Camp Riverbend is a growing summer day camp serving over 200 families annually. As the program expanded, the camp began receiving increasing negative feedback from parents, particularly concerning communication issues. Parents expressed frustration at feeling ignored when raising concerns with staff and were often blindsided when their child reported incidents directly, rather than hearing about them from camp staff. As the camp grew rapidly, communication protocols between counselors and directors were inconsistently followed, leading to a breakdown in information flow. This created pressure on directors and supervisors, who often became the first point of contact with parents only after frustrations had already set in. Negative social media comments surfaced, and some families even withdrew their children.

After meeting with the executive director and gathering feedback from supervisors and counselors, it became clear that many new counselors and part-time staff—primarily aged 16-20—were on-boarded quickly with minimal training. It was assumed that they would naturally know how to communicate effectively with both parents and supervisors. To address this issue, I proposed a scenario-based eLearning experience. This format would allow part-time staff to navigate common camp scenarios in a low-risk environment, helping them understand the consequences of communication errors. The eLearning module would also engage the younger audience through gamification and offer flexibility, allowing staff to complete the training around their busy schedules. Additionally, I recommended two job aids to assist counselors in real-world situations: one for guidelines on communicating incidents to supervisors and another, a parent communication log, to capture key details when reporting parent interactions.

I utilized a “backwards design” approach, combined with the ADDIE model, to plan, develop, and implement the eLearning experience. In the analysis phase, I collaborated with the client and subject matter experts (SMEs) to create an action map, define clear goals, and identify steps to achieve those goals. We identified the most relevant skills to address the issues at hand and I created a text-based storyboard to outline the course’s progression and incorporate programming notes. After obtaining feedback and approval from the SMEs, I developed wireframes and a style guide on Figma. Once the visual mockups were approved, I built an interactive prototype in Articulate Storyline 360 to gather feedback on the user experience and functionality of the eLearning module. After multiple iterations and testing with SMEs and trial users, I refined the final version of the course. Alongside the eLearning module, I developed two job aids in Canva: a poster to help counselors decide when to handle an incident directly and when to report it to a supervisor, and a parent communication log to record key details for supervisor follow-up.

Managing this process from start to finish has been a valuable opportunity to strengthen my instructional design skills. Reflecting on the process, there are numerous insights and lessons I’ll carry forward into future projects.

Learning from the experts: The input I received from my SMEs was invaluable throughout both the analysis phase and each iteration of the project. I also appreciated gaining insights from SMEs in different roles within the organization, as it provided a more comprehensive understanding of the issue from multiple perspectives. Ultimately, this collaboration resulted in a relevant and well-rounded final product.

Planning to succeed: Each step of the design process was essential to ensuring a smooth development. I can’t overstate how important it was to lay a detailed and organized foundation, as it saved both time and stress when creating the final product in Storyline 360.

Getting creative with the software: I enjoyed the challenge of creating different types of interactions in Storyline. One of the new challenges I encountered was designing the playground scene. I wanted to create an activity with interactive hotspots where learners could zoom in to examine the incidents more closely, but I also wanted to give them control over the zoom function. This required incorporating multiple states, layers, and cue points on the timeline, along with a variable to trigger the continue button only after the learner had identified all five incidents. I'm excited to take on more complex projects in the future, where I can explore new ways to integrate interactions and enhance the learner experience.

What I would change: In hindsight, I would have liked to incorporate animation using Vyond and add sound to bring the project to life. Given that the main audience for this project is part-time staff aged 16-20, these added effects could have made the eLearning experience more engaging.