Instructional Design Consultant

1. Background and Justification

Ana Aqra Association targets the educational, cultural and psychosocial needs of underprivileged children of Lebanese public schools and their communities.  Our Vision is to make learning accessible to all children. our main mission is to foster an equitable and sustainable learning environment for everyone. For this purpose, Ana Aqra is currently designing a literacy and numeracy curriculum for adults based on a needs assessment that highlighted the needs for Literacy and Numeracy classes for vulnerable adults of the host communities and the refugee communities.  The overall objective of the project’s component is to change the whole community’s perception of education. With the provision of basic skills, the caregivers will have more tools to support their own children in their learning journey. 

2. Purpose/objective of the proposed consultancy

The Instructional Designer is responsible for transforming pedagogical content into e-resources. This position works closely with Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) to create e-lessons and activities as well as training aids and supporting materials, to fulfill learning objectives. All E-lessons should ensure student’s engagements, interaction, and often self-explanatory facilitating self-learning for remote learning,

The main tasks to be completed by the consultant include but are not limited to:

• Create engaging learning activities and compelling course content based on best practices in pedagogy.
• Develop an outline with learning objectives and the structure for e-learning courses.
• Develop materials to support and evaluate transfer of learning.
• Develop a learning design architecture and a storyboard for the interactive e-learning course modules.
• Follow agreed time frame for delivering e-content.
• Coordinate with SMEs to plan the design and development of e-content and blended learning solutions.
• Work closely with graphic designers and other programmers to produce user-friendly interactive e-material.
• Work with subject matter experts to identify target audiences’ training needs.
• Set instructional end goals and create content that matches them.
• Visualize instructional graphics, the user interface and the finished product.
• Analyze and apply trends and best practices in learning technologies and instructional design.
• Provide exercises and activities that enhance the learning process.
• Design and develop supporting material/media (e.g., audio, video, simulations, role-plays, games).
• Review and test e-content to measure effectiveness and improve the design of resources.
• Maintain project documentation and report to management on progress and task completion

3. Qualifications/specialized knowledge required

The consultant should ensure the following:

• Master’s degree in instructional design, educational technology or similar relevant field.
• Minimum of 5 years developing instructor-led e-content materials and self-paced learning content.
• Advanced experience working with e-learning and blended learning programs, web-based e-content development, and asynchronous learning content.
• In-depth knowledge of learning theories and instructional design models.
• Lesson and curriculum planning skills.
• Basic HTML and Flash programming knowledge.
• Visual design skills (Dreamweaver, Photoshop, Illustrator).
• Familiar with website design, video technology, editing, and instructional design techniques.
• Familiar with copyright laws and Creative Commons.
• Ability to write effective copy, instructional text, audio and video scripts.
• Ability to organize and work under strict time and production deadlines.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in Arabic (proficient) and English. French is a plus.
• Mindful of the targeted population (sensitivity, level of understanding) when creating materials, taking into consideration grade level of students, parents, and teachers' skills and knowledge when addressing them. 

4. Time Frame

The contract begins on March 15, 2021 and ends on June 30, 2021.

5. Outputs/Expected Deliverables

The consultant shall be responsible for the following deliverables.

• Digitalization of content as e-lessons, 3 to 5 e-lessons per week.
• 1 to 2 storyboards for the videos per week, in coordination with the subject matter expert and the PSS team targeting learners of all ages.
• A storyboard can include videos for targeted populations other than children such as parents and teachers.
• All deliverables should be finalized within a period of three months.

6. Level of Effort

The consultant shall have the following payment allocated for the above tasks: $4,000 including taxes.