Capstone – Project

Marketing + Product Design for Non-profit Earned Income Stream

A Collaboration Between

Project Synopsis

Dallas is facing a reading emergency. 93,000 kindergarten through third graders in Dallas County are behind in reading — enough to completely sell out Cowboys stadium. Since 2011, R2L has provided high-quality, high-dosage tutoring to children through In-School, After-School, and Summer Camp programming, reaching about 500 students each year who have made significant gains in reading. However, given the scale of the problem, we are ready to take our proven track-record and scale it to reach more students.

We know afterschool providers want to help their students in reading, but might not know what to do, or how. That’s why we launched R2L Coaching – to share what we’ve learned about literacy and afterschool with the caring adults who can provide tutoring wherever kids need it!

In this collaboration, MBA students will conduct research into existing digital and online learning platforms, instructional design courses, programs and certificates, and video production and editing tools. They will also interview key program staff to learn more about the challenges of developing instructional materials for training teachers.  This research will form the basis of recommendations on how R2L should proceed in creating an online learning platform to expand its new coaching program.

HOST VENUE ADDRESS

  • 2223 Singleton Blvd. Suite 140, Dallas, TX 75212

REQUIRED PREREQUISITES

  • Familiarity with online learning platforms and instructional design is a plus!

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Students will learn about:

  • The complexities and challenges of learning how to teach reading
  • The challenges faced by small organizations with limited resources, especially non-profits
  • How to develop an actionable  implementation plan
  • The landscape of existing online learning platforms and services

Project Topics

Product Design & Development

Company Information

CompanyReaders 2 Leaders
HQTexas
RevenueUnlisted
Employees10-25
StageEstablished Startup
Hiring PotentialFollow-on Projects, Formal Internship
Websitehttp://www.readers2leaders.org

Company Overview

We work with children in Dallas to help them develop their reading and language skills to become life-long readers, learners and leaders. When students come to Readers 2 Leaders, they are below grade level in reading and struggling in school. Through a variety of programs, we reach these students with the enrichment they need to become on-level readers so they can succeed in school.

Experiential Learning Program Details

SchoolUniversity of Notre Dame Mendoza College of Business
Engagement FormatCapstone - Small Team Consulting Project - Students work in consulting teams of 3-5 directly with faculty and client liaisons on developing real solutions to real-world challenges.
Course
LevelN/A
Students EnrolledN/A
Meeting Day & TimeN/A
Student Time Commitment1-3 Hours Per Week
Company Time Commitment3-5 Hours
Duration0.43 Weeks

Program Timeline

Touchpoints & Assignments Due Date Type

Key Project Milestones

  • March 2, 2020 - Interview Key Staff

    • Learn about needs of R2L Coaching team
    • Understand more about pros/cons of existing online literacy courses
    • Develop a rubric for evaluating online learning platforms

    Suggested Deliverable:

    Rubric for evaluating platforms, which considers cost, ease of use, maintenance and other pertinent requirements

  • March 4, 2020 - Research existing online platforms

    • Use rubric to evaluate existing online platforms

    Suggested Deliverable:

    A summary report of research

  • March 4, 2020 - Research instructional design learning oppportunties

    R2L staff will likely need to learn more about the tenants of instructional design in order to create enaging and effective online learning content.  MBA students will research and evaluate available offerings and present findings in summary report.


    Suggested Deliverable:

    • Summary report of findings
  • March 5, 2020 - Product Development Roadmap

    Create a product roadmap including assessment of time, budget, and resources required to get the product to market.

    Suggested Deliverable:

    • Product roadmap

Project Resources

There are no resources currently available

Industry Mentors

Company Admin

 

[email protected]

Academic Mentors

Instructor

Alice Obermiller

[email protected]

Instructor

 

[email protected]

Assigned Students

There are currently no students assigned.