Scenario-based Video eLearning: Volunteer Onboarding

This scenario-based eLearning experience helps new and experienced volunteers keep a high school speech and debate tournament on time. Volunteers make choices to gain foundational knowledge to assist competitors through a debate round.  

Audience: New and returning volunteers attending a speech and debate tournament

Responsibilities: Instructional Design, eLearning Development, Graphic Design, Audio/Video Production

Tools Used: Articulate Storyline 360, Adobe XD, Adobe Ai, Vyond, Audacity, Camtasia, Google Suite, MindMeister, WellSaidLabs

Problem and Solution

I volunteered with the Silicon Valley Urban Debate League (SVUDL), a nonprofit organization offering high school students access to speech and debate competitions.

As a volunteer, I noticed a high volunteer turnover rate and tournaments not sticking to their schedules. When talking to volunteers they reported feeling frustrated and confused about their responsibilities about what to do once they arrived at the tournament. Tournament organizers discussed feeling frustrated that volunteers were consistently not following directions. 

After reviewing the onboarding material given to volunteers, and analyzing where volunteers were getting stuck, I concluded that the material provided to volunteers was ineffective at achieving its goal. It did not teach them the behavior and soft skills needed to perform effectively while volunteering. 

I overhauled the onboarding material and sent SVUDL a scenario-based eLearning that walks volunteers from arrival through their first debate round. The scenario utilizes a fully animated and voiced experience that creates memorable choices and realistic consequences for volunteer actions. 

Learners experienced the correct way to handle stressful situations and what impact their choices left upon the student competitors, volunteers, and tournament organizers. 

My Process

I used my own experiences as a volunteer, worked with subject matter experts (SMEs), and conducted qualitative research through informational interviews about the problems they were experiencing while volunteering. 

Through analyzing those discussions, I discovered that the job aid given to new volunteers did not outline the tournament structure, resulting in analysis paralysis about where to go and what to do. 

To improve the volunteer experience, I designed with the following goal:

Volunteers will be able to navigate a speech and debate tournament to maintain the tournament schedule. 

After, I created an action map and a text-based storyboard. I began working with AdobeXD to outline the visual design and interaction that would be fully developed in Vyond and Storyline. 

Action Map: MindMeister

I worked with a Subject Matter Expert (SME) and used my own experience to develop an action map and define the overall goal. First, we identified all the actions volunteers take once they arrive at a tournament through judging their first round. After, we identified the critical decisions that volunteers needed to take to keep the tournament on time.  

Text-based Storyboard - Google Suite

Once the action map was finished, and specific actions identified, I developed a text-based storyboard with choices and corresponding consequences. As the learner goes through the scenario, each key point provides a single correct choice and distractors.

If the learner chooses the correct consequence, they will see the positive impact and progress in the scenario. However, if an incorrect action is selected, the learner will see the real-life consequences and be taken back to the prompt. 

Having first-person experiences and a background in informational interviews helped create realistic scenarios. We focused on creating a story that mirrored volunteers' experiences. This created authentic consequences that had much more significant implications than the small decision presented at the moment.

Lastly, learners can seek help from a mentor character before choosing which action to take. The mentor provides coaching and the job aid provided by SVUDL. This created a more realistic scenario.

Mockups: Adobe XD/AI - Vyond - WellSaidLabs - Audacity

After completing the storyboard, I moved into designing the visual mockup.

I used a combination of Adobe XD and Vyond to create my mock-ups. This was a 3 step process where I framed what the scene would look like, created the scene in Vyond, and then moved back into XD to work out the interactivity. 

One way I created a realistic scenario was to create custom objects within Vyond. These included laptops with the actual web pages, interactive cell phones, and the job aids given to new volunteers. 

To further immerse the learner, I used WellSaidLabs to create a custom AI voice-over for each character. However, the video file produced by WellSaidLabs was not loud enough for Vyond to interpret it as more than a whisper. To remedy this, over 60 individual files needed to be uploaded to Audacity to do post-production before being uploaded and assigned to a speaker. 

Interactive Prototype: Articulate Storyline, Adobe XD, Vyond

Next, I developed an interactive prototype in Articulate Storyline 360 to get feedback on the introduction through the first question. 

The prototype development was crucial to determine animation and styling throughout. Initially, a full player was planned so learners could choose how they navigated the scenario and their learning.

However, based on the feedback and the narrative structure of the learning, the player was removed and replaced with navigation buttons on each slide. This change still gave learners autonomy while keeping them moving through the training in an organized way. 

I also aligned the different interactive components so that they created one experience. Using Vyond as a base layer and building the interactions over the top. 

This created a unique opportunity to work with multiple timelines. Interactive objects that worked well in the Vyond, required adjustments within Storyline. Creating consistent interactions further immersed the volunteer in the learning.

Prototyping was a key part of this process. As a result, the project has improved functionality and accessibility features. 

Full Development: Articulate Storyline

After I polished the visuals and interactive features in the prototype, I completed the full development of the project. Problem-solving during prototyping allowed for rapid development of the remaining slides. 

I emailed the project for review. No additional changes were made as our time spent unpacking the problem paid dividends later. 

Results & Takeaways

The new training has received positive feedback from volunteers, the Silicon Valley Urban Debate League, and the larger instructional design community. Users loved the immersive feeling, storytelling, and real-world application.

This project helped develop my design voice as a storyteller of immersive projects. I also achieved a deeper understanding of the tools that allow for that storytelling including  Storyline, Vyond and Audacity. 

I am happy with the final product and how it will be used to help others. While I gained a deeper understanding of instructional design through this project, there is always more to learn. However, this eLearning does provide a strong foundation to build upon and continue to make well-received eLearning that helps improve performance.