Project Write Up – Rebekah Sedwick

Achieving eLearning 508 Compliance

This concept eLearning tutorial was designed for the fictional corporation, Online Learning LLC. Learners are tasked with troubleshooting various eLearning digital accessibility-related concerns. By using various design tools like Storyline 360, Camtasia Studios, and CapCut – I’ve created various simulations for the students. They will have the opportunity to correct various issues, receive immediate feedback, and watch demonstrations.

150-200 Employees

Target Audience

3 Months

Timeline

75% Pass Rate

Goal

Storyline 360

Tools

Meet Kara

Kara is the Digital Accessibility QA Specialist who guides learners through the course. She provides hints, suggestions, and encouragement as students troubleshoot various accessibility issues.

In an increasingly remote workforce, a digital mentor character provides gentle guidance without ordering students, making asynchronous learning feel more personal and supportive.

The Challenge

The Problem

Digitally Inaccessible eLearning
The client is a fictional corporation, Online Learning LLC, who develop eLearning courses for various government customers. These customers must adhere to at least WCAG AA levels of 508 accessible compliance, and are distressed that a number of courses they purchased have failed an accessibility audit. They need these courses corrected in order to remain legally compliant.

The Solution

Train Instructional Designers to Troubleshoot and Design Accessible Online Courses
I've proposed that Online Learning LLC completes an eLearning course that will train them to not only troubleshoot digital accessibility issues, but to design future courses with accessibility needs at the forefront. They will walk through a training module that presents specific errors, possible solutions, and specific feedback for each possible fix. An eLearning course is an ideal tool as it will give students the chance to immediately apply the accessibility principles they've learned and retake the training as desired. This format is ideal as it can be accessed by employees at any time, regardless of whether they work onsite or remotely. By being both cost-effective for an organization and convenient for prospective students, the solution of an eLearning module benefits all stakeholders.

Action Mapping

When first fleshing out my Action Map, I determined that the primary business goal was to increase the federal accessibility audit pass rate by 75% in three months maximum. To achieve this, I identified that the organizations’ Instructional Designers should be well versed in applying three common digital accessibility design principles, including: Applying alternative text to graphics, creating and implementing real-time closed captioning, and verifying appropriate focus order on course slides. As these are common accessibility issues and digital shortcomings, successfully completing this training module will reduce future design errors.

01 Alternative Text

Apply appropriate alt text to all course images and graphics

02 Closed Captions

Create and implement real-time scrolling closed captioning

03 Focus Order

Verify appropriate focus order on all course slides

The ADDIE Process

To create this training module, I followed the steps of the ADDIE model, including:

Analyze

Analyze the problem to be insufficient organization knowledge regarding common digital accessibility practices and the ability to implement them in design

Design

Design a text-based storyboard that fleshes out the primary content, actions, and characteristics of the training

Develop

Developed an eLearning module, primarily using the Storyline 360 tool

Implement

Implemented the module by uploading it to a self-hosted site

Evaluate

Shared the module for Evaluation with my stakeholders and made revisions as necessary

Text-based Storyboard

Next, I fleshed out a text-based storyboard that could walk a student through my client’s scenario. I placed the student in the role of an Instructional Designer who works for Online Learning LLC. Their theoretical manager is upset because the organization has failed an accessibility audit for an important government client. The manager needs the student to work with Kara (a Digital Accessibility QA specialist and mentor) to troubleshoot various issues that caused the audit failure. The student will walk through three common digital accessibility issues identified in the action map, including: missing closed captions, missing alternative text, and misconfigured focus order. They will also have constant access to Kara (a digital mentor), who can provide hints and suggestions for each specific problem. Purposely, they will receive immediate feedback based on the proposed solutions they take. These decisions could result in success and a relieved manager or failure and a negative impact on their career. If the learners make an incorrect choice, they will be guided towards the correct solution.

Mood Board & Mockups

After receiving feedback on a text-based storyboard, I created a mood board to source visual inspiration for the course. Focusing on a feeling of realism, I choose lifelike stock imagery and screen captures of real eLearning courses that had been developed in Storyline 360.

Mood board for visual inspiration

Following the mood board, I created several visual mockups of course slides in Storyline 360 to create the most intuitive user interface. Specifically, I created examples of Question Slides, Mentor Slides, and Feedback Slides.

Question Slides

Interactive question slides challenge learners to troubleshoot accessibility issues

Mentor Slides

Kara provides helpful guidance and accessibility principles

Interactive Prototype

Before developing the entire course, I created a prototype in Articulate Storyline 360 that included introductory slides and one eLearning problem for the student to troubleshoot. I used this to collect feedback on the visual style, mechanics, helpfulness of the digital mentor, and effectiveness of immediate feedback/consequences per solution.

Interactive Learning

After implementing the feedback from the prototype, I developed the entire project using Storyline 360 features, including animations, their text-to-speech AI voice generator, and the inclusion of video. I sought to enhance engagement and retention by having the student actively make selections to troubleshoot accessibility issues in real-time.

Closed Captions Challenge

Learners identify the correct solution for adding text equivalents to audio narration

Immediate Feedback

Positive reinforcement from Kara when students solve accessibility challenges correctly

Development in Storyline 360

Building interactive simulations with triggers and animations

Results & Takeaways

Since this eLearning is a conceptual project, I would conduct user testing among professionals working in Instructional Design, Professional Development, or academia. From there, I would make tweaks as needed to the learning activities to ensure that the questions are providing a practical, real-world experience for prospective students.

Designing this project opened my eyes to the rich benefits of scenario-based questions that encourage students to practice newfound skills immediately. Additionally, in an increasingly remote workforce, I see benefits in a digital mentor character whose purpose is to gently guide, not order, the students on the right path. This knowledge will guide my future projects as a designer aiming to make asynchronous experiences as realistic as possible.

Ready to Experience the course ?

Explore the full interactive eLearning module and see how accessible design principles come to life.

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Rebekah Sedwick

Accessible eLearning Solutions