Ergonomics Mini-Course

Highlights

  • Beautiful animated interaction made in Storyline

  • Engaging formative assessments throughout sections

  • Learners must share an image of their desk setup and reflect on how to improve their ergonomics practices.

Features

  • Keyboard accessible with rich alt text for persons with visual disabilities

  • A pre-assessment immediately requires learner participation, which is required for each consequent section.

  • Succinct, text-minimal content

  • Browser-based and responsive across devices

  • Learners are informed of “the why” at the beginning of the course.

  • Content is culturally responsive and inviting for a wide variety of learners.

  • Reflection section enhances learner retention.

  • Elements built in Storyline play engaging audio and subtle animation effects.

Audience

Employees at SafeGuard InsureTech, a hypothetical, large insurance agency

  • Over 90% of employees work remotely.

Problem

Numerous studies show that poor ergonomics affects productivity; in addition, poor onboarding lowers employee retention. In the last three years, at their 6-month probationary check-in, newly onboarded employees rated the ergonomics onboarding process at SafeGuard InsureTech only 3/10. As part of a larger update to the standard onboarding training, this new ergonomics component will raise that rating to 7/10 or better.

Tools

  • Articulate Rise

  • Adobe Illustrator

  • Articulate Storyline

  • Vectorizer.ai

  • ChatGPT

  • MindMeister

  • PowerPoint

My Responsibilities

Articulate Rise is a great way to rapidly author and deliver training content; however, Rise courses can often turn into info dumps! For this concept project, I wanted to engage the learners as often as possible.

Here’s what I did to create a highly engaging mini-course:

  • Stakeholder kickoff meeting

    • I connected with a former colleague who is a certified ergonomic specialist. He helped me identify the essential ergonomics advice all office-based workers should possess, which helped me plan the learning outcomes and assessments.

  • Storyboard, style guide, and design document creation

  • Drafting a mind map to delineate content into sections

  • Extensive graphic design in Adobe Illustrator

  • Developing four Storyline-based interactions embedded within Rise

  • Converting graphics into Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) for perfect scalability across browsers and devices

  • Content and design revisions based on stakeholder feedback

    • Revisions included: font updates for readability; enhanced audio controls within Storyline interactions; more obvious navigation headings; and, rewording certain questions for better comprehension

[ID Model] Merrill’s Principles of Instruction

To guide my efforts in delivering an effective learning product, I used Merrill’s Principles of Instruction.

1

Problem-Centered

Near the beginning of the course, learners are informed of the problem of poor ergonomics: failure to follow ergonomics rules will lead to injury and discomfort. This motivates them to pay attention to the course materials which will help avoid real-world problems they may face.

2

Activation

Learners take a brief pre-assessment to engage their previous ergonomics knowledge. The pre-assessment questions are intentionally challenging so that learners stay engaged, believing they will acquire ergonomics information they do not already possess.

3

Demonstration

Proper posture and desk setup are demonstrated to learners through both visual and text-based content. The text is succinct and straightforward. The visual media communicates clearly with crisp and simple vector-based images.

4

Application

In each section, learners must answer questions and/or interact with the content. Within the embedded Storyline interaction in the section, Setting Up Your Desk, learners advance the video while learning proper equipment arrangement.

5

Integration

Learners reflect on what they’ve learned, submit an image of their own workspace, and then must successfully pass a comprehensive Final Knowledge Check. This helps integrate the learning content from the screen into their actual office and day-to-day habits.