Clarity helped a global Internet Search Organization develop content for certification programs
The Challenge
A leading, global Internet Search Organization and content provider asked Clarity for help in rapid development and deployment of interactive instructional content for a video sharing service’s Learning & Enablement Certification program. They needed 12 learning modules, interactive and interwoven with case studies, developed on a schedule of weeks for on-time rollout. The Internet Search Organization’s objective was to instruct content creators, consultants, and coaches to improve their online video presence and success.
The Internet Search Organization set the bar high: they wanted a multi-tasking community engagement strategist, community manager, and communications designer who could take the initiative, work rapidly, and demonstrate exceptional flexibility and creativity that would inspire their partners. Supervision would be minimal; subject matter experts would be available, but the ID would be responsible for execution on a tight schedule. A “dig in and get it done” attitude was essential. Originality was important too. They wanted a consultant who could deliver the unexpected for nothing less than an “amazing learning experience.”
Solution: What Clarity Did
Clarity’s consultant brought a diverse background and a “passion” for the possibilities inherent in online learning. Her formal experience included U.S.-based and international consulting and full-time employment for corporate leaders including Yahoo!, Citysearch and J.P. Morgan, plus an academic performance background in theater and television production.
She demonstrated personal flexibility from the outset: the job specifications called for a 40-hour week with mixed onsite/offsite hours, but with a tight schedule and reliance on subject matter experts who were scattered worldwide, “digging in” meant full-time in one of the Internet Search Organization’s offices and part-time again working on the phone with SME’s in Europe and the Far East. Instructional designers were engaged nationwide across several time zones. Since everything was being created by these fast, dispersed collaborations, close coordination was necessary to achieve an elegant and coherent flow.The work dictated the schedule, not vice versa.
Results: The Outcomes
With the video sharing service’s emergence both as a leading search engine in its own right and moreover as a content producer, the Internet Search Organization was in a hurry to develop proficient content for partners with best practices, optimization tips, and suggested strategies for building engagement and an audience. In about ten weeks, Clarity’s consultant and her fellow IDs:
- Performed a needs analysis
- Developed objectives
- Created exam questions
- Designed modules featuring engagement and interaction
- Created job aids for producing interactive modules for the video sharing service’s Creator Academy and for the Internet Search Organization’s first global MOOC (massive open online course)
The results helped the Internet Search Organization’s video sharing service partners achieve certification by grasping the fundamentals of audience growth and development, platform & channel strategy, multi-channel networks, rights management, and content identification to create great broadcast content and grow their audiences. The consultant’s work included creating community strategy and teaching assistant processes (including escalations and canned responses) and managing the team of teaching assistants to monitor the global community on a 24-hour basis for two weeks. Monitoring included all communications: emails, announcements, tweets, blog posts, and design of the Internet Search Organization’s groups and communities.
Clarity enabled the client to:
- Implement a training program for new hires
- Migrate its training programs to a blended learning environment