eLearning Project Overview
Language Learning Support for Ukrainian Refugees
Client: UNICEF
Tools: Genially, Canva, EzGIF Editor
Note: All materials are shared with permission.
Project Overview
I designed and developed this language lesson to support Ukrainian-speaking children (ages 8-10) living in Poland. The children have been learning Polish in public schools after having been displaced from their home country. I was tasked with creating a "bilingual visual dictionary" to increase their exposure to vocabulary related to the local science curriculum. Due to disruptions in their studies, some learners have not encountered the subject matter in their native language. Others have studied the content before but are unable to communicate about it in Polish. The visual dictionary allows them to see concepts in context, make associations with other words in the same topic area, and engage in limited practice activities.
eLearning Lesson - In Polish with English Translations
This course is still in development. I've handed off this version for further translation and voiceover integration. The final version will include:
Polish audio
Pop-up Ukrainian translations for all Polish text
Activity instructions in Ukrainian (currently in English)
Learning Aims
Aim 1: Learners can complete ordering and sorting activities related to the core concepts of the lesson.
Core Concepts: Types of planets; order of planets; Earth’s rotation and orbit around the sun; seasons
Aim 2: Learners can identify vocabulary in Polish when presented with audio and an image.
Vocabulary: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, the Sun
Aim 3: Learners can identify some vocabulary in Polish when presented with an image in a binary-choice activity.
Vocabulary: Earth, volcano, day, night, year, summer, winter
Learning Environment
Learners access the content directly on computers at school, or as part of virtual Polish language lessons online.
Design Process
With the analysis completed during earlier stages of the project, I was able to proceed directly to storyboarding after verifying details about the learners and course aims. I completed the storyboard, received feedback, promptly made changes, and gained final approval before developing a beta version of the course.
After submitting the beta version to the project managers and SME, I quickly ran the course by test users and collected feedback about the design, ease of use, and overall experience. By the time I received feedback from the SME, I was able to provide a summary of test-user feedback and propose several changes.
After incorporating all feedback, I completed the animations and fine-tuned complex elements of the visual design. My final version of the course was approved by the project managers and SME and handed off for Ukrainian translation of all pop-ups and course instructions.
Challenges and Solutions
Platform Constraints: Using Genially as the development platform presented some challenges related to interactivity and assessment. Although Genially has recently introduced new features, options for complex interactivity and gamification are still limited. For assessing outcomes, Genially supports text-based quizzes and text-to-text matching activities. Given the course's complex lexical content, text-based assessments could overwhelm learners. My desire to include visual interactivity required building customized activities and assessments from scratch. Although time-consuming, this resulted in more engaging and achievable tasks for learners. You can see this interactivity on Slides 7, 8, 10, and 18 in the course above. Click the three dots on the lower right to navigate to a specific slide.
Incorporating Diverse Content into a Unified Theme: The lesson content is aligned with the Polish national science curriculum. For several reasons, "volcanoes" and "seasons" are part of the solar system unit. It was a challenge to effectively integrate these topics in a way that was logical, engaging, and memorable for young learners. I used a combination of animations, light-hearted demonstrations, and short video clips to present complex topics: e.g., how seasons result from Earth's axial tilt and orbit around the sun. You can see this in action in the course above by clicking on the three dots and navigating directly to Slide 26.
Final Notes & Next Steps
This course is just a first step in supporting Ukrainian students in accessing the Polish curriculum. Full mastery requires opportunities for practical application and language production: interactive speaking tasks, real-world application, task-based learning, etc. While I've made an effort to turn a "visual dictionary" into an interactive language-learning experience, it still needs to be paired with other learning activities to support learners in building proficiency.