E-learning Development Case Study: World Vision

World Vision is an international relief and development organization working to promote the well being of all people - especially children. In 2002, World Vision offered material, emotional, social and spiritual support to 85 million people in 96 countries.

Need:

World Vision recently promoted their community development leaders (in the South East Asian Region) to area development program managers (ADP Managers). These managers were spread in diverse locations in India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and Mongolia. They needed to acquire specific skills as their experience and knowledge were limited to community development alone.

World Vision conducted various in-house training programs that included MBA programs, annual training programs, seminars etc. But these training programs met the need of "capacity building" more than "capability building". There was a growing need to shift the focus on "capability building" as the organizational approach. With the ADP managers having to be equipped quickly to handle large projects, there was a need for a learner centric approach for an "any place-any time"

e-learning solution.

Challenge:

Taking into consideration the lack of high speed internet connectivity and technology know-how of ADP managers, this project was quite a challenge for us. Also, the solution had to be developed fast and needed to be cost effective.

Solution:

Our team first conducted a detailed needs analysis that follows a predefined process of understanding organizational objectives, learning objectives, target audience study, content analysis, LMS analysis and technical needs of the project. Subject matter experts were contacted to collect information and data. These inputs were received in the form of interviews, materials and the existing content of World Vision.

The need for a learning management system - a custom built, readymade solution or a customized solution was evaluated. Our team then used the Instructional Design process to analyze needs, mission statements, outline content, interface design and finally production and pilot testing. We made sure that each stage of the project ensured a learner-centric approach to achieve Capability building.

We worked on developing an LMS to match the unique requirements of World Vision. The Instructional Design (ID) team reviewed the extensive content available from World Vision and worked on determining the objectives of the course and on setting a curriculum. They redesigned the content to achieve the objectives of the course. The course is now online equipping learners from different countries to meet World Vision's objectives.

The maintenance team at BeakWare also provided post-live support to the learning administrators, the facilitators and the learners at World Vision to ensure a smooth transition. World Vision experienced a reduction in costs and they are satisfied with the efficiency the solution enables.