Description:

The purpose of the planned digital resource will be two-fold:

  1. To replace the current text-heavy, paper-based resource used by a local Internet Service Provider (ISP) to deliver training to new Help Desk representatives.
  2. To be utilized as an emulator by Help Desk representatives for when conducting troubleshooting calls with customers.

Learning Goals:

The learning outcomes for this digital learning resource will be:

  • New Help Desk representatives will be able to efficiently locate the information required for when troubleshooting a customer issue.
  • Representatives will have a better understanding of the various equipment used for the various services offered by the ISP.
  • Representatives will be able to follow a consistent path to a potential solution for a customer issue.

Intended Audience:

The intended audiences will comprise of new Help Desk representatives being trained for their role with the ISP, and current Help Desk representatives to assist them when troubleshooting customer issues. There could also be supplemental audiences as well such as current or new employees within the Customer Service department to assist them in being cross-trained on understanding technical issues, and executive management level of the ISP to evaluate potential training opportunities/requirements for staff.

Rationale:

The current method of training and onboarding of new Help Desk hires at a local ISP consists of handing the employee a large binder filled with documents that explain the services offered, what steps are taken to troubleshoot each service, a list of equipment that the company has previously/currently installed at customer locations, how-to FAQ’s for navigating the company intranet and dashboards, and then giving the employee a show-and-tell of devices that are not powered up. The current training process does not utilize technology effectively to allow the employee to engage in real-time with the actual software used on the help desk or be able to approach it in a manner that would be reflective of how a troubleshooting call would be accomplished with a customer. The digital resource in development is intended to give the learner a better visual understanding of the troubleshooting process by enabling them to interact with the actual software prior to going live with customers.

Tools:

Tools used for this digital learning resource will be comprised of: screenshots of the current programs and equipment used for when troubleshooting a customer issue, PowerPoint to create interactive and informative slides of each stage of the emulator which will then be converted into either a Flash or HTML5 based file that can be uploaded or embedded into a website (ie: wordpress) for access by the learner. An interactive PDF may also be created.

Assessment Plan:

At this time there is no requirement for grading or marked evaluation. Trainers can evaluate and discuss the steps that the employee took in order to assist them with future troubleshooting calls.

Learning Theories & Instructional Design Principles Used:

The proposed digital learning resource will be utilizing a combination of Behaviourist, Cognitivist, and Connectivism strategies (Alley, 2008). The resource will identify what services, equipment, and options are available while providing insight into how to follow a process to determine potential causes for the issue by enabling contextual learning through utilizing real-world scenarios that can then be tailored by the learner to fit their own approach to a situation.

Instructions for Use:

When used for actual onboarding/training of a new hire, the department head/trainer will initially introduce the employee to the working versions of all the programs used for troubleshooting. Once familiar, a representative will be given a troubleshooting scenario to review and then be asked to walk through steps they would take to diagnose. This digital resource will enable the employee to better see what options are available to them when determining a cause and looking for a solution. For the purpose of this assignment, peers will be given the troubleshooting scenario and then will be able to click through the emulator to get a sense for what steps need to be taken. The emulator for this prototype will only show the steps available for the trouble scenario given.

Plan for Use:

The digital resource will be housed internally on company servers and not available to the open public. When training or access by staff is required, there will be a formal link placed within each workstation for access. The resource could also be housed in the Training section of the company intranet site. For the purpose of this assignment, the resource will either be placed within an invite-only wordpress site specifically created for this assignment and links will be provided to the instructor and cohort members that will be evaluating the resource, or an interactive PDF will be provided for download.

References:

Ally, M. (2008). Foundations of educational theory for online learning. In T. Anderson (Ed.), The theory and practice of online learning (pp.15-44). Edmonton, AB: AU Press.