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Education is key to preventing damage to underground infrastructure and keeping workers and communities safe. In this episode, Common Ground Alliance’s Erika Lee and Lisa O’Leary share how their Excavator Damage Prevention curriculum is using data-driven training to change behavior and reduce risk.

 

Show Notes:

CGA’s Erika Lee and Lisa O’Leary discuss how their comprehensive training curriculum is tackling the root causes of damage through education, accessibility, and industry collaboration. Their key points include:

• Education is the first line of defense against excavation damage. Erika Lee emphasized that if workers don’t understand risks and best practices, “we’re really not setting them up for success.”
• Failure to contact 811 remains the leading cause of damage. The top root cause year over year is not calling 811 before digging—highlighting a major opportunity for behavior change.
• Up to 65% of damage incidents are preventable through behavior change. The majority of incidents are tied to excavator actions that can be improved through targeted training, according to Erika.
• Microlearning and accessibility are key to adoption. Lisa O’Leary shared that short, 5–7 minute modules and mobile-friendly access make it easier for workers in the field to engage with training.
• Collaboration and consensus drive better outcomes. Common Ground Alliance’s consensus-based approach ensures diverse stakeholders align on best practices—strengthening both the curriculum and industry impact.
   

Explore d'Vinci's work with Common Ground Alliance. 

Learn more about Common Ground Alliance's education program.

Transcript:

Susan Cort: [00:00:00] Common Ground Alliance is a nonprofit dedicated to preventing damage to underground utility infrastructure. One of the keys to prevention is training.

Erika Lee: There's such a great opportunity when you think of where we can make an impact through education, specifically of the excavator community, and we know that education is really that critical first step.

If the excavator doesn't know when they go out into the field what the opportunities are and what the potential hazards are, then, you know, we're really not setting them up for success. 

Susan Cort: That's Erika Lee, executive vice president at Common Ground Alliance. She and CGA's manager of education and programs, Lisa O'Leary, join d'Vinci's Angeline Evans, Christine Kurtz, and me to talk about the role education plays in keeping ground excavation industry workers and the public safe.

Next on Powered by Learning. 

Announcer: Powered by Learning is brought to you by d'Vinci Interactive. d'Vinci's approach to learning is grounded in 30 years of [00:01:00] innovation and expertise. We use proven strategies and leading technology to develop solutions that empower learners to improve quality and boost performance.

Learn more at dvinci.com 

Susan Cort: Joining me now are d'Vinci Client Solutions Consultant Angeline Evans and Lead Instructional Designer Christine Kurtz, along with Erika Lee and Lisa O'Leary from Common Ground Alliance. Thanks for joining us, everyone. 

Lisa O'Leary: Thanks for having us. Great to be here. 

Angeline Evans: Yeah, we're excited to have you.

Susan Cort: Well, this is great. The four of you just got back from the Common Ground Alliance conference, and our team, of course, was very proud to have been a sponsor, and we got to meet so many great attendees. What are y'all feeling just coming back from the conference? 

Erika Lee: Well, I, I had a ton of fun last week. Um, we had about 1,400 stakeholders from across the industry there, and, uh, we got a, a lot of opportunity to talk about this program, the educational program that we're talking about today.

And I know, um, Angeline and Christine had a great, great traffic at their booth and were [00:02:00] able to meet a lot of members, so it was really good time. 

Angeline Evans: Yeah, it was wonderful. Um, we did get a... We had a lot of people come up and talk and ask about the specific program, but it was also just so exciting. I get so excited to go to this conference every year now because you have such a community, and we'll talk more about this industry and damage prevention, but it is truly such a welcoming and community environment.

And it's just unique 'cause I didn't really know it existed until a few years ago. Um, so I'm so ex- I'm so excited that we were able to meet. 

Christine Kurtz: Yeah. And I know for me, after being on the phone for so many years with the subject matter experts, it was so nice to just, like, see in person and have conversations in person.

Lisa O'Leary: Yeah. 

