Good Roads

Challenge

Supporting learners across Ontario

Founded in 1894, Good Roads is a municipal association devoted to creating better road infrastructure in Ontario through advocacy, education and research. The organization also helps build relationships between its members, which include 428 Ontario municipalities, 21 First Nations communities and more than 200 corporations. Each year, the organization trains approximately 2,500 learners across 75 courses, developing technical and leadership skills in road construction, maintenance and public works.

But as Ontario’s workforce and communities evolved, Good Roads’ in-person delivery model no longer met the needs of many learners.

“Most classes were held at venues in Southern Ontario. For learners living in the north of the province, traveling to attend these classes could involve a round trip of up to 28 hours,” explains Eric Young, manager of education. “With staff shortages and shift work in the road industry, it is harder for remote communities to access scheduled course offerings.”

Municipalities needed training that was flexible, scalable, and inclusive—programs that worked for every employee, from frontline workers to senior leaders—while also providing cost-effective ways to build internal capacity, meet compliance requirements and prepare for succession.

Solution

Partnering for transformation

In 2022, the Good Roads Education Department set out to address these challenges by partnering with D2L to develop a learner-first learning ecosystem that could increase access, improve retention and align with both learner needs and employer outcomes.

With a relatively small education department, Good Roads recognized the value of working with a vendor that could deliver more than just software.

We wanted a partner who we could consult for guidance and support across all areas of our transformation—from instructional design to learner engagement strategies and content development. D2L gave us all that and more.

Eric Young, manager of education, Good Roads

Designing inclusive, learner-first experiences

To operationalize this vision, Good Roads’ internal education team worked closely with D2L Learning Services to launch the first phase of its online education initiative. One key design strategy was to analyze the different personas of the learners that the association is trying to support.

A foundational analysis of the learner base revealed critical gaps in accessibility and inclusivity and meaningful differences in how learners approached professional development. Learners varied in comfort with technology, broadband access, academic confidence, language proficiency and available time due to shift work, with needs ranging from credentialing and practical skills to flexible leadership development. Designing with these personas in mind ensured courses were inclusive, relevant and grounded in the realities of municipal learners.

“Many of our frontline learners suffer from test anxiety or have negative associations with classroom learning,” explains Young. “It’s vital to support them and not just design courses for people who are happy studying in a traditional academic setting.”

To meet the needs of their frontline learners, Good Roads created new content that was more visual, written at a grade 10 reading level and broken down into micro-learning units. Each unit is designed to take five minutes or less to complete, keeping learners engaged with quick progress and supporting those with limited time.

Expanding access to training

Furthermore, a team of four D2L Learning Services specialists—including a project manager, an instructional designer, a courseware developer and a graphic designer—worked with Good Roads to create lightweight HTML pages optimized for low-bandwidth connections, a critical factor in ensuring equitable access for rural and northern communities. All materials were designed to align with Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles and comply with the highest accessibility standards, ensuring a consistent and inclusive experience for every learner.

Our partnership with D2L Learning Services allowed us to scale like a much larger team. From reusable course templates to robust analytics, we built a professional-caliber learning ecosystem that meets the real needs of municipal professionals across Ontario.

Eric Young, manager of education, Good Roads

Together, they co-created branded, reusable course templates that allowed the education team to launch new offerings quickly and cost-effectively while still incorporating dynamic interactive elements.

Delivery flexibility with multimodal design

With a well-designed learning strategy and design in place, Good Roads implemented a multimodal delivery framework to maximize learning outcomes. For example, Good Roads’ flagship T.J. Mahony Road School program—delivered in person for more than 75 years—was converted into two asynchronous online courses carrying the same credit and certification value as their in-person counterparts.

We’ve taken something that once took learners two years to complete through in-person sessions [that] can now be finished in as little as two weeks. Moving the courses online led to nearly a 50% increase in participation that year, resulting in the highest attendance in the program’s history.”

Eric Young, manager of education, Good Roads

Blended formats have also been introduced for leadership training, combining weekly virtual instructor-led sessions with asynchronous components. This balance of structure, flexibility and peer interaction proves especially valuable for emerging leaders in smaller or remote municipalities who benefit from networking and just-in-time learning.

The shift to a dual-delivery model significantly increased learner volume. To manage growth without overextending internal staff, Good Roads worked with D2L Learning Services to fully leverage Brightspace capabilities. Intelligent agents were set up to send automated reminders and notifications, while release conditions dynamically unlocked the right content at the right time in each learner’s journey.

