To do this, I developed a course series in partnership with the CCPS (Clayton County Public Schools) Center for Professional Learning that would be available during each semester.
In addition to creating a course curriculum, I also developed supplemental reference materials such as guidebooks and instructional videos that would also be freely available.
My goals for this project were the following:
Empower our employees to maintain their own content
Teach the fundamentals of web design and content development
Provide learners with a library of easily accessible reference materials
Increase employee satisfaction and familiarity with the new system
Due to the nature of my role in the county, I regularly worked with employees at all professional levels. As a result, I became intimately aware of each group’s role within their school and department.
Since many of the course participants would likely have varying degrees of familiarity with managing digital content, I wanted to ensure that the course would be beginner friendly.
The employees taking the course would also be primarily focused on other day-to-day tasks, so I wanted to make additional resources that could be accessed at their convenience.
The pre-planning period prior to the start of the semester would be the most opportune time for me to host a class, and I would host the class at the Center’s headquarters as this would be the most convenient location.
Based on the nature of our employees’ work habits, I developed a comprehensive learning platform that would be accommodating and accessible to any designated school or district official.
My method would be to make the learning material available in two parts: through an in-person class and via supplemental training materials.
To make the content of the class easy to understand and less overwhelming, I split the topics to be covered into modules.
Each module would have a consistent structure that would present the concept clearly and allows for active participation.
While creating the course content, I worked with Professional Learning coordinators to get the class approved and add it to the district’s class registration system.
Once the class was available for registration, I connected with the school’s principals and department leadership to ensure a representative would be present and in attendance for the course.
Over the course of three days during the pre-planning period, I hosted representatives from all 64 schools and 32 district departments as participants in the new web design course.
The class was highly rated by participants, consistently receiving above a 94% satisfaction rate according to course evaluation surveys. Many participants also sent notes of gratitude expressing how helpful and informative the classes were.
Although I initially planned to host the class only once during the semester, I received multiple requests to host more open workshops throughout the year.
I learned that most of the class participants liked having a dedicated time to focus on making site updates and interacting with web administrators from other schools to share ideas and techniques.
I decided to run the course annually and multiple times throughout the year, effectively adding the responsibility of being a course instructor to my regular duties.
