Overview
Organization: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development
Position: Freelance Instructional Designer
Audience: Educators and administrators seeking professional development
Responsibilities: eLearning Development, Cross-collaboration with SMEs, Witsby Administration, Assign Metadata to LMS content
Tools: Canva, Witsby LMS, Powtoon, Microsoft Office, Slack, Camtaisa
Features
At ASCD, my role was focused on designing and developing professional development videos for educators to enhance their teaching practices. I was responsible for creating course content that was accessible, engaging, and aligned with adult learning principles. I applied multimedia learning for adult audiences. The content I created featured practical strategies and implementation techniques to help educators apply their new knowledge and improve their teaching effectiveness. I was also an administrator on the Witsby LMS platform where I uploaded and organized eLearning content around numerous topics relating to professional development.
Process
Along with information gathered from interviews with industry experts, I was given pre-made scripts and storyboards from which I was to create videos. For explainer videos with visual-heavy content, I turned to Powtoon to create animated videos. These animations were ideal for explaining complex ideas or concepts in a simplified, visually appealing way. After finalizing the video, I uploaded it to the Witsby LMS platform. I ensured that all video files were properly formatted and compressed for optimal viewing on the platform. Once the videos were uploaded, I reviewed them within the LMS to ensure that they played correctly, with no technical issues. This included checking the video’s compatibility across different devices and browsers.
✅ Results
The training videos I developed for ASCD significantly improved the overall quality and accessibility of professional development courses available on the Witsby LMS. Colleagues shared that the videos were clear, engaging, and directly applicable to their teaching practices. By using animated explainer videos, I was able to help learners retain the material more effectively. The structured and consistent design process also contributed to faster production timelines while maintaining instructional quality.
💡 Takeaways
Centering the design around educators’ needs ensured that the content was practical, relevant, and easy to apply in real classroom settings.
Powtoon was a powerful tool, but its impact depended on thoughtful planning and instructional intent behind each element.
Using storyboards helped reduce back-and-forth during editing and kept the production process efficient.