Mary de Lepe

I believe that even the most boring content can be made interesting, and that was my challenge in creating six compliance training courses for the Joint Powers Authority. From fire extinguisher training to preparing playground supervisors, JPA covers six of the risk management classes necessary for Southern California. Using Captivate, I constructed the modules, created interactive features, embedded the videos, built the quizzes, and all other functionalities. For most of the modules, I used a graphic artist to do initial design, then I manipulated and modified the Photoshop files to complete course pages.

For each module, I developed an associated theme that would best convey the learning material. For example, the Playground Supervision course content included many statistics and stories about children suffering horrible injuries on the playground – not a subject that plays out well visually. Instead, I parodied an old Saturday Night Live character called Mr. Bill who, made of clay, consistently found himself flattened or mangled to audience amusement. My “Mr. Phil” character was able to illustrate how playground rules and procedures keep children safe. Audience feedback confirmed that the humor supported engagement with the subject matter, and testing revealed that users learned and retained the content.

The modules reside in the JPA Learning Library, which is a proprietary learning management system. Due to the loss of their LMS administrator, I was asked to implement the modules and set them up for learner access. It was a bit challenging, but not only are the courses garnering recognition, but the client now wants to put all of her trainings online in the same manner.

This program is designed to support the unique needs of new Career Technical Education (CTE) teachers transitioning from industry into the classroom as well as veteran CTE teachers who desire to refresh and update their skills. Funded by the California Department of Education, the content I developed resides in CTE Online, a proprietary learning management system created and maintained by Butte County Office of Education. Featuring industry sectors from welding to nursing to multimedia production, the Early Orientation and Professional Development courses cover what new teachers need to know to be successful.

Working with a variety of subject matter experts, I developed all of the content and performed all of the instructional design. Construction of the courses required much management and communication between Butte County LMS administrators, my web programmers and designers. I performed construction of several modules as well. While no LMS will do everything, I was able to work with Butte County programmers to adapt their LMS functions to achieve our goals. Due to the large number of videos in this project, producing posed some unique challenges. I took my film crew all over Southern California to capture footage from CTE teachers to highlight best practices, and voices of experience.

Not only was the client satisfied with the results of my work, she valued our collaboration and my willingness to advocate for their project at meetings with district personnel and the CDE. CTE TEACH is currently contracted with eight local education agencies covering all of Southern California and has helped prepare hundreds of new teachers.