Susan Cort: I bet, Christine. 

Lisa O'Leary: And I was gonna say that, um, after we had our committee meetings and we did the excavator training showcase live, I feel like every few steps people were stopping me and, and commenting on the excavator training and how well it had been put together and how excited they were to have it, um, as a resource for them now, so It was [00:03:00] wonderful to have the great feedback immediately.

Susan Cort: That's wonderful. 

Angeline Evans: It was. So for listeners who might not have gathered, we're talking about excavators today. 

Susan Cort: In fact, let's, let's just start there. Uh, Erika and Lisa, tell us about CGA, Common Ground Alliance, and what your roles are there. Erika, we'll start with you. 

Erika Lee: So the Common Ground Alliance is a multi-stakeholder trade association.

We have anybody that deals with preventing excavation damage to underground infrastructure. So we have oil, telecom, electric, excavators, locators, one-call centers, regulators. Uh, we really have, uh, facility owner-operators that runs the, the gamut of anybody that really can influence this space. I'm the executive vice president, so I get the chance to work on all of our programs, and one of them is working with Lisa on excavator training and education.

Lisa O'Leary: And I'm the manager of education and programs at CGA, so I'm the staff liaison for our educational programs and marketing committee. I work on the educational sessions at the conference, [00:04:00] and as Erika said, we work together on the excavator training and any sort of educational program project that comes through our committees.

Angeline Evans: Thank you both. So I know you explained a little bit about Common Ground Alliance, but for listeners who might not be familiar with the damage prevention industry, can you just paint a picture of what all that entails and what's actually at risk when something goes wrong in the field? 

Erika Lee: Yeah, no problem.

Um, so I think a lot of people are unaware, and as you just mentioned, really not realizing that this space existed. A huge portion of our energy and our resources are delivered to us underground. Um, so that would be power lines, you know, oil and g-gas. Um, if you have natural gas in your home, that's delivered underground.

Telecom, fiber, um, your internet connection, water, sewer. So, so much of these resources are delivered underground, and one of the top, if not the top in all areas, um, risk to those facilities is excavation damage. So when, you know, if a, a [00:05:00] project is being completed, everything from like landscaping in your backyard, if you're digging deep enough, um, to, you know, a, a major excavation project, if you hit one of those facilities, you risk, uh, interrupting service, but you also risk injury and even in some cases, life-threatening situations.

So it's really important. It's a great resource that we have, but it's important to pay attention to the safety, uh, aspect as well. 

Angeline Evans: Yeah. So today, uh, we are super excited to talk with CGA about the Excavator Education Damage Prevention curriculum. This is a project that d'Vinci had the privilege to partner on with CGA.

I myself served as the learning strategist, and Christine served as the lead project manager and instructional designer. So we are so excited to dive into the curriculum and just talk through some questions we have. 

Christine Kurtz: I'm impressed you didn't say dig in. 

Angeline Evans: Right. I lost that opportunity.

Susan Cort: You did. I, I may just need to leave that in, actually, Christine.

Christine Kurtz: Erika, when you look at the data and the top causes of damage, [00:06:00] what keeps showing up, and what does that tell you about where behavior is breaking down in the field? 

Erika Lee: So at CGA, we collect data from all over the industry about exactly what you're talking about, which are the root causes of why these damages occur.

Um, the top root cause of damage consistently year over year is not contacting 811. Um, so that's really the first step. But then throughout the process, there are... Now I think when we calculated it, about 65% of all damages can be attributed to an excavator behavior that, if influenced, has the opportunity to, you know, reduce the likelihood of that damage occurring in the future.

So there's such a great opportunity when you think of where we can make an impact through education, specifically of the excavator community, and we know that education is really that critical first step. If the excavator doesn't know when they go out into the field what the opportunities are and what the potential hazards are, then, you know, we're really not setting them up for success.

Christine Kurtz: And can you talk to me more about the vision behind [00:07:00] creating an excavator damage prevention curriculum to help drive some more consistent behaviors? 

