Learning Experience Design

Decentralized Commerce, The Blockchain & Web3

GSU’s Creative Media Industry Institute (CMII) noticed a need for blockchain education and project-based learning opportunities
A pilot course needed to be created within 3-months time

Course co-taught by a Web3 Entrepreneur from Silicon Valley and faculty from GSU’s CMII

Features the GSU Blockchain club in course videos and serve as mentors for the course
Students evaluate current Web3 projects
Students utilize technology that is prevalent in the blockchain community
Students develop their own Web3 project during the Maymester and receive mentorship on their projects from Web3 stakeholders throughout the ATL community
Students visit blockchain bases throughout ATL during their co-working week
The students learn from guest speakers who are big names in music, Web 3 and Atlanta
The course culminates with an in-person project showcase at CMII with special guest blockchain judges

Students reported the following primary challenges in the first iteration of the course: lack of relevance to specific careers, lack of transparency in finding careers within specific industries, the need for tangible action items, and difficulty locating information

Organized the modules into learner pathways
Segmented each page of the modules into action steps to achieve the goal of the learner pathway
Scouted talent for and coordinated video production of module introduction videos featuring GSU alumni and Fortune 500 employers who provided specialized advice for GSU students.

Student data showed that students had difficulty transitioning their research in the course to research in a professional setting
Students requested industry contacts and advice directly from professionals who had taken the course
Students required deliberate and routine introduction of vocabulary, research methods and memo writing for clients

Segmented the course into module titled by key questions students needed to answer in order to be tax researchers
Organized students into tax teams and completed tax team group assignments to replicate the tax team network in a professional setting
Templated assignment documents to prompt students to answer all questions and engage in all parts of assignments
Collaborated with the multimedia team to create an infographic to outline all course concepts in one document

Students demonstrated a need for greater asynchronous interaction
Learners required increased engagement methods for greater learning opportunities for immediate professional integration

Integrated a flipped classroom model to create greater asynchronous interaction using the Yellowdig discussion forum
Created a course narrative of “The Building Blocks of Accounting for Income Tax” to better articulate the arch and connection of course concepts
Collaborated with the multimedia team to create an infographic to outline all course concepts in one document
Created routine segments within each module that students followed weekly

Students reported difficulty understanding the “why” behind state and local taxes and how each tax source related to each other

Created templated Powerpoint presentations to streamline content and aesthetic
Collaborated with the multimedia team to create an infographic to outline the tax sources into one document
Created routine segments in each module for students to follow weekly

Data showed that this course had high drop, fail or withdraw (DFW) among communication students
Students reported a lack of understanding and connection between concepts
Faculty reported a lack of engagement among students

Created a course narrative of a “journey” where students made “stops” along their journeys to explore various concepts in human communication
Created routine for students by organizing 4 sections (or “stops”) into each module
Coordinated the scripting and production shoots of introduction videos with the department chair
Included just-in-time training for part-time instructors teaching course sections

Faculty reported students having difficulty navigating the LMS and getting organized for the start of each semester
Students lacked desire to plan for the start of the semester and create organizational habits
Students needed relatable content from their peers to begin creating organizational habits

Designed a “Welcome Module” to be deployed into each course at GSU that would help facilitate the start of each students’ semester
Incorporated a task-based, step-by-step module navigation where the titles of each page are the most important tasks students need to get started in their semester and get organized
Module narration by a GSU student--one who reflects a subsection of the student population and walks users through the, what could be, overwhelming organizational steps to get started in the semester
Includes answers to common questions or interesting facts about the planning experience
Opportunities for students to create their own personalized semester plan using the resources provided.