Vocal Health Course 

with Storyboard

Tools Used: Articulate Storyline, Camtasia, Canva, Genial.ly, Google Slides, Ocenaudio, paint.net, VideoAsk

Challenge: Many professionals who lead meetings or give presentations do not have formal vocal training. As such, they use their voices inappropriately or inefficiently, which leads to vocal health issues such as sore throat, voice loss, vocal nodes, and other ailments.

Solution: Using the backward design model, the learning outcome of this asynchronous 6-lesson course is for learners to use proper breath support and vocal placement during presentations in order to preserve a healthy voice. The objectives within each lesson build on skills that the learner will utilize in a video-recorded demonstration as a final assessment.

Learning Materials: Multiple edited videos and images, self-produced audio examples, interactive content such as various knowledge-based assessments (multiple choice, matching, etc.), and a summative skills-based assessment (through VideoAsk).

Story, Engagement, and Interactivity: The course is in a story structure where the learner follows a character, Blake, as he goes through the process of improving his voice. As Blake is on this journey, the learner is prompted to participate in the same activities that are introduced to Blake. Activities include (but are not limited to) learning about the human respiratory system through an interactive chart, video tutorials that encourage learner participation, and a final assessment that puts the learner as a character in the story who has to show their cumulative knowledge of the course by introducing Blake before a presentation.

Results: After working through this course, learners are able to use their voices more efficiently and healthily. However, as a skill, it needs continued practice, reflection, and review to keep the benefits consistent. As such, the course can be revisited at anytime. 

Google Calendar Course

Client: The Music Center of North Haven, LLC.

Tools Used: Rise 360, Canva, Camtasia

Challenge: The organization wanted to move their attendance system from paper to digital. In order to do this, a new system was developed using Google Calendar to keep track of teachers' music lessons. "Front-end" employees needed to learn how to use Google Calendar to organize schedules for multiple teachers.

Solution: This course addressed the following objectives:

1. Create, edit, and delete music lessons from the Music Center's Google Calendar.

2. Add important information (such as times and links) to lessons.

3. Set up recurring lessons so that they appear on the Google Calendar every week.

Learning Materials: Edited screencast videos, infographic, skills-based and knowledge-based assessments.

Results: "Front-end" employees were able to gain the skills needed to seamlessly transition from one system to the other.

Needs Analysis - 

Engagement Level in Learners

Client: University of Massachusetts - Amherst

Collaborators: Kevin Dolfin and Joseph Ricker

Tools Used: Tableau, Google Docs

Challenge: The level of disengagement from learners in an undergraduate music appreciation course seemed to be increasing.

Solution: My colleagues and I conducted a needs analysis where we observed four class sessions and collected quantitative and qualitative data. We measured the amount of on-task vs off-task activity done by learners during each class session. We created follow-up solutions according to the data.

Results: The data revealed the average level of engagement from learners was 68%. For next semester, a goal of 90% engagement was established. In supporting this goal, suggestions were made to help increase learner engagement with the addition of learner-centric instruction models such as flipped classroom.