Reflection Paper

EDUC 767: Designing Computer Based Training

Alyssa Haynes
6/20/2016

Recently, my employer granted me the opportunity to develop training

curriculum for my department. I have a Bachelors degree in Human
Resources, and I focused my study on training and employee development
courses, but I lack experience in instructional design. This course in
computer based training has been an adventure, as I had no experience with
any of the software, or eLearning in general.
I decided to start with a commercial pharmacy benefits overview. This
training is essential for new hires, and I was able to complete materials
without divulging any proprietary information. The course design document
was the main tool I used in this course, besides Adobe Captivate. It helped
me organize and zero in on which enabling objective to use for my RLO.
Furthermore, the document helped me ensure that I considered delivery,
strategies and 508 accommodations for my project.
The overall Commercial Pharmacy Benefits Overview course is introductory
and mostly explaining information. New hires will be on site during initial
training. The bulk of the course will be delivered face to face, and utilize a
PowerPoint presentation. Horton (2011) notes that presentations are used
to, convey basic information, demonstrate well-defined procedures, and to
model human behaviors (p.69). He also notes that a best practice for
presentations is to pick a mix of media. Because of this, I felt that a RLO
could break up the face-to-face presentation and let the new hires
experience some interactive learning. Additional instructional methods that
will be included in the course will be discussions, activities such as scavenger
hunts, and job aids. The RLO is a self-paced tutorial created in Adobe
Captivate, and the instructional strategies include real claims examples, a
Humana video and short knowledge checks after each section to keep the
learner engaged. I thought it was particularly important to tell the learner
why the training is important to them, as adult learners value this
information (Rochester Institute of Technology, n.d.). This is why I chose to
include multiple real claim examples, and a slide specifically describing the
importance of the material.
Because the Pharmacy Benefits and Deductibles RLO is an introductory
module, I chose to use short knowledge checks throughout the module as
the main form of assessment. Horton (2011) states that one of the
conditions for choosing formal testing is when, learners require specific
skills, knowledge or attitudes (p.216). The information presented in this
overview course is prerequisite to future, more advanced training, and so
new hires absolutely require this set of knowledge to continue with their
training.

To curb cognitive load, I wanted to sequence and chunk the information in a

way that would make sense to a learner and be easy to absorb. The way my
slides are sequenced has a logical flow introduce a type of plan, describe
the different way claims process, and then provide clear examples. One of
my branching scenarios allows the learner to choose which type of plan to
learn about first, as the order of the two sections in the RLO doesnt need to
be set. I also chose to have one-question knowledge checks after each
section. Horton (2011) suggests: Teach A, Test A, Teach B, Test B, Teach C,
Test C, Test A, B & C. This chunks the information effectively, instead of
overloading the learner and completing one big assessment. My RLO really
only has a section A and section B. I didnt want to route the learner through
all of the information, and then have them forget which rules applied to
which plan. I hoped that the knowledge checks would help with retaining the
information.
When designing my interface and navigation, I wanted the learner to be able
to easily open the RLO and begin learning. Morrison, Ross, Kalman & Kemp
(2013) note that interfaces should be intuitive, and the learners should not
have to guess what to do next. I chose to create a simple interface with
limited navigation buttons that were self-explanatory. I also didnt want the
users to have to scroll to get to information. Horton (2011) mentions that a
non-scrolling display is good for focusing on one set of content at a time.
The size I chose for my RLO should fit completely on a normal computer
display. I wanted to create a responsive project (variable sized display), but I
started by importing a PowerPoint, so this was not an option in Captivate.
New hires will be completing this RLO on laptop or desktop computers, so the
ability to re-size for a tablet or smart phone wasnt really necessary.
Many of the visual pieces of the project were easy to design. Humana has
very strict branding standards, and because I plan to use this in official
Humana training, I had to follow these standards. Humana has a set of
colors and text that must be used on all of their materials. The text is
Humana-approved Calibri and the logo appears in a custom font called FS
Humana. The headers, buttons, and images on the title slide are in the
shape of what Humana calls life blocks. I used Humanas life block creator to
make the shapes for my training. The colors used throughout the
presentation, besides black text, include Humanas plum, green, dark green
and grey. The background is white, as Humanas green logo may only
appear on a white background. The basic guideline for visual display of
eLearning is to display text in high contrast, so it is legible, so the black text