Erika Lee: Yeah. So, you know, as I mentioned earlier, we are a broad coalition of stakeholders. We have, uh, 811 centers, so those are the ones that when you contact 811, they're the ones that manage, you know, making sure that communication is sent to the facility owner operator.

We have owner-operators themselves. We have excavators. And there is existing curriculum and existing training out there, but really there's no comprehensive damage prevention training that can be addressed across all of these different groups. We also did, at the start of this project in working with an advisory committee, talk to a lot of people in the industry, and even where existing curriculum or modules or training exist, there's a lot of gaps in the content.

And what we saw a real opportunity to take what we know to be some of those top behaviors and those top root causes of damage and marry them with really specific [00:08:00] training. And we also saw there being an opportunity to use some very targeted, um, strategy in making sure that we provided this to a broad audience.

Uh, additionally, we wanted to make sure that this would be available to all in the industry at no cost. Uh, and so we've been able to do that by working through, you know, our organization with a lot of the subject matter experts that volunteer their time to make this a great program. 

Angeline Evans: I loved how much data you all were able to gather in the beginning, because so many organizations will just say they need a training because they think that's right, but you actually have such thorough data and there was so much thought put into it, that it is clear education was the right answer for what you're-- what kind of behaviors you're trying to address.

And so just props to you. It was really impressive . 

Erika Lee: Yeah, absolutely. And, you know, since you bring that up, I, you know, and you'd mentioned earlier the community that we have in damage prevention, and, you know, I know Lisa and I both feel grateful to, to work with people [00:09:00] that are willing to, to give their time and energy to this, but also are willing to respond and provide us with some of that data.

So we were able to gather really specific information on what exists and where there are gaps, and I think that set us up for a great strategy. 

Angeline Evans: Absolutely. So Lisa, I know you were leading the charge with this, you know, executing this, right? So when you brought this project to d'Vinci, what did you need from a partner to help translate, like, all of the industry best practices that you have at CGA into something that people would actually engage with and use?

I know you did a lot of research and thought behind, like, how the heck are we gonna take this and create a curriculum? 

Lisa O'Leary: So admittedly, uh, you know, we were very overwhelmed at first because we are not, you know, education experts. We may have experts with CGA and our members in damage prevention in the industry, but we really did not know how to stand up an educational program.

So we really were looking for a partner that was gonna help us create [00:10:00] a curriculum and an effective program, um, and that's something that was gonna be easy to use for our members. 

Angeline Evans: And you do. I mean, with Erica mentioned, like, the large SME group and advisory committee, you have a large group of stakeholders and SMEs that were involved with shaping this curriculum and shaping the needs for it.

How do you find the, from your perspective, the process of, like, harnessing all of those perspectives while still moving forward efficiently? 'Cause sometimes in the learning and development world, when you have that many SMEs, it can also be an obstacle at the same time because you have so many voices contributing feedback.

So tell me your thoughts. 

Lisa O'Leary: So I think for us, the advisory group and the SMEs were really what drove this project. We really didn't want it just to be the voice of CGA behind this project. We wanted to make sure that each stakeholder group was represented, not only in the advisory group, but in the subject matter experts And that would come through, um, in the, the final content.[00:11:00] 

I will say that our SMEs have been very, um, dedicated and excited about this project. Whenever we've called upon them for meetings, you know, whether it's with d'Vinci or it's with CGA for this project, they've answered the call and have brought so much knowledge forward for this project. We really couldn't have done it without them.

Angeline Evans: And Christine, what's your perspective like as, like from leading this project from developing the curriculum? Like, how has your experience been working with such a large group of SMEs? 

Christine Kurtz: It's been different, but really beneficial to get on the phone, um, with this group of people, the experts, and really hear how their understanding of the industry varies just state to state, how different it is, and just being part of the discussions to come to a best practice and agree upon the best way to share this information with the excavation community for safety purposes.

I have learned [00:12:00] so much. I am an unofficial damage prevention expert at this point. And, um- 

Susan Cort: And, and you also got to go in a large piece of equipment. 

