In my free time, I enjoy gardening and wanted to learn more about preserving my abundant summer harvest of tomatoes and peppers. I knew it was important to educate myself on the proper method for canning vegetables, but I didn’t quite realize the serious danger of doing it improperly. If foods are canned improperly, bacteria such as botulism can contaminate the food and cause organ shut-down, hospitalization, and even death. With so many new gardeners in my local community, I felt it was necessary to begin a project I could share with others about this important topic.

I chose to divide the course into five distinct sections, each covering a different aspect of safe home canning practices. This course structure allows learners the freedom to choose the topic they wish to study and not feel “trapped” in a linear-only format. They can return to a section when they need to, and are able to focus on one topic at a time, which makes the learning process less overwhelming and more manageable.

The final course will include a rich combination of text, images, and videos to keep learners engaged and provide options for different learning styles. Text-based information is used to convey the essential information and is easily reviewed over and over, while images and videos are used to demonstrate specific canning techniques and equipment. Varying how information is delivered to the learner helps to make the course more accessible.

As I do in every elearning development project, I made a conscious effort to simplify complex concepts and use plain, understandable language throughout the course. Any topic-specific jargon or vocabulary is defined and highlighted as a learning opportunity within the course. This ensures that the course was accessible to learners with different levels of education and experience with home canning.

I plan to include several interactive elements throughout the course, such as quizzes and matching activities, to ensure that learners remain engaged and actively involved in the learning process. These elements also help learners to assess their understanding of the course material and identify areas they need to revisit in order to master the content.

The tools I plan to use on this project include Articulate Storyline 360, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Canva, and Google Docs. The course can be uploaded to an existing LMS or exported as an HTML5 package to be viewed on the web directly.