This is the first article of a 3-part article series about storyboards and how they can be utilized in creating elearning courses.
Content creation can be tough when you are starting on a new elearning course. Just like in any other project that you will work on, the beginning is usually the hardest. Sometimes, it is difficult to start because you are not sure where your first action will get you. When you have limited resources and a deadline to meet, creating an online course can become quite stressful.
When you are having a hard time starting your elearning course, you may want to work on a storyboard first. This will be like a blueprint for your course. It is where you will put the general plans that you have for the online course. When you look at this storyboard, it will tell you the path that the learners will go through and the different elements that you have to put into place to meet their elearning expectations.
You may think that creating a storyboard is a waste of time but in truth, it is not. At least, if you do it correctly. In the third part of this article series will talk about how you can avoid wasting your time with storyboards. But right now, let us identify the different ways that a storyboard can make content creation easier.
- Maps out what you need to do. First and foremost, a storyboard will provide you with a roadmap. It will help you identify the areas that you need to work on first and what follows after. It will make the whole creation process smoother. You can use your time wisely so you can maximize your schedule. This will be very helpful when you have other courses to work on.
- Reveals if the concept and delivery will work. Since you can map out the progress of the learning process, you can see if the concept that you want to apply in the course will work. For instance, you can check if gamification will work for the specific content that you are using. In case it turns out that your plan will not work, you can make the necessary changes that will make it effective.
- Identifies the elements that will be needed. Without the need to go into details, creating the storyboard will allow you to identify where videos, audios, games, assessments and other elearning elements should be placed. If you want to determine the number of images that you need to place, it is also possible to view that through the storyboard.
- Keeps you from going beyond your budget. A storyboard will help you determine if a course is feasible or not. After identifying the elements that you will need, you can estimate just how much the content creation will cost you – both in time and money. This can be useful when you are working on a limited budget.
- Exposes the errors early on. The storyboard can show you if there will be errors along the way. Or at the very least, it will allow you to see situations where mistakes can happen. This knowledge will help you avoid the mistakes or prepare contingencies to minimize damages during the content creation process.
- Shows you the whole picture. Finally, a storyboard will allow you to view the whole course even before it is created. You can estimate how long it will take – making sure it is not too short nor too long. Since the elements are also identified, you can see if they are cohesive and if they all compliment the content of the course. You can also determine the actual placement of the multimedia tools that you will use. For instance, videos may be concentrated at the beginning of the course and lacking towards the end.
Bottom line is, a storyboard will help you with content creation simply because it can guide you throughout the whole process. It reveals to you what you need to expect so you can prepare yourself for the task.
In part 2 of this article series, we will be discussing tips on how you can create an effective storyboard for your online classes.
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