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Presentation & Speaker Notes

[Slides 1: Intro]

ETEC 580 is a self-directed studies course in the Master of Educational Technology program at UBC. The course provided an opportunity for me to participate in a hands-on field placement and apply instructional design pedagogy and skills learned so far. The project goal was to support the CAnD3 project at McGill University and the consortium of 30+ institutional partners, including UBC in its development of an online training program for population scientists on aging, data and evidence-informed policy making. The ETEC 580 experience was in collaboration with John Cheng, a learning design specialist and fellow student.

[Slide 2-3: Discovery]

After meeting with the CAnD3 liaison and reviewing the existing material, we identified the project scope as the design and development of two core pieces:

1. Course structure within UBC’s Canvas learning management system (LMS)
2. Research Replicability and Workflow Management module from the Canadian Research Data Centre Network (CRCDN)

At the completion of our involvement, our goals were:

• Set a foundation for the CAnD3 course, and unify the different materials (course calendar, student orientation, a/synchronous content) in a single learning space.
• Create a welcoming, orientation space for incoming students and build a facilitated, teaching presence
• Build a best practice, use-case module that would act as an example for others to be delivered throughout the year

We wanted to avoid a static knowledge hub that would depreciate over time. Knowing that not all students are familiar with online learning, we wanted the user experience to be navigable and clear.

[Slides 4-9: Design]

Based on the goals set in discovery, we produced the following deliverables:

1. User flows/site maps
   User flows help determine the information architecture – the structure, hierarchy and presentation of information. Before going into design, visualizing the site map helped to explain our process and goals to our stakeholders.
2. Wireframes
   Wireframes do not contain design elements, but act as a blueprint for the different layout configurations within an existing structure. As the Canvas LMS structure is strict, it was important to convey what was feasible.
3. Copy deck templates for content development and review
   The template identifies the minimal content needed (outside of the materials already provided) to build out the Canvas pages. The document also makes editing and reviewing easier, reducing duplicate content and ensuring consistency.
4. Course and module design
   Articulate Rise 360 was used to quickly build a responsive module – the platform allows for collaborative work and feedback. We thought the single-scroll experience suited the narrative storytelling style of the CRCDN content. 

[Slides 10: Final Considerations]

Part of the handover or transition process will be to document our knowledge and making recommendations for future design. We have recommended ongoing testing and review, to ensure the course remains accessible and aligns with the CAnD3 learning outcomes. Ongoing training is also needed to ensure the foundational work continues to grow with the training program and learners’ needs.

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Note: this post was written as a final reflection and portfolio entry for the UBC Master of Educational Technology program, ETEC580 self-directed study course.