With limited resources, we needed a way to deliver sustainable, relevant programs at scale. Brightspace automations gave us that capacity, allowing us to focus our energy where it matters most— supporting learners and improving content.

Eric Young, manager of education, Good Roads

As learners’ needs evolve, Good Roads continues to refine its online education environment with the support of Ontario’s Skills Development Fund, constantly seeking new ways to innovate.

In one of the ways to increase engagement without overburdening learners, the education team integrated H5P to incorporate more approachable types of interactive activities into the courses.

H5P interactives were set up to let learners apply knowledge to realistic scenarios in a safe, ungraded environment. Action-based learning helps build confidence and improve their ability to recall and apply processes and procedures on the job.

Eric Young, manager of education, Good Roads

Some of the H5P interactives that Good Roads uses include image hotspots, crosswords, branching scenarios and drag-and-drop sorting. The organization selected interactives based on their alignment with the content; for example, image hotspots allow learners to explore schematics or worksite layouts, supporting the development of practical skills. Using a variety of activities helps maintain attention and discourages passive “click-through” behavior, inspiring learners to explore their individual strengths.

Similarly, the Education Department embraced AI-enriched workflows to streamline course development and enhance the efficiency and quality of course material. The team used tools such as ChatGPT, Vyond and Pictory AI to develop graphics, videos and animation, boosting productivity in creating diverse, engaging visual content. To ensure quality and consistency, the AI output went through multiple rounds of review by Good Roads’ subject-matter experts before being included in the courses.

Result

Growing beyond the province

Good Roads’ growing online training catalog is attracting more learners every year, reinforcing the organization’s position as a leader in professional development for trade associations.

By embracing new tools and instructional design methods, the education team led a rapid digital expansion, with online courses quickly proving both cost-effective and self-sustaining. After the initial development phase, which was largely funded by the Skills Development Fund, the program began generating net-positive revenue, and today its profit margins far exceed its ongoing costs. Good Roads has been able to reinvest these profits in creating additional courses and improving services for members, fueling a continuous improvement cycle and long-term sustainability.

The results have been impressive. Learner enrollment grew from 40 participants in the pilot year to more than 470 last year. Online enrollment is expected to surpass 550 this year.

With just three staff and a dedicated team of volunteer instructors, we scaled from zero to nine online courses within two years and grew online enrollments tenfold.

Eric Young, manager of education, Good Roads

There were also clear gains in the geographical reach of programs. Training now serves learners in remote and northern communities—and even outside Ontario—who previously could not attend in-person sessions.

”By eliminating the need for costly travel, member organizations can train more employees with the same budget and contribute to building an inclusive skilled workforce,” comments Young.

Increasing learner engagement and satisfaction

With engaging course content and a flexible learning environment, Good Roads is seeing an average completion rate of above 85% and assessment scores above 80% for its online courses. Additionally, one post-course survey has shown that 85% of learners are likely or very likely to take another Good Roads online course.

Learners consistently cite the H5P interactives as a highlight of the experience and self-paced learning as a game changer. They have also reported a skill improvement rate of 98%, highlighting the effective way the courses are translating into real-world job skills and career growth.

Laying the foundation for long-term success

By mapping its learning and development ecosystem with D2L, the education team identified key areas of focus and introduced change management initiatives to ensure the long-term quality of its digital learning programs. This included onboarding volunteer course directors into new roles as collaborators in instructional design and establishing a governance framework to ensure consistency across a growing course catalog.

Building on this foundation, Good Roads launched the Good Roads Instructor Training (GRIT) program. Delivered in Brightspace, GRIT provides self-paced modules on adult learning theory, classroom dynamics and facilitation. The program equips volunteer instructors and course directors with the tools to create consistent learner-centered training experiences. By standardizing instructor training, Good Roads is strengthening instructional quality and supporting the continued growth of both its digital and in-person education strategy.

Looking further ahead, Good Roads hopes to continue growing its online offering by doubling the number of courses by 2027, expanding to municipalities outside the province and building learning pathways for career progression.

For more than 130 years, Good Roads has been committed to service and innovation. With D2L Brightspace, we’re leading a new era of professional development in the sector that is more inclusive, accessible and impactful than ever before.”

Eric Young, manager of education, Good Roads