A foundational technical training course for new hire onboarding. Establishing a baseline of hardware, software, and networking knowledge before role-specific training begins.
New hires for Customer Care Technician roles came in with wildly varying technical backgrounds. We needed a way to establish a baseline of knowledge before role-specific training—something everyone could be expected to know.
A comprehensive Rise 360 course covering hardware, software, and networking fundamentals. Built as Week 1 "gen-ed" content alongside compliance courses—a prerequisite that must be passed before continuing. Test-out options for experienced hires keep it from being a time sink.
When you're supporting customers with technical issues, you need to understand what you're working with. But new hires come from everywhere—some with IT backgrounds, others who've never opened Task Manager. We couldn't assume any baseline.
This course slots into Week 1 of Customer Care Technician onboarding, alongside compliance training. It's treated as a prerequisite: pass before you continue to role-specific training. For experienced hires, test-out options prevent it from being a waste of time. For everyone else, it's exposure to the technical foundation they'll build on.
This course was also an intentional test of Articulate's AI Assistant, which had just released for Rise 360. A new class was starting in a few weeks, we needed the course, and the timing aligned. I wanted to see how AI-assisted content generation could accelerate development without sacrificing quality.
I designed and built this course independently—instructional design, content development, quiz writing, video scripting, and the full Rise 360 build. The AI Assistant handled rapid content generation from my source documents; I handled the editorial pass, error correction, and human polish that makes training feel less robotic.
Four sections progressing from foundational concepts to practical troubleshooting. Each section ends with a quiz checkpoint—learners must demonstrate understanding before moving forward.
Why troubleshooting skills matter. Setting expectations for what learners will be able to do.
Internal components, peripheral devices, software basics. What's inside the box and why it matters.
Common software problems, hardware diagnostics. Resolving the issues learners will see most often.
Router setup, IP conflicts, Wi-Fi optimization, command-line diagnostic tools.
Articulate's AI Assistant had just launched, and I had a tight timeline. This became a deliberate experiment: could AI accelerate content development without compromising instructional quality?
I prepared topic outlines and reference materials covering each section's learning objectives.
Prompted the AI Assistant to translate documents into lesson content, working section by section.
Manual review of every generation—catching errors, adding context, adjusting tone for learner experience.
The result: faster development without the "obviously AI-written" feel. The AI handled the heavy lifting of initial content structure; I handled the editorial judgment that makes training actually work.
17 lessons across 4 sections, with progress tracking and quiz checkpoints throughout.
Command-line utilities like Ping, Traceroute, and IPConfig—practical tools learners will actually use.
Technical training doesn't have to be dry. Throughout the course, I looked for opportunities to add unexpected moments that make the content more human. Sometimes that's a visual metaphor. Sometimes it's this:
I'd honestly forgotten I put that in there until reviewing the course for this case study. That's the kind of detail that makes learners smile—and maybe remember the content a little better.
No flashy integrations or custom code—just well-structured content and learner-friendly pacing. Rise 360's responsive design means it works on whatever device learners happen to be using.
AI accelerates, humans refine. The Articulate AI Assistant cut initial content development time significantly. But every generation needed human review—error correction, tone adjustment, adding the context that makes content actually useful. AI is a tool, not a replacement for instructional judgment.
Test-out options respect experienced learners. Making everyone sit through foundational content they already know is a waste of everyone's time. Test-out options let experienced hires prove competency and move on.
Prerequisites create accountability. Positioning this as a must-pass before continuing to role-specific training means learners take it seriously. It's not optional enrichment—it's the baseline everyone needs.
Comprehensive when needed, skippable when not. Built to establish baselines, not waste time.