Christine Kurtz: I am now a machine operator as well. Yeah, that is also my resume. 

Susan Cort: Just so people understand, there was a public service announcement that you worked on for CGA with d'Vinci and JPL, and you got to get behind the wheel, so you're, you are an unofficial, uh, member of the industry, Christine.

Christine Kurtz: I am, yes. I can't believe no one recognized me at the conference last week.

Erika Lee: You know, I was just gonna add one thing I think that makes our membership really unique and our organization, uh, that is worth bringing up because now that I think about it when you're asking this question, we're consensus-based.

So when people come to our organization and we develop best practices or we analyze data, everyone comes and knows that they have to collaborate with the other stakeholders and come out with consensus decisions. [00:13:00] And when you're talking about a large group of SMEs, I think, you know, all of them are used to this.

They know that when they come here, they take off their industry hat, they put on their, you know, damage prevention hat, and it's... and they're very focused on making sure that we get accomplished what we want to accomplish. So, you know, I was really happy to see that carry through into our SME groups and into the advisory committee.

Angeline Evans: Absolutely. I mean, during the learning strategy, I was impressed with how engaged and responsive everyone was, but also just how respectful they were of differing opinions. Like, I- every conversation or like, you know, minor disagreement on content was always settled on the call, and it was consensus-based.

So like when you say that, like, it truly was at, in that moment, which was pretty neat. 

Erika Lee: Yeah, real respect for each other. Yeah. Which, um, you know, in something like this where you're talking about so many different people and so many different parts of the process have to come together and work well- For this to be safe and effective, uh, it's, you know, it's, it's required that everybody is able to do that.

So it's something we're proud [00:14:00] of. 

Angeline Evans: Yeah. And just to also, um, paint a picture, this curriculum is gonna be com- is comprised of over 40 modules. Some of them are still being developed. They're in the later phases of developing the curriculum. Um, so it's really robust, and it's formatted to be a micro-learning curriculum, so that way it can really be tailored to each person's needs.

So Erica mentioned about all of the different roles that they touch. Not everybody needs to know all of the topics that are in the curriculum, so we wanted to allow it to be a la carte, if you will, so you can pick and choose what's meaningful to you and what's gonna help you do the, do your job more effectively.

Or, as a leader, what, what courses you can assign to your employees that are gonna be meaningful and help change the behavior you need. 

Lisa O'Leary: And I wanted to add, too, that it was really important, um, like all of our projects at CGA, that the training was not only in English but also in Spanish. Uh, we know that there is a large percentage of boots on the ground that are Spanish-speaking, so we wanted to make sure that [00:15:00] this excavator training was not only for those, um, that speak English but obviously, um, also Spanish as well.

Angeline Evans: Absolutely. Yeah, that bilingual piece plays such a critical role just to the accessibility of the content and making sure it's received well. 

Christine Kurtz: So now that the curriculum's out and people are using it, um, what have you learned? What insights have you seen, um, as people start taking it? 

Lisa O'Leary: As administrators of the excavator training, we're able to go in and see who has completed the training, who's still working on the training, and the actual modules that they're working on.

And we have seen that the, uh, most popular English module is To Dig or Not To Dig, and the most popular Spanish training is How to Safely Hand Dig. So, you know, as we work towards building courses, right now we just have the modules, but we're looking forward to seeing, you know, how this training [00:16:00] evolves and how learners are using it.

Angeline Evans: Yeah. And for listeners and organizations in this industry, let's talk a little bit about how they can start using it and where it can realistically fit into what they're doing today. 

Lisa O'Leary: So we send all of our members and learners to a website that we developed called training.commongroundalliance.com.

This is where you're gonna learn all about the training. You're gonna fill out some forms if you are interested in some of our offerings, which I'll get into in a moment. And this is gonna provide you direct access, so you can go from our website, click on a module, and you'll be right, brought right to our learning management system Which was developed by our partners Irth, and it's built on a CoreCentra platform, so you can log right in and create an account.

