found a new appointment must be scheduled so that a seasoned technician can complete the install. Both scenarios have been noted as dissatisfactions on customer feedback surveys.

Solution

In efforts to maintain positive customer relationships the solution offered to Telecommunications Inc. is to standardize training through eLearning. The first module to be piloted will be that of the RJ-45 Ethernet Cable Construction and Assembly.

Design Theory

The goal of this eLearning is to standardize manual skills. As such emphasis is placed on deliberate practice. In this model the learner is practicing the skill repetitively to reach mastery. Research has demonstrated that deliberate practice, either physically or virtually, increases motor skill competence.

Presenting deliberate practice in a gamified learning environment that is paired with chunked information increases positive engagement and reduces cognitive overload. Additionally, motivating sound clips encourages learners’ desire to succeed and provides intrinsic motivation through self competition.

Examples of self competition observed were the following:

Learners challenge themselves by getting the answer on the first attempt.
Learners challenge themselves by attempting to complete the learning without using the reference.
Learners trying to beat previous completion time.

Process

Research:

SMEs were collected through professional and social networks. SMEs with 5+ years in the industry served as “seasoned technicians”. SMEs indicated lack of skill standardization as a large pain point in the industry. Most noted was the time “wasted” by technicians trying to learn new skills on the site, with many having little to no success.

Visuals and Storyboard:

After gathering research, I first sketch all of my designs with a rough outline of the storyboard. This provides a framework for my layout and an idea of what triggers, layers, or conditionals I will be needing in order to effectively deliver meaningful eLearning. Next,I storyboard content to create a cohesive narrative and finalize design specifics such as font and placements. Design details such as colors and themes are informed by a focused illustration such as a vector graphic or illustration. In this project the initial story image of Bot and a Woman holding an AI lightbulb were my jumping off point.

Development:

The final project was developed in Articulate Storyline using visual assets from Adobe Stock, FreePik.com and custom graphics made using Canva and customizations of Canva Elements.

Features

Custom Visuals: I created the main visuals of the ethernet connector, ethernet visual aid, and cables using Canva and two Canva Elements that were modified and redesigned. The flat vector telecommunication images used were sourced from freepik.com, adobe stock, and were modified and edited in Adobe Illustrator.

Custom Visual Aid: The landscape scene for the visual aid was created from scratch using Canva Design elements. This was done in order to help learners memorize the wire order.

Gamification: Bot and Success/Failing Sound: Integration of these elements transformed the learning into gaming. The learner finds joy in success through positive dings and in cheering successes upon completion. When I gave the initial prototype to be tested without these sounds, learners seemed to only complete the module as a favor to me. When I added these elements all persons were excited to complete the task and became engaged. Many even forgot I was around and would release an expletive or suck their teeth when they failed the task.

Results and Takeaways

Participants of the eLearning experience complemented the clean design, the colorful images, and how “cute” Bot was. Many felt it was just right with respect to the time it took to complete and especially appreciated the downloadable reference at the end.

Increased Difficulty of Wire Order - Several of the SMEs as well as other participants suggested that I make the wire order practice a little more difficult by not allowing the elements to “snap back” when incorrect and to have them learn the order by having to resubmit. I decided against this. I felt that by obligating learners to create the correct order without the snapback feature to indicate an error. I felt it could increase frustration and decrease learners' desire.

Include a Test Mode - To address the above I would have liked to have added a choice of a test mode option to increase the challenge for learners who were up for it.

This project was a wonderful learning experience. I was able to hone my technical and design skills, collaborate with SMEs, and lean on my network. I was able to investigate the appropriate learning theory to increase skill acquisition and address an actual issue faced by telecommunication technicians.

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