Thorn Learning worked with the British Council to reimagine a TeachingEnglish professional development module for delivery through low-bandwidth messenger applications, helping extend access to teacher learning for educators working in contexts with limited connectivity and digital access.
Project overview
TeachingEnglish is the British Council’s global professional development platform for teachers and teacher educators, supporting millions of English language professionals worldwide through courses, publications, webinars, social media communities and learning resources.
Recognising that many teachers access professional development primarily through low-data mobile technologies such as WhatsApp, Telegram and WeChat, the British Council commissioned Thorn Learning to adapt an existing TeachingEnglish online learning module for messenger-app delivery.
The project focused on Module 2 of the How to Adapt Resources course (Adapting and selecting lesson plans), originally developed in Articulate Rise 360 as part of a three-module online course. The challenge was to redesign the learning experience so that teachers could access the same learning outcomes through messenger applications rather than a learning management system.
Alongside the learning content itself, the project also produced implementation guidance, moderator documentation, learner support materials and a framework for adapting future Rise 360 modules for messenger-based delivery.
How we worked with the client
Working alongside a British Council project manager, Thorn Learning redesigned the learning journey to function effectively within low-tech and mobile-first environments while preserving the pedagogical intent of the original Rise 360 module.
The team developed:
- A three-hour messenger-based professional development module.
- Low-data and enhanced-media delivery options.
- Discussion and collaboration activities.
- Suggested structures for live online sessions.
- Learner workbook materials.
- Moderator and project manager implementation guides.
- Guidance for future messenger-app course adaptation projects.
The project included piloting the adapted course, gathering participant feedback and refining content and documentation before final delivery.
Services and standards
Learning design and reversioning
- Adaptation of Rise 360 content for messenger-based delivery.
- Mobile-first instructional design.
- Task-based learning design.
- Low-bandwidth learning solutions.
- Professional development content adaptation.
Content development
- Messenger-based learning activities.
- Discussion and reflection tasks.
- Workbook development.
- Live-session support materials.
- Learner guidance resources.
Editorial and implementation support
- Editorial review and quality assurance.
- Documentation development.
- Moderator guidance.
- Project manager guidance.
- Pilot evaluation and revision.
Accessibility and quality standards
The project was developed to:
- Meet British Council English and School Education brand standards.
- Support WCAG accessibility requirements.
- Provide alternatives to data-heavy content.
- Offer access to scripts, transcripts and downloadable materials.
- Support both moderated and self-access delivery models.
Main outputs
- Messenger-based learning module
- Adaptation of Adapting and selecting lesson plans for WhatsApp and Telegram delivery.
- Approximately three hours of task-based professional development content.
- Individual and collaborative learning activities.
- Discussion and reflection tasks.
- Supporting resources
- Learner workbook.
- Posting plans for course delivery.
- Project manager guidance.
- Moderator manuals.
- Delivery documentation.
- Safeguarding and participation guidance.
- Pilot implementation and evaluation.
- Recommendations arising from participant feedback.
- Guidance for adapting future TeachingEnglish Rise 360 modules to messenger platforms.
- Reusable frameworks and processes for future low-bandwidth professional development delivery.
Team and contributors
- Editor: Ross Crichton
- Writer and learning designer: Sangeeta Sathe
- Workbook design and production: Chris Thorn and Jenny Bedwell
