Storyboarding is a total waste of time in eLearning

Storyboarding is one of the most important parts of designing an eLearning course.  A storyboard is a combined representation of on-screen content and an audio-script, which acts as a prototype to develop an effective eLearning course.

Why storyboard

1. It helps to promote consistency throughout the course.
2. It specifically indicates to the visual designers what they need to create.
3. It details the interactions that need to be created.
4. It explains how a page in the course needs to be animated and/or synchronized with audio narration.
5. It helps to evaluate the course content, as it provides an overview of how the course would flow and what visuals and interactions will be used.
6. Clients approve and sign off on the course more readily as the storyboard provides specific details of what needs to be done.
7. For agencies producing eLearning, this adds a valuable sign-off phase that helps to prevent author’s corrections.

How to create an eLearning storyboard

1. Know the course goal – Ask yourself and the client: “Why are we creating this course and what is the outcome that we want?”

 

2. Define learning objectives – Define your learning objectives, these will guide your development process.
   • Learning objectives specify the purpose of the course and what a learner should be able to do at the end of the course
   • Objectives should be stated in a clear and precise form
   • Every chapter in the course should cover at least one learning objective

 

3. Gather content – Quality content is fundamental to any course.  Work with your client, your SMEs, and do your homework.
   • Analyse Needs
   • Identify required knowledge
   • Identify constraints
   • The content should be relevant to the objectives and give the desired learning outcome
   • Content should be presented in a learner-friendly manner

 

4. Create assessment criteria – Each learning objective needs to align with a level of Bloom’s Taxonomy. This will help you create your knowledge checks or scenarios to assess your learners.
   • Assessments are an integral part of any eLearning course.  They help to reinforce the learner’s knowledge
   • Ensure your assessments are in line with your learning objectives
   • Assessments should be relevant to the content of the course
   • A quiz is a popular and effective form of assessment

 

5. Use a storyboard template – Organize your content into chunks in a way that works for you.
   • Consider using an eLearning storyboard template

 

6. Pick a design model – To deliver effective eLearning content for your audience to easily apply, consider using some popular design theories.
   • ADDIE
   • SAM
   • The action mapping process

 

7. Choose design elements – Compile the design elements that will best achieve your learning objectives.
   • Images
   • Videos
   • Interactions (e.g. drag and drop)
   • Quizzes
   • Audio

 

Ensure that graphics are based on the content that is being taught. The graphics are there to help the learner learn the content more easily, so avoid using distracting visuals.

 

8. Select an Authoring tool.
   • Articulate Storyline
   • Adobe Captivate
   • Moodle

So storyboarding is a complete waste of time if you enjoy being stuck in development purgatory!