About the project
Client
For this project I used the customer avatar of One Project, a fictitious professional development and corporate formation company which has decided to develop a Job Readiness course for early school leavers and high school graduates who do not intend to progress on to university. I created the course using a mix of Backward Design (UbD), Rapid eLearning (Rapid) but using the steps in ADDIE as a general guide, and learning theories of Constructivism and Connectivism, with elements of Cognitivism. Underpinning the course are concepts of learner autonomy, motivation and learning by doing, as found in Andragogy.
Design Document
Process
I started by creating a learner profile upon which I could base my needs analysis. The terminal objective of the course is for participants to confidently navigate the job application process, including the actual interview. The course was designed focusing only on those skills which participants require in order to get their foot in the door in an entry level position. I chose a blended learning course with a mis of synchronous and asynchronous, due to the limited experience of the course participants, which means they will require more support and face to face guidance. When my course was finished, I used a quality checklist to evaluate my course content.
Learning gap
Learners have little to no work experience and a limited understanding of general office admin tasks. The need to develop effective workplace communication skills, both written and oral, and develop an appreciation for the intricacies of workplace collaboration. They lack proficiency in basic tools needed for office administration and do not know much about the job application process. Job Skills 3.0: a Job Readiness Level One Course aims to provide these learners with the basic skills they need to get an entry-level office position.
Instructional Strategy
The course is a blended learning course, with a mix of asynchronous and synchronous lessons, and the course materials on this page are examples of the resource and support material participants will use during their asynchronous work. I decided to include synchronous activities because these learners require a lot of support and scaffolding. Lessons adopt an Active Learning approach and can only be booked on completion of the asynchronous lessons. As a result the course balances theory with practical learning-by-doing activities which will help learners develop actionable abilities and skills which they will be able to implement in the workplace. The course culminates in a series of collaborative projects, simulating a real workplace environment and offering course participants the opportunity to showcase their new skills.
Course Materials
The Essential CV poster
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The purpose of this document is to summarise the steps in CV creation covered in a “How-To” explainer video and an interactive module.
Designed to facilitate information recall, it provides learners with a visual summary of the sections they need to include in their CVs, and helps meet learning objective 1 (compose effective communication for the job application process).
Learners will use this as support material while working on their own CV and Resume in advance of an online meeting with their mentor and other learners for a live peer review session.
Visual Accessibility
I used dark and light colours to create contrast and make the visuals easily accessible and limited the use of images to the example CVs, which will help avoid visual overload and clutter.
I also used shade and colour changes to indicate progression. I used consistent colour and design.
I carefully aligned blocks of text and to allow the learner to move through the document in a logical fashion. I used contrasting colours for text to facilitate visual accessibility: Text is either light on dark or dark on light.
I also chose to change colours and mix-up the position of the text and icons/images to avoid information loss through repetition.
How to write a cover letter video
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This video provides learners with a step-by-step guide to creating an effective cover letter, which is part of the course learning objectives 1 (compose effective communication during the job process) and 6 (register and communication in the workplace).
It contains advice on structure and the 5 essential elements learners should include in order to compose a successful cover letter which piques the interest of recruiters.
The video to be used in the course is hosted on YouTube where it includes captions.
Digital tool tutorial screen cast
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The video provides learners with an understanding of the main features of monday.com, the collaborative tool which they will use to work through their final collaborative project. It pertains to learning objective 4 (use a range of web-based programs and applications).
The video starts with the steps learners should take to get set up, and then focuses on exploring the main features of the monday.com home page interface, followed by the steps learners should take to accept assignments. The video then focuses on exploring the main features of the collaborative workspaces in preparation for the upcoming meeting and final project.
The video to be used in the course is hosted on YouTube where it includes captions.
Interactive Lesson: Job Skills 3.0
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This lesson provides learners with a basic understanding of the main stages of a job interview, and the STAR technique for answering behavioural questions. It pertains to learning objective 1 (effective communication during the job processes) and learning objective 2 (determine whether the company is the right working environment for them).
Interactivity revolves around the stages of the interview, and the step-by-step processes candidates should be familiar with in order to do well in the interview.
There is a mix of open and closed questions, multiple-choice questions as well as mix and match activities. This allows learners to tap into a range of low to high-order thinking skills, from basic understanding and information recall to analysis and creation.
I chose to work with iSpring in part because it integrates well with PowerPoint, and most of the learners would be familiar with the visuals, thus reducing the potential of learning anxiety.