Angeline Evans: Wonderful. Yeah, and I know just anecdotally at the conference talking to different 811 centers and one-call centers, one way we've [00:17:00] seen them using the curriculum now, because it's in that micro-learning format, they will, you know, use ... Because CGA sets the stage for best practices, they'll s- they'll use the modules to lay the foundation for a specific topic and then complement it with their state-specific needs.

So, um, for instance, like tolerance zone 101, um, an 811 center might use that to set the foundation on what the tolerance zone is, and, you know, w- w- what are the industry best practices for the distance betw- um, from the utility. But then they'll have a complementary module that says, "In this state, we follow these guidelines of h- what the distance is," or, "This is a legal update in our state related to what it used to be."

So it just helps not reinvent the wheel for a lot of folks that might not have the full comprehensive end-to-end training. Um, and so they can really weave in those pieces seamlessly. 

Lisa O'Leary: Exactly. So you can, uh, log into the learning management system and take the training, um, or if you are a CGA member, we [00:18:00] do offer the ability to sign up for accessing the module files and putting them in their company's learning management system.

So it's a great way to supplement your own, uh, excavator training or other learning programs that you have on a learning management system. 

Erika Lee: And we have two, uh, other features that I think are very helpful to the community. One is, um, if companies want to be able to assign an administrator. So if all of their employees are gonna take training through our platform, uh, they can identify an administrator.

We approve that person, and then they're able to actually go in and assign specific modules to people that work for them. Uh, and we have a certificate of completion that we just finished, and this is an important thing that our education committee, uh, really wanted to make sure was in place, and Lisa might be able to speak more to that.

But the committee really wanted to make sure that if it is assigned to somebody or even in some areas where maybe they have been notified that [00:19:00] they did not dig safely, you know, whether it's by a regulatory body or by a, through a contract that they work on for a specific company, and they're saying, "Okay, you need to prove to us that you've taken this course or that you've taken a series of, uh, damage prevention education courses."

And so now they're able to do that. They can say, and share that certificate of completion with, uh, with whoever they want to. 

Lisa O'Leary: The certificate of completion is a great tool. It actually pulls in your name and the module you've completed, and as Erica mentioned, you can share it with, you know, your supervisor or colleagues, whoever is looking to see that you've completed a specific module or groups of modules.

Um, and then another feature that is exciting is you can actually share that certificate of completion on your LinkedIn profile. I think we've all logged into LinkedIn and have seen our connections have completed courses or some other training program, and we're excited that now learners from the excavator training program can also share [00:20:00] that on the LinkedIn platform.

Angeline Evans: And I just wanna add for any listeners who are, like, e-learning nerds, I'll call it, if you will, but, um, Lisa mentioned how you can also upload courses into your own LMS, and I know some folks might like be like, "Ah, like what do you do if you need to make an update?" So what we were able to do is put their, um, actual course into a SCORM wrapper.

And what's neat is then if an organization uploads that course into their LMS, it tracks complete, incomplete, but the actual source of truth or the module file itself lives in CGA's LMS. And so, um, with CGA being s- like it being really important to gather data, it lets them gather that data, but then organizations can also capture if it's complete, incomplete, and they don't have to worry about version control or updates, so.

Erika Lee: I just wanna add to that. This has been such a collaborative process, and I think this particularly when we started working with d'Vinci, we had some asks that are pretty outside the scope of probably what you guys typically have, and this being one of them is, you know, it was really [00:21:00] important to us to make sure that we were creating, you know, as we mentioned, probably the most comprehensive curriculum, especially that is damage prevention specific and not company specific.

We wanted to make it as accessible as possible. And so when we would hear of barriers that would stop people from potentially using it, we tried to think of strategies that would work. And I think this is a great example of, you know, we have people that have existing programs. We have excavators, we have 811 centers, and they may wanna use 5, 10, not all of the, you know, modules, but they have existing things in their own system, and this really provides a great way for them to be able to have both.

