Storyline 360 Case Study

Case Study: Mothers Helping Mothers CARES

Executive Summary

Role: Lead Instructional Designer & Developer

Tools Used: Articulate Storyline 360, Hedra, Canva, Audacity

Target Audience: Low Income Young Mothers 

Format: Interactive E-Learning Module (Scenario-Based)

1. The Challenge 

Low-income young mothers facing economic hardship often experience significant stress, fragmented support systems, and barriers when navigating essential family resources. Mothers Helping Mothers recognized that moving from surviving to thriving requires more than just crisis assistance—it requires self-efficacy, actionable life tools, and intuitive guidance.

Key operational and instructional challenges included:

• Overwhelming Resource Navigation: Clients frequently struggled to identify, sequence, and access critical community, financial, and family services during times of stress.

• Variable Client Self-Efficacy: Traditional paper flyers and static orientations lacked the personal engagement needed to build confidence and long-term problem-solving skills.

• Need for Flexible, Dignified Learning: Clients needed a supportive, self-paced, and stigma-free learning resource accessible on mobile devices and flexible around parenting schedules.

2. The Solution 

To address these challenges, I designed and developed Mothers Helping Mothers CARES—an interactive, highly empathetic e-learning experience structured around Gagné’s Nine Events of Instruction. The course focuses on practical decision-making, goal setting, and practical life skills to empower young mothers to take actionable steps toward stability.

Key Features & Design Highlights:

• Relatable Scenario-Based Storytelling: Features realistic, relatable narrative paths featuring AI-generated avatar media (via Hedra) and custom visual assets (via Canva) that reflect real challenges young mothers face.

• Empowering Practice & Choice: Incorporates branching scenarios where learners practice navigating real-life decisions in a safe, non-judgmental environment.

• Interactive Toolkits & Lightboxes: Built customizable lightboxes in Articulate Storyline 360 for instant access to budget templates, resource directories, and step-by-step action plans.

• Multimodal Accessibility: Designed with audio narration edited in Audacity, clear visual hierarchies, and responsive navigation to ensure low-barrier access across mobile phones and desktop devices.

• Strength-Based Knowledge Checks: Formative reflections and interactive self-assessments that offer supportive, growth-oriented feedback rather than traditional pass/fail testing.

3. Specific Learning Objectives

By completing the Mothers Helping Mothers CARES module, clients are able to:

1. Identify & Prioritize Community Resources: Locate and evaluate essential local family support services, childcare assistance, and financial wellness programs.

2. Apply Actionable Life Skills: Demonstrate practical goal-setting techniques and budgeting strategies to manage daily household challenges effectively.

3. Navigate Path-to-Thriving Milestones: Formulate a personalized, step-by-step action plan to transition from immediate crisis management (surviving) to sustainable growth and independence (thriving).

4. Development Process

• Discovery & Empathy Mapping: Partnered closely with Mothers Helping Mothers leadership to identify critical client touchpoints. Conducted audience analysis to design an inclusive, bilingual-accessible framework tailored for young mothers navigating crisis transitions.

• Instructional Design & Narrative Arc: Mapped learning objectives using Gagné’s Nine Events of Instruction. Authored rich character backstories and scenario-based decision trees to build emotional resonance and guide learners from immediate crisis management (surviving) to long-term self-efficacy (thriving).

• Multimedia Development & Technical Prototyping:

  • Generated lifelike video avatars using Hedra to present supportive, conversational guidance.

  • Created custom graphic layouts, badges, and visual assets in Canva, alongside clean audio tracks edited in Audacity.

  • Engineered interactive game-based mechanics in Articulate Storyline 360, leveraging variables, custom trigger logic, state changes, and policy reference lightboxes.

• Quality Assurance & Stakeholder Review: Conducted comprehensive testing rounds using Articulate Review 360 to validate trigger functionality, multimedia sync, mobile responsiveness, and content accuracy based on organizational feedback.

• Deployment & Continuous Feedback: Published functional web/LMS packages paired with learner feedback surveys to measure user satisfaction and ongoing impact.

5. Results & Projected Impact

• Increased Self-Efficacy: Clients report higher confidence in identifying local support networks and building personal action plans.

• 24/7 Accessible Support: Replaced static printed materials with a self-paced, always-available digital resource accessible anytime from a smartphone.

• Streamlined Organization Reach: Allows Mothers Helping Mothers staff to spend more high-value, one-on-one time with clients rather than re-explaining baseline program navigation.