The Buzz About Bugs
The Buzz About Bugs is an interactive eLearning mini-course designed for beginner gardeners. It complements an in-person gardening program by giving learners a safe, digital space to explore pest control. Through realistic scenarios and engaging visuals, users practice identifying insects and making eco-friendly pest control decisions without risking their gardens.
Tools: Articulate Storyline, Vyond, Canva, ChatGPT, Inkscape
Overview
I created The Buzz About Bugs, an interactive eLearning mini-course, for a fictional nonprofit organization called The Bloom & Buzz Collective.
The course is designed to complement the organization’s in-person Beginning Gardener Program. While imagining how the program could be strengthened, I identified a key gap: participants lacked a safe, structured way to explore pest control. Many new gardeners feel confused or discouraged when pests show up, and it is tough to give them the space to troubleshoot these challenges during an in-person session.
The Buzz About Bugs fills this gap with an engaging digital experience where learners observe detailed visuals of common garden insects, walk through realistic decision-making scenarios, see the consequences of their choices, and practice eco-friendly pest control in a safe, low pressure environment that supports learning without risking their gardens.
Analysis
Since this project is fictional, I did not have access to real participant data, but I based my decisions on common challenges beginner gardeners often face and considered what gaps might exist in an in-person program. Pest control is tough to teach in-person because there is no way to guarantee participants will encounter the right bugs at the right time, and letting people experiment with different pest control methods raises safety and environmental concerns.
Most importantly, it’s difficult to let learners make and learn from their own decisions in a safe, controlled environment. An eLearning mini-course offered the perfect solution. Unlike a job aid, a digital course allows gardeners to walk through realistic scenarios, make choices, practice key skills, and see how things play out.
Identify whether an insect is a pest, beneficial, or neutral.
Choose appropriate pest control methods for different scenarios.
Select eco-friendly pest control products.
To guide the course design, I created a simple action map and identified three key actions learners should be able to do by the end of the course:
Design & Development
I began by researching what gardeners need to know to take these actions confidently. Acting as my own subject matter expert, I focused on reliable, practical strategies for eco-friendly pest control. Once I had a clear understanding of the content, I drafted a text-based storyboard to outline the course structure, break information into manageable chunks, and plan where and how learners would apply what they were learning.
Product Selection | Section of Storyboard
Product Selection | Drag & Drop Interaction
Next, I created hand-drawn mockups to experiment with slide layouts and visuals. I explored several options to find a clean, effective design. I also created a short animated video in Vyond to introduce the course and present a relatable starting point for learners. To develop the course’s visual identity, I used Canva to create logos for both the organization and the program, then pulled a colour palette from those designs. I used ChatGPT to generate cohesive background images and icons, made a few simple vector graphics in Inkscape, and sourced insect photos from iNaturalist.
With my storyboard, mockups, and assets ready, I moved into Articulate Storyline for development. I included a variety of interactions to help learners engage and apply what they were learning. One key activity is a drag and drop task where users select the best product from a range of options, just like browsing at a garden store. I also created branching scenarios that present common pest problems and let users choose what to do, then see the results of their decisions. These features encourage exploration and give learners a safe way to practice real world problem-solving. To support learners beyond the course, I created a downloadable job aid that reinforces key decisions and concepts. This helps learners apply what they learned without needing to memorize everything.
After building a working prototype, I shared it with a small group of reviewers to gather feedback. Their input helped me spot areas for improvement in navigation, clarity, and pacing. I revised the course based on this feedback to enhance the overall user experience.
Throughout the process, I applied multimedia learning principles, such as using graphics that support text, avoiding unnecessary cluttering visuals, and writing in a friendly, conversational tone, to make the course clear and engaging and to avoid cognitive overload.
Downloadable Job Aid | Click Image to View
Introduction Video | Made Using Vyond
Results & Recommendations
Since The Bloom and Buzz Collective is fictional, this mini-course has not been implemented or evaluated in a real-world setting. However, if it were a live project, I would recommend using pre and post program surveys to measure impact. These could include questions about participants’ confidence in identifying pests, choosing control methods, and selecting eco-friendly products. To better understand how the course affects long term behaviour, I would also suggest sending a follow-up survey at the end of the gardening season. This would help the organization see how participants applied their skills in their own gardens and identify areas for improvement in future versions.
Finally, I would recommend that the Bloom and Buzz Collective consider adding a mentoring element to their program. Participants could sign up for virtual or in-person check-ins with a mentor, such as the program leader, who could help troubleshoot pest problems. This would offer valuable support as learners move from understanding the concepts to confidently applying them in real life.