The target audience for this course was Orkin Pros, who are the service providers that are called out to residential and commercial locations to inspect for pest issues and provide treatments. For this project, it was important to understand the entry skills and prior knowledge that the learners would have before taking this course (such as a basic understanding of pesticide formulations), as well as their general attitudes and motivations. 

I completed all of the design and development work on this course. I received input regarding the course goals and relevant content from the Instructional Design Team Manager at Rollins. I developed new objectives, assessments, materials, and graphics, and worked on this project from start to finish. Upon completion, the course was implemented into the service provider curriculum on Rollins' LMS, where learner analytics were collected. 

Learning Theories & Instructional Strategy

Gagne's Nine Events were followed when designing this course, in order to create the proper conditions for learning. The ARCS Motivational Model was also followed, with strategies embedded for all 4 conditions (such as the attention-grabbing introduction video featuring a relevant case study). The implications of Dual Coding Theory influenced the increased use of both visual and verbal content, with Mayer's Multimedia Principles being followed to reduce extraneous processing, manage essential processing, and foster generative processing. 

Sequencing and clustering were used to organize the content in a hierarchical fashion and to help learners make sense of the relationships and connections between concepts.  Learner guidance was used in the form of examples, illustrations, and a mnemonic device. Cognitive load was reduced by limiting the amount of content on-screen, by presenting information in tabs and carousel interactions. Interactive elements like image maps helped create a more satisfying learning experience.

Assessments

 Criterion-referenced assessment items were designed in alignment with the learning objectives and course content. The post-test focused on simulating an authentic situation (providing treatment at a customer's home) where the learner needed to apply what they have learned in a realistic and relevant scenario. While these text-based assessments can only simulate these scenarios, they should be more effective in helping learning transfer to the performance environment. 

Authoring System & Creative Tools

This course utilized the authoring tool Xyleme, which uses a block-based system similar to Articulate Rise. I used Adobe Illustrator, Canva, and Synthesia to create the icons, graphics, and the introduction video. 

After consulting with my team manager, I realized that in order for the goals of the project to be achieved, there was a need for other forms of media to be integrated into the course. The Xyleme authoring system was capable of housing multimedia objects, but was not capable of creating them. The vision of my design included infographics that integrated brand photography, custom icons, and illustrations. I also envisioned a video introduction to the course, which could be used to gain attention, present a relevant case study, and state the course objectives. I proposed the adoption of new programs such as Adobe Creative Cloud and Synthesia (an AI-enhanced video creation tool) for developing multimedia content. The proposal was well received, and I was given the authority to obtain licenses for these tools for use on the project. After showcasing examples of my work, other members of our design team expressed interest in the tools, and I went on to give tutorials for different development and creative techniques.