+ News

November 2011 — Vivayic Employees Present at North America's Leading eLearning Event
The annual DevLearn Conference in Las Vegas, NV, featured a session about serious online games by Vivayic's Doug Kueker and Monarch Media's Claire Schneeberger. The session covered how to develop educational online games from conception to completion using their work with My American Farm as an example. Kueker also participated in DevLearn's DemoFest, as did Vivayic's Craig Rebich, where they demonstrated to hundreds of conference participants how they created their online courses about viticulture and agricultural equipment, respectively.

October 2011 — New E–learning Asset Delivered to World Bank Institute
Another e-learning module has been delivered to the World Bank Institute (WBI) – the7th course completed for WBI in 2 years. The fully custom course offers the basics of evapo-transpiration (ET) and how to combat water scarcity on a global scale. The course will be deployed on WBI's learning management system and made available to policy makers and program managers around the world. Doug Kueker served as project leader for Vivayic's design team.

October 2011 — My American Farm now includes Games for K-2
The American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture's popular website recently added a new game – the first one targeted at kids in Kindergarten through second grade. Now, students can play an agriculturally based game of "Memory" online on the educational gaming platform MyAmericanFarm.org. Vivayic designed the online game and associated resources, including a print-version of the memory game. (Vivayic's partner on this project was Monarch Media, a Santa Cruz, California-based technology firm.)

September 2011 – Sustainability Solution delivered to GHPC
The Georgia Health Policy Center (part of Georgia State University's Andrew Young School of Policy Studies) offers technical assistance to people who receive grants to implement rural health initiatives. Working hand-in-hand with Vivayic, GHPC now has a comprehensive solution to help these grantees build a Sustainability Plan. Three items were created to help GHPC implement their ideas: a comprehensive Sustainability Planning Workbook to walk grantees through a four-step planning process, an Excel template to calculate budgetary considerations, and a Sustainability Plan template to delineate decisions made during the planning process. All three items are being delivered via flash drives to grantees, who, in turn, go through the workbook on their computer and automatically link to the appropriate templates to complete their work. By the time they've reached the last page of the workbook, they will have an electronic version of their budgets, their funding strategies, and their final Sustainability Plan.

June 2011 - Value of Century Farms Recognized
A century farm is a farm that has been continuously owned by the same family for at least 100 years. In June, a new website launched to commemorate century farms in America - the first of several steps to launch "Agriculture's Lasting Heritage" program. In partnership with the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture (AFBFA) and with help from title sponsor Bayer CropScience, the program will create a national platform to promote America's farm and ranch families and the long-lasting, positive impact they have on America. The program will consist of a website as well as marketing and educational campaigns. Vivayic's role is to work with the AFBFA to profile farms, facilitate video production, and develop educational resources that will be made available at no cost on the website. (Vivayic's partners on this project include Monarch Media, a Santa Cruz, California-based technology firm, and The Market Place, a Central Florida-based marketing and video production firm.)

May 2011 - Honorable Mention received at Guru Awards
A course designed by Vivayic has received Honorable Mention at the Articulate Guru Awards. Working with partner Monarch Media, a Santa Cruz, California-based technology firm, the project was designed for the National Institutes of Health to provide high school health teachers with a proven curriculum for teaching students how to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. The judges gave kudos to the course's visual appeal and tasteful simplicity of the slides, noting that none are too text-heavy. Designers on the project were Carrie Derner and Doug Kueker.

February 2011 - Vivayic Helps Kids Learn about Agriculture through Online Learning Games

The American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture recently announced an enhanced version of its online gaming platform, MyAmericanFarm.org, thanks to a generous donation from supporter Pioneer Hi-Bred, a DuPont business. The free online games and educational resources provide several entertaining features, from e-comics and fieldtrip videos to instructions for families on constructing a rain gauge and playing car trip bingo. Vivayic's role was to design and facilitate the creation of the gaming platform, games and resources. (Vivayic's partner on this project was Monarch Media, a Santa Cruz, California-based technology firm.) Read more here.

