Let’s Taco ‘Bout Food Safety! eLearning Training

Project Overview

Audience: New and experienced employees at Tacomazing Cantina, a local restaurant chain

Responsibilities: Instructional Design, eLearning Development, action mapping, storyboarding, prototyping, visual & graphic design

Tools Used: Articulate Storyline, Vyond, Twine, Figma, Photoshop, Google Suite

Project Background

The Problem

This food safety training is for a fictional restaurant called Tacomazing Cantina, a beloved local restaurant chain. They’ve purchased three food trucks to expand their business and get out into the community more. With business booming, the owners and managers are quite busy and have contracted an Instructional Designer for help. They’d like to streamline their training process, rather than take the time to train each new employee themselves. They need to train new employees on food safety and make sure current employees are prepared to work on the food trucks.

The Solution

I recommended and designed an interactive eLearning course on food truck safety that management can use anytime and employees can complete on their own. The training covers several food safety topics; it serves as an initial training for new employees and a review for experienced employees. It could easily be adapted and re-used for a brick-and-mortar restaurant training.

When conducting the Needs and Learner Analysis, I found a diverse group of learners of all ages and walks of life, from 16 to 60! Their work days are fast-paced and they have a lot on their minds. I wanted to convey the most essential information in around 10-15 minutes, with plenty of learner engagement and interactive activities for practice. This led me to choose Articulate Storyline and Vyond as the main tools for the training.

Design Process

I designed this training using the ADDIE model and several Instructional Design tools, including a Design Document, action mapping, prototyping, and storyboarding. Please see below for my process and work samples.

Analysis

  • Conducted a Needs and Learner Analysis to get to know learners and choose the best medium for the training

  • Researched food safety practices and chose the most important information

  • Wrote measurable learning objectives, planned the final assessment, and created an action map

Design & Develop

  • Designed the training itself, testing for usability and accessibility throughout the process

  • This included: storyboarding and prototyping, building the training in Articulate Storyline, creating video content in Vyond, designing visuals, and creating interactive slides and a branching scenario for practice.

Implement

  • Double checked and tested the course for usability and accessibility

  • Gathered final feedback from Tacomazing management, making adjustments as needed

  • Published the course and worked with Tacomazing to make sure learners have the needed technology

Evaluate

  • Evaluated the training according to the plan from the Analysis and Design phases

  • This included: gathering and analyzing data from the training activities and assessment, a learner survey about the experience, and a follow-up with Tacomazing management and staff three months later to gauge impact and effectiveness.

  • Looked for strengths, areas for growth, and ways to improve future iterations

Reflection

This project was fun to design because it combined two things I enjoy- Instructional Design and tacos! I enjoyed the process of taking a fairly dry topic (food safety) and turning it into an interactive experience, with colorful graphics and fun branding. It encouraged me to cut the “fluff” even more and include only the most essential information. While learners can’t always choose the topic, I believe there’s always a way to make an experience more engaging, interactive, and applicable to daily life.

As a person who enjoys planning, I was engrossed in the processes of analysis, storyboarding, design, and development. I also gained more technical skills in creating interactivity in Articulate Storyline, prototyping branching scenarios, and creating video content. This experience strengthened my Storyline, writing, and visual design skills and taught me to care even more for small details.