Uh, and I think the other thing is, you know, when you think of our curriculum overall, we're able to, and we have been able to have very specific and interactive content in some of our most critical damage prevention areas. And, you know, when we think overall what are, what am I... You know, how are we seeing this being used?

And the fact that hand digging is one of the top ones, and when we know [00:22:00] that is a problem, and we know that the technique alone and having knowledge around the technique can prevent damage, that's really, you know, that's supporting kind of how we got started in this whole process. I think seeing that people are accessing the content that we know can be most critical is, is great.

Lisa O'Leary: I also wanted to mention too that I think what is drawing people in also is just the learning modules are micro-learning. Um, so I think- The fact that somebody can take a module in, you know, five to seven minutes and be done, I think really helps. You can take it on your laptop, your computer. You can take it on your phone.

You know, you could take it on the go. So it's been very instrumental in the way our stakeholder groups work day to day. Some are in the field, some are outside, some are inside, so I think it's crucial that the learning is short and that you can take it on a number of different platforms. 

Susan Cort: Well, it's really incredible to listen to the four of you talk about this.

I learned some things today . And, uh, with the [00:23:00] conference just being last week, what were you hearing from, uh, the conference attendees that, that kinda reinforced the need for this kind of approach to training, and, and what's ahead next for you? 

Erika Lee: You know, for me, one of the things that stands out from last week is we had, you know, we, we had a panel that we were able to speak to people about this curriculum, and one of the statistics about the amount of information that people forget after they learn something was- 

Susan Cort: The old forgetting curve.

Erika Lee: Oh my gosh. We could see, like, a gasp in the audience when they saw the actual answer. And Angeline and Christine, you're gonna have to remind me. Is it 90%? 

Angeline Evans: It... So some studies say 90%, others say 70 to 80%, but it's still s- it's still significant, right? Yeah. Like- 

Erika Lee: But it's a lot, right? Yeah. And so, you know, I just, I see there being such an opportunity.

Learning is an ongoing process that's gonna be something that excavators or anybody in the industry have to do throughout their career, and this is such a great way to reinforce what may be existing training, and I heard that from a lot of people, and I also heard great idea of, [00:24:00] like, people who have new employee training.

And it doesn't just... I mean, excavators, of course, that's what this is targeted for, but we heard across the board, like, new employees for 811 centers, new employees at utility companies. Like, ensuring that everybody that works in and around this industry has an opportunity to get accessible information.

But just that idea of, oh, you know, we can use this as an opportunity to reinforce, and the micro-learning that we mentioned, I think really makes that all the more accessible to our members. 

Angeline Evans: We had a couple folks come to our booth and just, um, we talked a little bit about what themes they were seeing and what one of the...what's the hardest situation when it comes to training in the damage prevention industry, and several times folks said it was the attitude and the behaviors, right? So even folk- even individuals who have been in the field for a long time might have an attitude that they know where the line is or, you know, "I don't have to follow this rule."

And so a big piece of this curriculum that I know we try to focus on is that- We're  [00:25:00] we're trying to increase everyone's competence who are excavators, but also, like, their confidence so that they feel empowered to speak up when they see someone who's been there a long time making a wrong choice, because the newbies usually don't wanna do that.

So we wanna make sure, like, to the point having a, a curriculum be accessible so everyone knows what they should be doing out there, so that hopefully they speak up if they see someone not practicing something safely. 

Erika Lee: Absolutely. And I think that message is incorporated through many of the modules, which is safety and damage prevention being everybody's role in the process.

Uh, and that's a great part of being able to kind of weave that core message throughout many of the, the training modules. 

Christine Kurtz: I really like what you said, too, about reinforcing core concepts, because we've had people come to us and say, like, "Oh, we don't, we don't do that digital learning." And we still really...

You know, we want you to have face-to-face on-the-job conversations about best practices and what's safe, but it is a great way to reinforce maybe what they already know or what [00:26:00] they've already learned and just really drive home those key points. 