January 2011 - Vivayic Helps 4-H Connect with Clubs in Tanzania

Working with several of its strategic partners, Vivayic consulted with the National 4-H Council to design a performance support tool to enhance agriculture knowledge in Tanzania. Thanks to a $100,000 grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the 4-H Global Knowledge Center connects Tanzanian 4-H directors with U.S. agriculture experts through mobile technology. In addition to the initial design, Vivayic developed several of the learning tools, including e-learning courses, job aids, and an instructor-led course - which were provided in both English and Swahili. In the next phase, Vivayic and its partners will determine the effectiveness of the pilot program by looking at user case results and examining the effectiveness and scalability of the business model. (Vivayic's partners on this project include Farmer, Lumpe + McClelland, a Columbus, Ohio-based marketing firm and Monarch Media, a Santa Cruz, California-based technology firm.)

December, 2010 —Matzner and Mayfield promoted

Lora Matzner and Angela Mayfield have earned promotions on the Vivayic team. Each has extensive experience in the world of learning and a history of working with several Vivayic clients. To learn more about who they are, peruse their profiles in the People section.

SkillsUSA chose Vivayic to help lead the redesign and usability of their Advisor Success Kit (ASK) publication. Our enhancements focused on meeting instructors' needs by creating new features, such as helpful callouts, tips, and summary sections. We also updated the content and completed the technical programming of the electronic publication. The revised version of ASK recently received an APEX Award in the Education and Training, Electronic & Video Publications category. Project team members from Vivayic included Doug Kueker and Carrie Derner on design, Angela Mayfield on content, and Lora Matzner on editing and quality control. For more information about APEX Awards, view their website.

The team at Vivayic is excited to announce that Craig Rebich is joining us as a senior learning strategist. It’s not just a cool–sounding title; Craig will add experience in working with organizations to identify effective learning strategies to meet their organizational objectives. Craig brings experience as an instructional design leader, education specialist, and classroom teacher. For a more information on Craig, check out his profile in the People section.

The World Bank Institute (WBI) received a second e-learning asset – a custom–designed course on “water footprints” – from the Vivayic team. The course will be deployed on WBI’s learning management system and made available to policy makers and program managers around the world. Doug Kueker served as project leader for Vivayic’s design team.

More than 70 urban youth in Atlanta completed a year of training through the Fifteen leadership program provided by the organization Essential2Life (E2L). Vivayic donated time and services to design and develop the curriculum for the combined junior and senior class. Also, youth competing in leadership and career events at the Missouri and Nebraska FFA state conventions were presented awards sponsored by Vivayic this spring. Vivayic supports youth programs that develop the potential of youth in underserved urban and rural communities through our time, talent and treasure. We encourage others to do the same.

Georgia Health Policy Center (GHPC), a division of Georgia State University, selected Vivayic to lead the development of a handbook on the topic of program and impact sustainability. The handbook will be made available to newly awarded Office of Rural Health Policy grantees starting this fall. This project is in addition to the ongoing learning strategy consulting and custom course design provided by Vivayic to GHPC.

We’ve found another outstanding partner! We are excited to announce a partnership with Monarch Media, a leader in e-learning solutions and media programming. The partnership allows Vivayic to bring a greater level of production and technical capability to our clients’ solutions. Based in Santa Cruz, CA, Monarch Media is filled with creative, purposeful people that enjoy delivering great solutions... it’s a great fit!

Last year American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture (AFBFA) created an innovative new educational product called My American Farm (www.myamericanfarm.org). This unique educational game is designed to foster awareness of agriculture among students in fourth and fifth grade. Recently, AFBFA contracted with Vivayic to update and expand this innovative educational resource. This partnership leverages Vivayic’s creativity and newly formed capacity for learning technology design and development. The updated version of My American Farm will strengthen the game’s connection with elementary academic standards to increase utility and adoption. Additionally, planned updates to the platform will improve usability and integration into classroom. Finally, Vivayic will create lesson plans to accompany and enhance the educational quality of My American Farm.

October 30, 2009 — Vivayic Selected to Assist in Design of Engineering Alliance Programming

Two career and technical student organizations, SkillsUSA (www.skillsusa.org) and the Technology Students of America (TSA) (www.tsaweb.org), have selected Vivayic to design educational programs and tools to be offered as part of Engineering Alliance, a student leadership development program offered to the more than 2,000 schools using the Project Lead The Way (PLTW) (www.pltw.org) curriculum. The Vivayic team will work with TSA and SkillsUSA program directors and PLTW curriculum specialists to design resource materials and programs that give students opportunities to experience leadership, teamwork, and problem solving through engaging projects and competitions. Engineering Alliance will be available to PLTW schools in January 2010.

