E-Learning Proposal

Some of the content is already created but needs to be evaluated and improved.  None of the current training materials I will use were created for e-Learning purposes so it will all need to be redesigned to better align with instructional design principles.

Content to be Developed: For this course, I would like to develop the first training in this series: Treehouse Mission, Programs and Eligibility. This will include a Welcome Video and four modules: Mission and Values, Fostering Futures, Essentials and Experiences, and How to Make a Referral.

Content to be Designed: Time will be a constraint for this project to be fully completed by the end of the UW course. My project deadline is to have the course completed by September 1, 2023.  I will fully design the modules, interactions and assessments and work on building the course through the summer.

Identified Performance Gap: We need training and resources available to youth and the adults that support them in a format that accommodates busy schedules and limited availability. Caregivers and professionals working with youth need accessible training that accommodates their busy schedules. We need to move from providing a standard 3-4 educational advocacy focused training that is typically 2-3 hours in length and held synchronously, to asynchronous, mini-lessons that are accessible 24/7 on our website.

This project will be the first training in a series e-learning course.

Project Objectives:

1. 1. To fully develop an e-learning course Treehouse Mission, Programs and Eligibility which will serve as an outline of future e-learning courses that can be created.
   2. Provide training for new staff during onboarding on our mission and program eligibility requirements.
   3. Provide training for DCYF caseworkers on the educational advocacy needs of youth experiencing foster care which they currently do not receive.
   4. Provide training for school staff on the needs of youth experiencing foster care and the various educational topics related to their educational needs.
   5. Our partners are asking us to create training that allows them to choose the topic they are interested in, without requiring them to sit through a lot of unnecessary or irrelevant information. This e-Learning series will center the learner’s experience and knowledge base as they choose what modules to complete.

Target Audience:  New staff during onboarding; youth and alumni of foster care; DCYF social workers; Parents and caregivers, including foster parents and relative caregivers; School district and building level staff; Community organizations who provide services to children and their families who are involved in foster care; and Treehouse staff.

To determine the needs and skills of the learners we will be sending survey questions to caseworkers, parents, youth and school staff. We already surveyed caregivers in August 2022. I will need to take into consideration limited English proficiency and limited computer skills/experience for youth and caregivers.  I do not have a plan for conducting user interviews at this point in the project.

Learning Objectives for the participant:  After successfully completing this course, learners will be able to:

• Explain the Treehouse mission and values and intended impact,
• Explain the services provided in our education and financial/material resources programs,
• Demonstrate how to make a referral on the Treehouse website.

Outcomes Assessment (measurement of strategic and learning objectives): For this course, formative assessments will be in the form of quizzes that need to be completed at the end of each module. The summative assessment will be a final test on successfully making a referral for services.  For the other courses that will be developed, we will send out post-training evaluations to those that complete the courses. For the more technical courses we may require evaluations for learners who want to earn training hours (either professionals who need CEUs or caregivers who need the training hours for their licensing requirements.)

We may also choose to send out a second-round questionnaire to those we’ve surveyed prior to this program asking them the same questions. We can then determine if we’ve met their needs for training with our new training program. Feedback will also come from our state agency partners (Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Department of Children, Youth and Families.)

We will know if it meets the expectations of the organization by reviewing our objectives and comparing the feedback we’ve received.

Program structured:

1. Format: asynchronous, self-paced.
2. Explanation of Format Choice: Caregivers who were surveyed expressed a desire to have bite-sized trainings that are topic specific and resources that are easy to navigate. The format I have chosen will allow various types of learners to access the information more easily and adjust the level of course to their self-identified level of knowledge.
3. Flow/Sequence of Lesson/Module/Course/Program: For this project, the Treehouse Mission, Programs and Eligibility, it will be available to staff in a chronological sequence. Staff will need to move through each module in order as they appear before they can move tot he next section. When we move this course to our external website I would like the learner to be able to access the modules in any sequence they choose. For the rest of the e-learning trainings we will build out, I believe some courses will need to be completed in a sequence (depending on topic) and others can be taken in any order the learner chooses.
4. Technologies/Approaches: PowerPoint presentations, prerecorded presentations, handouts, online resources, videos, podcasts, and other approaches that allow the learner to acquire the training independently.
5. Acquisition of Learner Needs/Interest Information: I’m hoping to clearly outline each module to identify what level of knowledge is needed to access it. I also thought about including time stamps in a pre-recorded session in an outline accessible to the learner up front. This would allow them to see at what point in the video to jump to in order to get the information they are interested in. I might also create a self-completed survey at the beginning of the series that will tell the learner what modules they may want to focus on first. That way, they can decide to go back and do the ones that are more basic information at a later time or review it all for retraining purposes.
6. Team: I’m not sure how much my organization will invest. I’ll be creating an outline that has limited resource support, but I’ll include ideas (maybe storyboards?) for what else it could be. This way at the end of this project executive leaders can have a better idea of what the course could be like. For now, I’ll partner with our human resources team to learn more about our current LMS and how I might access it, our Learning and Evaluation team (data team), directors of other programs that partner with youth (develop content), and the team I manage (educational advocates to build content and record the presentations.) Eventually, our development team to look at donors who might be interested in investing in this type of project.

Context: The e-learning series will be available on the Treehouse website to anyone who wants to access it. This specific training (Treehouse Mission, Programs and Eligibility) will also live on our internal LMS for staff to complete as part of their on-boarding.

Organizational Buy-In: The organization has invested in me taking this course in order to develop our e-learning training. It’s uncertain how much further the organization will invest in after this course is completed. We did receive a grant that I’m hoping will cover some costs associated with video recording, editing and hiring an additional person to help me build out some of this program. Our People and Culture (human resources) team is currently hiring a training manager to support building internal trainings for onboarding and professional development of staff.  These courses will be created in partnership with this position.

Time and Budget Constraints: The only budget for this project has been my paid time. We will need to budget for my ongoing time to complete this project and time with the training manager when that position is filled. Additional funds will likely be needed for video editing software, time with our marketing team, graphic designer, etc. This is why I’m focusing on a project outline of an entire course. To demonstrate to the organization what I would like to build on through next program year. We did receive a grant and I’m waiting to learn how much of that funding will go into this project.

Resources Needed and Available: Video recording software, web designer to redo our website resource center, translation services.

Relevant Organizational Considerations: Our People and Culture senior director and team are quite familiar with e-learning. Organizational goals include a desire to increase our program’s reputation across the country. Some of the work I’m doing will hopefully put us in a position to provide technical assistance nationally. I think because this is a goal of the organization, there is a lot of buy in regarding this project.

Technical Support Expectations/Plan: I will need support from People and Culture, Learning and Evaluation, Senior and Executive leadership, IT and our web designer regarding actually creating the program. How much they support me will impact what the final project will look like.