Savvy Start

This prototype is for an online, self-paced eLearning training series titled, “Educational Advocacy Skills to Support Youth Experiencing Foster Care.”  The training course is for caregivers and parents of youth experiencing the foster care system. The series will include various modules on educational advocacy topics including specialized services, behavior and discipline, working with schools, addressing racial bias in schools, and many other topics. This prototype is the first module in the series titled, “Treehouse Programs and Eligibility.”

Based on feedback from a peer review, I added a resource library described on slide 2 in the prototype. There will be two ways to view the Resource library:

1. Resource link embedded into each module of the training series that will link only to resources referenced and needed during that module.
2. Resource link available outside of the modules that will have the complete “library” of resource organized by module. The learner can access resources regardless of having started and/or completed the modules.

Additional feedback from two peer reviews included how they both would have liked to have seen a visual mock-up of the layout. The template I chose to use for the prototype was a text-only representation of what the prototype would look like. One peer gave specific feedback that they like that the prototype included descriptions of what the learner would see and hear and graphic assets. To address this need, I added a slide that would show the title screen of the module I mapped out. I did this for those who want to see the visual mock-up.

A few things I learned from the Savvy Start activities over the last two weeks include:

• The importance of focusing on content and design – I like the storyboard template I used because is made me describe what the learner would see, hear and do for each slide. I think this helped me be thoughtful of each component of my design in a way that I’m not sure I would have picked up if I had started by creating a visual representation.
• Getting feedback from different perspectives – having two strangers provide critical feedback was helpful. They had no previous experience with my project, and I really appreciated reading their feedback.
• The important of having a visual representation of my training will be helpful for those that need to see what is described in the prototype. This made me realize that having the template I used would help guide me to think about my outline, but the visual representation will be needed for stakeholders and my manager.

Storyboard Iterations

[Course 1 Revised Storyboard]

[Updated storyboard]