October 2, 2009 — Vivayic Announces Partnership with F+Y

September 1, 2009 — Vivayic Begins Partnership with Essential2Life to Impact Urban Youth

Vivayic has agreed to provide curriculum development services to Essential2Life (www.e2lonline.com), a not-for-profit organization based in Atlanta committed to positively impacting urban youth. Essential2Life offers Fifteen, a three-year leadership development program, for high school students in Atlanta’s distressed neighborhoods. Students learn the value of leadership, teamwork, goal setting and understanding self through hands-on experiences and activities. Fifteen meets every other Saturday during the school year and includes summer college campus visits. Vivayic will provide curriculum design support for the junior and senior year programming at no cost to Essential2Life. Carrie Derner, Vivayic instructional designer leading the effort explains, "We see this as an opportunity to share our talents in a way that can have tremendous impact on a community and on the future of these students. We believe in the vision Vince Hungate, executive director of Essential2Life, and his team have for this program and we’re glad we could play a part in making it happen." Vivayic encourages others to support Essential2Life with gifts of time and financial support.

August 25, 2009 — Partnerships For Innovation (PFI) Looks to Vivayic for Solution Design

July 1, 2009 — National Career and Technical Education Foundation Selects Relevant Classroom

The National Career and Technical Education Foundation (NCTEF) (www.careerclusters.org) announced that it had selected Relevant Classroom, the educational products division of Vivayic, to manage the warehousing, sales and distribution of all official Career Clusters products. These products are used by educators in secondary and postsecondary settings to drive the implementation of the Career Clusters model in curriculum and guidance. The two-year agreement was announced by NCTEF Executive Director, Kimberly Green, following a request for proposal process. Persons interested in ordering Career Clusters products or professional development services can visit www.relevantclassroom.com/career_clusters/catalog.

July 2009 — Matzner and Mayfield join Vivayic Team

Angela Mayfield and Lora Matzner have joined the Vivayic team of learning designers. Each brings extensive experience in analyzing, designing, developing and implementing learning solutions for a variety of audiences. Check out their profiles in the people section.

May 5, 2009 — American Farm Bureau Partners with Vivayic to Develop Lesson Plans

Each year the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture (AFBFA) recognizes an educationally appropriate book that accurately tells the story of agriculture; often this book comes from the AFBFA’s list of Accurate Ag Books - a list of more than 200 books that accurately represent modern agriculture. The AFBFA Book of the Year for 2008 was The Man Who Fed The World, by Leon Hesser. This book, an authorized biography of Nobel Laureate Norman Borlaug, describes his lifelong quest to "feed the world" through his contributions as a scientist who was involved in International Agricultural Development efforts. AFBFA contracted with Vivayic to develop corresponding instructional materials for the 2008 Book of the Year. The project leverages our team's understanding and passion for effective educational materials.

April 10, 2009 — Vivayic Partners with Reliant Studios to Provide Training Curriculum and Videos to Nebraska WIC Program

Vivayic is partnering with Reliant Studios to produce the videos and training program needed by the Nebraska WIC (Women, Infants and Children) Program to educate WIC participants and authorized WIC retailers about the new food package guidelines to be enacted October 1, 2009.

WIC is a federally funded, supplemental nutrition program for women, infants and children that are considered at nutritional risk. A combination of education, nutritious foods, and referrals, at no cost to clients, allows WIC to make a positive difference during critical times of growth and development for nearly 45,000 Nebraska women and children each month.

Reliant Studios will provide overall project leadership and lead the creative, direction of production of the training videos for WIC clients and WIC retailers. Vivayic will lead the development of the training curriculum and materials. The combined team is excited about the opportunity to apply its skills in service to this valuable public program and is expected to complete all program components by late summer of 2009 for use beginning in the fall.

