Ideas for a 'Welcome' course that would introduce a multi course curriculum and setup my 'character' as their personal guide through the curriculum.

Oct 28, 2021

Hi All,

I am building a series of courses for a customer service representative certification program.  Each course will take a learner through a series of events that by the end of the courses they can pass an 'out of storyline' activity, and be 'certified'.  

My question is that I want to build an initial course, a welcome to the program course, where I introduce my storyline character as their instructor through the length of the program.  Almost as if he is their personal guide/trainer through the entire curriculum.

Does anyone have any examples of where they have done something like this, or suggestions they can share to help me out?  I would really appreciate it!

3 Replies
Judy Nollet

Hi, Karen,

I've seen (and developed) a number of courses with a "guide." I typically just have them introduce themselves at the start of the course. For example, via text or audio, the character would say something like, "I'm Liz, and I'll be your guide for this course." 

For longer courses, and for multiple courses in a curriculum, I suggest using more than one guide. So, for example, at the start, Liz might introduce herself and Ron. Then switch between the characters occasionally. Depending on the content, that might be done every few slides, or at every scene change. The switch between characters can help delineate a change in topic. Plus the brain pays attention to bigger changes. 

FYI: I like my guides to "speak" personally. For example, they often say "we," because that's more friendly than "the company."

Sarah Hodge

Hey Karen and welcome to E-Learning Heroes! 😊 Judy gave some great advice! I just wanted to chime in and share these two resources with you. They include downloads that use variables to allow learners to select an avatar that appears throughout the course. I hope this helps:

Thaddeus Ashcliffe

Remember to not waste the audience's time.  Give them a good reason to spend the time with this character.  Is there a reason that you use a character rather than an icon?  Does this help to convey useful information, allow a refraining of the content?  Does the use of a character actually make the course better, or will it annoy a good chunk of your audience?

One way to do that is to give that character, well character.  I'm not saying that you have to make the POV strong, but that doesn't hurt. 

Alternatively make the intro as short as possible.  If they have to deal with the same or similar introductions it will grate on your audience.