on the white background with other pops of Humana color worked well
(Horton, 2011). Text in the colored headers and buttons appeared it white to
provide better contrast, and again, follow branding standards.
I designed my RLO flowchart and prototype before I knew what Adobe
Captivate could really do. I ran into a few roadblocks. First, I didnt know
that upon exporting my Captivate project, a play bar would be added. I
learned that I didnt have to create each navigational button. I could have
used those within the program. Overall, the next, back and other buttons
that I created help bring the design together visually, so it ended up being a
good thing. I was able to hide the play bar, which didnt match the theme
anyway. Second, I wasnt able to create my branching scenario for review as
I had envisioned in the original flowchart and prototype. I wanted to offer
the option to review only if the learner gave an incorrect response. I wasnt
able to accomplish this, though Im sure it could be completed with some
advanced programming in Captivate. Instead, after the assessments, all
learners are brought to a Would you Like to Review? slide, to choose where
to go next. I decided that some learners may want to review anyway, so it
didnt hurt the flow of the RLO. Third, I wasnt able to have the module
know if a learner had completed a section or not. Because my first
branching scenario is the learner choosing which section to start with, I
wanted the RLO to know that the learner completed section A, and go right
to section B (or vice versa). Then, when the learner was done with section A
and B, the module would know to proceed to the course summary. Again,
Im sure this could have been accomplished with advanced functions, but I
found that it was far beyond my intro knowledge.
Using the 508 Checklist (Center for Persons with Disabilities, 2016) Some
accessibility components that I wanted to take into consideration included:
Adding alt tags to images
Adding a transcript to the video
Having colors that were contrasting
Having titles for each slide to describe the purpose/content
Allowing the learner to have control over navigation (no
automatic/timed transitions)
Not including flashing content
I added accessibility information to each slide, image and button, but noticed
that I was not able to see my alt tags or transcript when I inspected the
elements in the browser when reviewing my RLO from my e-portfolio. I

imagine I would have to test it with a screen reader to see if it would function
correctly.
I created a usability test and had my partner review the RLO and note any
difficulties that she may have had. Most of the feedback in regards to design
and usability was positive. She did say that they play bar in Captivate and
my navigational buttons were redundant. I was able to figure out how to
remove the play bar. She also noted that she was not able to see the alt
tags or transcript to my video. I noticed this too, as mentioned above. I
posted the question on the discussion board, but did not receive any
responses. Im still not sure how to find the alt tags on a course that is
embedded into a website.
I reached out to an area of my organization that currently develops elearning curriculum for Humana to gain insight and a possible mentor. I
found someone, with an HR degree and a very similar background story to
my own. When I inquired about how they learned to use Captivate, they
indicated that YouTube and Google are their best friends! I learned that
instructional designers have to be self-sufficient, resourceful and dedicated.
Throughout my design process, I took some courses that were available to
me in SkillSoft through my employer, and had to use Google and YouTube a
lot to figure out anything that went beyond basic functions. I learned that
you can do almost anything in Adobe Captivate utilizing advanced functions.
I tried my hand at this for a bit, trying to create a more dynamic menu slide
for my RLO. I wanted a check mark to appear after a learner visited each of
the areas if they referenced the menu at any point. After spending some
time trying to make this work, I decided that it wasnt essential for my RLO.
Id still like to learn how to program some of these advanced functions in the
future.
The most valuable activities for me in this course were creating the Udutu
RLO, and creating my final RLO. These activities gave me experience with
designing my first CBTs, and gave me a chance to try two different programs.
The goal I set for myself while going through this course was to learn how to
use Adobe Captivate. I really wanted to use the software that is utilized
within my organization, despite the steep learning curve that I was warned
about. I plan to create more CBTs within Captivate, especially software
simulations. We have a ton of processes that could benefit from a CBT that
explains each step of the process. Captivate is great for creating simulations
based on what I learned from the courses I took.

Previously I had little to no ID experience. Going in to my project of

developing curriculum for my team, I still wonder how to find the best
balance of eLearning, face to face instruction and job aids. How much is too
much eLearning? I plan to work with my mentor in Humana Pharmacy
Learning Organization to figure this out. This course showed me how an RLO
can fit nicely into a curriculum. I also learned to be mindful of accessibility
and section 508. This was probably the most valuable knowledge that I had
gained besides learning how to actually use the software. Going forward, I
will be prepared to build these best practices into my future modules.

References
Center for Persons with Disabilities. (2016). Section 508 checklist. Retrieved
from webaim.org/standards/508/checklist
Horton, W. (2011). E-Learning by Design (2nd Edition) [Texidium version].
Retrieved from http://texidium.com
Morrison, G.R., Ross, S.M., Kalman, H.K., & Kemp, J.E. (2013). Designing
effective instruction. (7th ed.). John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Rochester Institute of Technology. (n.d.). Adult learners. Retrieved
from http://www.rit.edu/academicaffairs/tls/course-design/instructionaldesign/adult-learners