Susan Cort: It sounds like this curriculum's doing so much already, but have you given thought to what might be next?

Erika Lee: I'm excited about a couple of the modules that we're working on right now. And then when I get feedback, I also have a bunch of ideas. Lisa knows I'm full of ideas. She's like, "Don't. No more ideas." 

Lisa O'Leary: Endless, endless ideas. 

Erika Lee: No more ideas. But, uh, but one that we're working on that I think, you know, I think a lot of it now is specific to any excavator could take the training, but we're looking at one specific to landscaping.

Um, and we know that that is an area where there's a lot of opportunity to educate. Uh, there are some root causes that are specifically very high for landscapers, like not contacting 811. So really looking at those s- uh, audience-specific modules and understanding how our membership may be able to use those to make some headway in some areas that have been challenging in the past.

Not as much time for training. Uh, when you c- when you picture a big [00:27:00] utility company that has excavators or a company that works on major development projects is gonna have a different level of training than an, a landscaping company. So I think that's a great area where we can make a lot of headway, and I think this might just be an opportunity to open the door to the rest of the curriculum for that community.

Susan Cort: And reaching out to the next generation, too. 

Lisa O'Leary: So speaking of the next generation of diggers, CGA has been working with d'Vinci on a game based on, uh, that exact concept, teaching children from grades three to five about excavation. And the game is really interactive. It has great characters and imagery, and a lot of choices for the kiddos and, uh, and able to keep their attention span, which we all know is hard to do this day and age.

Susan Cort: Even for adults. 

Lisa O'Leary: Absolutely. Yes. Myself included. Um, you know, this was again, something that was a, was [00:28:00] sort of a need for our educational programs, um, and marketing committee. They were looking for a gamification. They're often going into the community or they're going into schools, and this is a great way to not only sort of open the door to communicate with schools and other type of organizations, but teaching them about the industry.

We showed the committee the final version of the game at our committee meeting, and people were very excited. We actually put it up on the screen and I, you know, did my best to walk them through, um, as if they were, you know, if we were all playing together. But I think what also stands out is it's a game, but there's also mini games within the game, and I've really enjoyed playing it myself.

I've obviously played it a lot of times as, uh- ... working with Christine on the project for many months now. But we think it'll be a great tool and our members are [00:29:00] excited to have a resource like this. 

Christine Kurtz: It's a great way to just, like, raise awareness with that age group about 811 and the importance of calling 811, but also educating them that there are things running underground that you don't hit Um, so the learning objectives of that were we kept it pretty simple just to drive home the basics and then reinforce it with a lot of fun colors and graphics and, like Lisa was saying, a lot of games along the way.

But hopeful that then they grow up to be adults who call 811 before, you know, putting in a new bill- mailbox, or even saying like, "Hey, Dad, did you call 811?" 

Susan Cort: "Did you call yet?" Yeah. 

Lisa O'Leary: My kids love to learn things at school and then, you know, teach me about it when they come home. Right. So I think folks will start to see that with this game, too, so.

Erika Lee: What, what I loved about it, too, is we've focused so much in the past of our, you know, w- education towards children on just the 811 message and just call before you dig, and this really gives them more information, which I think [00:30:00] is stickier. You know, I think they know more about the why. They understand what some of the consequences are.

So I love that the, that the curriculum as part of the module is, is broader, and it's still, you know, as you mentioned, it's basic, but it still provides them with that additional information that and hopefully will motivate them for, for the rest of their lives. 

Susan Cort: It will for sure. I know our team really enjoys working on this work with your team, and we certainly value the partnership with Common Ground Alliance, so thank you very much for being a part of Powered by Learning today.

Erika Lee: Thanks so much. We enjoyed being here. Thanks, everybody. 

Susan Cort: My thanks to d'Vinci's Angeline Evans and Christine Kurtz, and our guests, Erika Lee and Lisa O'Leary from Common Ground Alliance. If you'd like to learn more about being a guest on our podcast, just contact us at poweredbylearning@dvinci.com.