February 24, 2009 — Vivayic Selected to Provide Services to Lincoln High School for Grant Efforts

Lincoln Public Schools has contracted the services of Vivayic to help plan and initiate components of a multi-year Smaller Learning Communities grant received by the district from the U.S. Department of Education.The grant will support efforts at Lincoln High School to provide students with more opportunities to work in teams, to provide professional development for teachers, and provide new programs that aid in the transition from middle school to high school and from high school to college/career. The team at Vivayic will bring its experience in project management and professional development to assist Lincoln High School leaders in launching initial activities and designing plans to successfully implement the grant program objectives.

January 24, 2009 — SkillsUSA Selects Vivayic to Revise Educational Resource

The national career and technical student organization, SkillsUSA, has selected Vivayic to lead the revision of the Advisor’s Success Kit (ASK) — a critically important guide to help CTE teachers become effective managers of local student chapters. The Vivayic team is very excited to begin working with SkillsUSA program staff and teachers on identifying ways to present this tool in a way that meets the needs of today’s teachers. The revisions to the resource are to be completed by late summer 2009.

January 1, 2009 — Kueker Becomes Principal of Vivayic

Design Leader, Doug Kueker, was elected to the Vivayic Board of Directors and joined the team as a principal signaling the company’s long-term commitment to providing outstanding learning design to clients.

December 10, 2008 — Vivayic Celebrates First Anniversary of Relevant Classroom

Relevant Classroom, the classroom product division of Vivayic, has officially been in business one year. Way to go! More than 200 customers in schools and agencies across the country are using these products today. RC stems from our desire to create simple, effective learning tools that leverage what we’ve learned about the need to help more young people see the relevance and opportunity of college and careers.

October 1, 2008 — Vivayic’s Derner Presents Plan at Data Quality Institute for CTE Leaders

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE) held a virtual Data Quality Institute for more than 400 leaders of Career and Technical Education (CTE) across the country. Seth Derner, Development Leader at Vivayic, was a co-presenters of a feasibility study and plan for a national test clearinghouse and national test item bank. The feasibility-plan working-group had been working for more than a year to identify stakeholder needs, collect data, and study available options. Derner presented with Steve Klein of MPR Inc.

September 1, 2008 — Monsanto Partners with Vivayic to Develop and Field Test Lesson Plans

The trait stewardship group at Monsanto wants future agriculture producers to understand the responsibilities of good stewardship. Toward that effort, Vivayic will help Monsanto develop a series of three to ten lesson plans that can be used by agricultural education/FFA teachers. Vivayic will target teachers in the top 100 corn producing counties in the country to field test the lessons and activities to ensure that the materials are engaging, age appropriate, and effective in communicating the importance of biotechnology trait stewardship. The classroom materials will be field tested through December.

August 20, 2008 — National Pork Check-off selects Vivayic to Develop Leadership Resources

How to deliver leadership skill training in a way that’s meaningful and relevant to professional pork producers spread across the country. That was the challenge laid forth by the producer services division of the National Pork Check-off association headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa. Vivayic presented a plan that incorporated the use of highly contextualized, scenario-based learning modules that could be accessed on-line or used in an instructor-led workshop. The team at Vivayic was selected for the project and will work for the next four months to design and deliver the modules and related resources.

July 16, 2008 — Vivayic Development Leader Invited to Serve on Foundation Board

Seth Derner, Development Leader with Vivayic, has been asked to serve on the Nebraska FFA Foundation Board of Directors. The board is responsible for directing fundraising efforts to support FFA members and agricultural education teachers across the state. Seth was honored by the opportunity to give back to an organization that greatly impacted his success in school and career path. The foundation’s website is: http://www.neffafoundation.org.

April 16, 2008 — Vivayic Earns Curriculum Project for Georgia Health Policy Center

The Georgia Health Policy Center (GHPC) selects Vivayic to design and deliver a curriculum for technical assistance providers working with grant recipients of the Delta States Rural Development Network Grant Program from the Health Resources and Services Administration in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The curriculum will focus on helping grantees develop a sustainability plan to continue programs and services beyond federal grant funding. The sustainability curriculum will organize their resources into a complete learning solution so that it is comprehensive and engaging for the grantees. The multi module curriculum to be completed by the fall of 2009 will combine workshops during conferences, technology during webinars and conference calls and self directed activities or modules. Vivayic staff is excited with this unique opportunity that will provide for a number of interactions and also include important aspects of coaching and feedback –a hallmark of Vivayic’s design.