Instructional Design Storyboards: The How and Why

chillibreeze writer — Pratibha G

In recent years, the storyboard has been increasingly associated with the e-learning field. The Wikipedia describes Storyboards as “graphic organizers such as a series of illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion graphic or interactive media sequence, including website interactivity.”

A storyboard is used to describe and present the flow of events in an easy-to-understand style. The objective of the storyboard is to describe in detail how the end product would be. Storyboarding is primarily the task of an Instructional Designer. The more detailed the storyboard, the more effective the end result would be. It is important for an Instructional Designer to be well-versed with the design principles to be able to create a good storyboard. A good Instructional Designer always keeps in mind how important it is for the target audience to be able to grasp the knowledge and how they would apply it to their profession.

Before we proceed, let us quickly understand about Instructional Design and its elements.

What is Instructional Design?
Instructional Design allows you to analyze the learning needs of an end-user and develop a course that will allow you to meet its objectives. These needs can be for varied audiences, and at each point you need to ensure that you are meeting these requirements.

The Elements of Instructional Design
There are a couple of elements that you, as an Instructional Designer, must keep in mind when designing a course:

Set and define high-level learning objectives
Develop the course in tandem with the learning objectives defined
Assess performance of the learner periodically

Now that you have a brief knowledge about what Instructional Design is, let us look at some pointers to keep in mind while creating a storyboard for Instructional Design.

1. State the high level objectives

The high level objectives are the backbone of a storyboard creation. The high level objectives allow you to decide the number of lessons, topics and sub –topics the course can be broken down into. These objectives also allow you to decide what the approach within the topics would be.

Let’s assume that you are creating a course on “How to make a Presentation effectively”. After defining the high level learning objectives, it is important to break the objectives into definite content outlines.

High-Level Learning Objectives for a course on “How to make a Presentation effectively”:

Describe the qualities of a successful presentation
Use your voice effectively
Identify non-verbal cues
Feel comfortable in your presentation setting

2. Create a Content Outline

Once the high-level learning objectives are in place, the outline of the course can be defined.

Continuing with the high-level objectives, let’s now create the content outline for the pre-defined High-Level objectives for the above course on “How to make a Presentation effectively”

Content Outline

Lesson 1- High-Level objective

Describe the qualities of a successful presentation

Content outline for the High-Level Objective

- Describe a successful presentation.
- Identify the steps required in a presentation.
- Explain how to create a presentation outline.
- Test the learner at the end of this objective.

Lesson 2 High-Level objective

Use your voice effectively

Content outline for the High-Level Objective

- State the importance of voice modulation when making a presentation.
- Explain the different voice qualities required when a presenter pays attention while practising and delivering a presentation.
- Test the learner at the end of this objective.

Lesson 3 High-Level objective

Identify Non-verbal cues

Content outline for the High-Level Objective

- Use the appropriate and positive body language while making a presentation
- Differentiate between the positive and negative body language
- Test the learner at the end of this objective.

Lesson 4 High-Level objective

Feel comfortable in your presentation setting

Content outline for the High-Level Objective

- Tips to get comfortable/feel at ease while making a presentation
- Get an understanding on the main elements that are a part of the presentations.
- Ensure all equipment is working
- Test the learner at the end of this objective.

3. Visualize the course

Now that you have the content outline in place, it is time to visualize how the course should be. Content plays an important role in a course and it needs to be supported appropriately by use of relevant graphics. Graphics consist of static images, illustrations or animations that support the content. Never use a graphic element just to use up space. The graphic should be a visual representative of the content that you are explaining.

While visualizing the placement of graphics in a course, it is by default that the graphics are placed on the left side of the screen and the corresponding content is displayed on the right side of the screen. This is for the easy readability factor.

Tip: For complex courses, it always advisable for the Instructional Designer to visualize the screens with the graphic designer, in order to achieve the desired result.

4. Use Interactive Elements

You are bound to lose the interest of a learner, if your course is devoid of any interactivity. Active involvement of the learner by the use of interactive elements and in-line assessments will hold the learners interest in the course. Roll-overs, click-and-reveal, multiple tabs can be different ways of representing content and graphics in the same space.

Create scenarios if you would want to explain a situation to the learner. Similarly, if you are demonstrating a product that requires multiple steps to operate, create a simulation that will allow the learner to explore how that product works.

These interactivities can be used depending on the complexity of a course that is being created.

5. Audio usage

When you use audio for a course, keep in mind that not all users may have an access to headphones or sound cards in their machine. Therefore, it is important that you do not cover any aspect in the audio that is not present on the screen.

Keep in mind to retain important instructions and directions on-screen even if they are being narrated. For example: Click on the right posture a presenter needs to have while making a presentation.

Avoid using a narration in in-line texts or assessments. They do not add any value in such screens. When describing simulations, it is always better to list the steps also apart from the narrations being used. In case there more than 15-20 steps involved to complete a simulation, it is better to have the steps listed down for an easy reference, rather than forcing the learner to click on the replay button.

6. Use assessments

Use assessments at regular intervals to test the learners instead of having a cluster of questions towards the end of the course. This helps to reinforce the information/ knowledge you are trying to impart to the learner, how well it is being processed & understood by the learner and most importantly it is also an indicator of how successful the course is.

Ensure that the assessments are in tandem with your learning objectives you have defined at the start of the course. For example questions like:

John had the most harrowing time when he made the last presentation. Not only was the projector not working but the HR department called a mixed bunch of managers, some of whom who were not required in the presentation. What do you think John should do to avoid such a situation in the future?

a. Visit the place of presentation to ensure all equipment is in a working condition.
b. Know the target audience in advance so that he can prepare the presentation accordingly
c. Ensure that he carries hardcopies of the presentation in case of any eventualities such as power failure, malfunctioning of the projector etc.
d. All of the above

If you notice, this question maps to the last high-level design objective listed above. It is in context of the course, and is checking if the learner has captured the desired information.

If you are assessing the learner on a concept, then questions like “Which of these are correct body postures while making a presentation?” would be more appropriate, where multiple images can be placed, allowing the learner to choose correct answers by recalling a concept.

If you are assessing a learner with a simulation-based scenario, it is advisable to use either audio or prompts that will help the learner perform the actions better. For example: Click the Insert icon to view the drop down menu, and make a selection.

Ensure that you display a feedback irrespective of the option chosen. Ensure that the feedback is on the same page so that the learners can view the questions and the feedback at one glance.

If the feedback uses a narration ensure that there is a replay button just in case the learner wants to hear the feedback again.

Summarizing

We have broadly covered about defining objectives and creating content outlines as well as visualizing the course. Additionally, we have covered the importance of using interactive elements, audio and assessments while creating a storyboard.

Listed below are some additional tips to keep in mind while creating a storyboard in e-learning:

Consider and advocate for the learner's point of view
Be a learning expert, not a subject matter expert
Create learning objectives that will allow the learner to take away an understanding from the course
Ensure that the content maps to the learning objectives
Ensure that the flow of learning objectives and content is logical
Apply an instructional strategy
Design the course appropriately
Do not clutter the screen with an excessive use of graphics and content. The neater the screen, the better is design of the course and easier for the learner to understand the course

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—About our writer:

"Journalism introduced Pratibha to the world of writing. After spending a couple of years with some of the best names in the Indian print media, she made her foray into the world of Instructional Design. From an Instructional Designer to a Project Manager, the journey has been professionally enriching & fulfilling. But Instruction Design is where her heart lies. She also indulges in creative writing, blogging and photography. She has penned a couple of short stories, that she hopes to get published someday."

Instructional Design Storyboards: The How and Why

chillibreeze writer — Pratibha G

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