Training manuals update

Client:
Humanmade
Completion date:
June 1, 2022
Category:
Technical writing

The challenge

Humanmade offers 14 different equipment training courses, including woodworking, metalworking, laser cutting, sewing and more. The original instructor facing and student facing training materials were all written by different people at different times, and varied significantly in quality, comprehensiveness, and approach. The materials were also created in a variety of programs including Adobe Illustrator, InDesign, Microsoft Word, and Google Slides. They wanted to create a standardized set of materials that would be easier to maintain and update.

The development process

  • I chose Google Docs for writing training materials, allowing easy sharing between staff and external experts due to the organization's heavy use of Google Workspace.
  • I created templates for student handouts, instructor guides, lesson plans, and “quick start” job-aids for each machine, ensuring new content conforms to standards.
  • I collaborated with staff and volunteer subject matter experts to re-write and update the training materials
  • Many instructors at the makerspace are subject matter experts themselves, and may not have significant teaching experience. I helped create lesson plans with scripts for key parts of class, informed by Gagne's 9 events of instruction to help them until they find their personal teaching voice.
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The results

  • The clear onboarding process and support helped us attract and retain more instructors.
  • Standardized training materials in shared folders allowed staff to quickly edit and update content.
  • We reassigned, and in some cases had to let go of, volunteer instructors not following procedures, which improved learner performance.
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