Animal Massage Therapy
Summary
This user-friendly, mobile-forward eLearning experience prepares new clients for their first animal massage therapy session with One Heart Animal Healing. Learners are introduced to the purpose and benefits of therapeutic animal massage by navigating animated scenarios and custom Storyline interactions. Learners discover how to prepare themselves, their pets, and their homes for massage appointment through navigating deliberately chunked course sections. Finally, learners meet Becky, their animal massage practitioner, who walks them through their first therapeutic massage appointment.
Target Audience: New One Heart Animal Healing clients, primarily female-identifying, ~30-70 years old
Responsibilities: Needs Analysis, Instructional Design, Storyboarding, Visual Design, eLearning Development
Tools: Articulate Storyline 360, Adobe Illustrator, Canva, Microsoft PowerPoint
The Problem
The client, One Heart Animal Healing, approached me with her business problem: “I don’t want to have the same conversation with each new massage therapy client.” New clients had different expectations about what animal massage looks like. Often, new clients and their animal companions were unprepared and surprised to learn that animal therapeutic massage is different than human massage. One Heart Animal Healing wanted to set realistic expectations about her services for clients before arriving for the first appointment.
The Solution
My solution is an eLearning module paired with a downloadable checklist that documents the activities clients must take to prepare their home, their pet, and themselves for their animal massage appointment with One Heart Animal Healing. After completing the eLearning module, clients will be able to define animal massage therapy, distinguish animal massage from human massage, and discover what to expect during the first and subsequent sessions. Clients will also be able to identify the benefits of massage therapy for their pet and prepare their home, their pet, and themselves for the massage therapy appointment.
The Process
I followed the ADDIE instructional design model to structure my design process. To determine whether a learning intervention was an appropriate solution, I performed a Needs Analysis. I interviewed the client/SME to identify the organizational need and locate evidence of a need for instruction. It quickly became clear that a learning intervention would be a sufficient solution so the remainder of the interview was focused on determining what learners need to know and do ahead of their first appointment. In the initial intake I also collected data on the target audience profile, the new client intake process, and steps involved in a typical massage appointment.
Design Document
After completing my Needs and Task analyses, I moved into the design phase. First, I wrote learning and performance objectives using Bloom’s Taxonomy. These objectives served as the foundation for the remainder of my instructional design decisions recorded in the design document. After receiving the client’s approval on the learning and performance objectives and project plan, I moved forward with completing the design document.
Design Document Excerpt
Text-Based Storyboard
After determining the core curriculum including introduction activities, demonstration activities, and interactive practice activities, I wrote a detailed text-based storyboard. The storyboard specified all course text, media, interactions, and programming notes. I created the storyboard in Microsoft PowerPoint and used one slide for each Storyline slide.
Development in Articulate Storyline
Text-Based Storyboard Excerpts
Style Guide & Visual Mockups
After I finalized the text-based storyboard, I created a style guide in Articulate Storyline to document the the font choice, font size, course colors, and button styles. To align the visual design of the course with the client’s branding, I pulled the mint green color (#F5F5F0) from the client’s website and identified three darker accent colors.
Given the older age of the target audience, I identified bold, sans serif font types to ensure the text was clear and easy to read. To ensure the course colors were WCAG compliant and accessible to individuals with colorblindness, I checked the colors and font with an online accessibility checker.
I also shared visual mockups of different slides providing the client with two color options. The client appreciated the opportunity to review and modify the look and feel of the course. After tweaking the visual mockups according to the client’s feedback, I was ready to dive into developing the course in Storyline.
Style Guide
Visual Mockup
Development
This project was designed and developed using Articulate Storyline as the authoring tool. I utilized custom states, layers, motion paths to power animations, and hot spots. I leveraged 30+ variables to drive user choice, created a dynamic menu, and create custom interactions like a drag and drop.
Design Features
I applied a combination of adult learning theories including Robert Gagne’s Nine Events of Instruction and principles of Richard Mayer’s Multimedia Learning Theory to design an engaging, pedagogically sound eLearning course. For example, I gain the attention of learners at the onset of the course by presenting an animated scenario in which a vet suggests animal massage therapy as a treatment modality.
Since most clients accessed the business website via mobile devices, I created a mobile-forward design. For example, I planned to develop the project in Articulate Storyline, which dynamically scales content to fit various screen sizes. I included a minimum amount of text and visual assets on the screen at each time ensuring all slides maintained the intended user experience on a mobile device.
My decision to exclude audio narration is supported by Mayer’s Redundancy Principle, which states that relevant graphics paired with text are more effective than narration paired with text and graphics. Additionally, the conversational tone and use of first person in the script was influenced by Mayer’s Personalization Principle, which states that a relaxed tone positively impacts learning.
Finally, I introduced Becky, One Heart Animal Healing’s animal massage therapist, as a pedagogical agent to guide learners through a typical massage appointment. I broke the down the appointment activities into bite sized chunks and created a custom Storyline interaction for learners to discover and explore the sequence.
Pedagogical Agent
Additional Learner Resources
To enhance retention and transfer, I provide a downloadable checklist to be used by clients as a just-in-time reference of actions required to prepare their home, animal companion, and themselves for the appointment. The choice to include an animal massage preparation checklist instead of a quiz at the conclusion of the course was deliberate. While integrating knowledge checks or a final assessment would yield valuable insight into whether the learning objectives were achieved, the client and I agreed that a checklist would better serve the clients and eliminate the need for additional reminders from One Heart Animal Healing.
I am considering developing a sample assessment as part of a future update to this module.
Additional Resource: Animal Massage Preparation Checklist
Results
Overall, the project was well received by learners and the client alike. Learners commented on the clarity and interactivity of the module sharing:
“The module is so professional and informative. I feel like I learned a lot from it!”
“I love it! So soothing and clear.”
“Clear and interactive.”
Becky Rapp | Small Business Owner, One Heart Animal Healing
“Erin created an exceptional learning experience for my small business. Her instructional design is tastefully developed with thorough content that keeps learners engaged for the duration of the module. The level of detail in her work allows my clients to gain ample knowledge of the topic in a fluid and efficient manner. Erin is an excellent creative educator and was such a pleasure to collaborate with.”