6 Steps To Developing A Storyboard For Your eLearning Site
A storyboard is a document, prototype, or slide deck that tells the story of your training course. A training developer or Instructional Designer uses a storyboard to build the framework for the planned eLearning course. You can use the Instructional Design principles as a guide while creating the storyboard for your eLearning platform. It helps you organize and present the course content in an engaging manner. For example, you may use dialogues to provide learners with interactive experiences.
An engaging eLearning storyboard offers many benefits other than providing a visual representation of the proposed education course. For instance, it aids with team collaboration, can identify flaws in training design, and helps you save time. Developing an effective storyboard for your web development project can be a fruitful idea considering its many benefits. Read on to learn more.
How Can You Create A Storyboard For Your eLearning Platform?
Storyboard development is an extensive process and involves six steps. I have covered them below:
Step 1: Evaluate Your Requirements
The first step involves identifying the potential users of your Learning and Development project as well as its objectives. An Instructional Designer may have already carried out this step in the analysis stage; it all depends on the nature of your project.
Step 2: Choose A Design Approach Or Instructional Technique
How you present the content to the learners will influence the outcome of your efforts. It is exactly what you should focus on in the second step! Ask yourself whether you want to present the content through a scenario-based approach, storytelling, or narrated infographics, or if you want to combine the different content types. Decide how you will divide the course into topics, modules, and segments. The analysis in the previous stage will help you create a course outline. You can use it in this step.
Step 3: Gather And Organize Resources
The third step involves considering the available resources. It includes references, learning materials, and assets like software simulations, photos, charts, graphics, etc. You can organize and store these resources in a folder to locate and utilize them later. Additionally, decide on the elements required for creating an eLearning storyboard. This includes screen/slide numbers, slide titles/names, screen text and elements, graphics, and more.
Step 4: Choose A Storyboard Template
By now, you should be ready to choose the type of storyboard you will use. This step involves selecting a suitable eLearning storyboard template. If you entrust it with a web development company, their team will handle the entire process, including the selection processes.
Step 5: Add And Sequence Content
The real work begins now! Add your content and organize them in the text columns of your preferred storyboard type. You must consider the content order by understanding which topic should appear and when. Additionally, implement the interactions, navigation, and design details. For instance, where does a user go after leaving a particular slide? If you provide multiple options, ensure your storyboard has branching options.
Step 6: Select An Authoring Tool
By now, you will have a complete eLearning storyboard. You will also know how the course will look and the level of interactivity. There will just be another task left—choosing an authoring tool to transform your vision into reality. Therefore, do proper research and pick a tool that’s the right fit for the job. If you don’t have a tool in mind, this is the right time to decide. While selecting an authoring tool, ask yourself questions like:
- What features does it have that will make the whole process easier for me?
- Will the tool help me create the digital course faster?
Following these steps, you can build an engaging storyboard for your eLearning website. You can search for eLearning storyboard examples for your reference. Although the process looks easy, it can be difficult to execute in reality. You will need help with that.
6 Tips On Developing Effective eLearning Storyboards
1. Clarity On Your Goals And Objectives
Before proceeding with the storyboard development process, it is important to be clear about what you want to achieve. For this, ask yourself a few questions. This includes:
- Why am I developing the course content?
- What will be the result of the eLearning course?
- How will the course benefit learners?
- How can I engage the users?
The answers will help you clearly understand your goals and objectives. These can guide you toward beginning the storyboard process.
2. Thoroughly Research Your Audience
Knowing about your prospective customers while creating a storyboard is an effective practice. By conducting surveys and interviews, you can learn more about them. It includes vital information like their educational backgrounds, technological familiarity, and experience levels. Thorough research is vital for designing an eLearning storyboard per their learning requirements and preferences.
3. Use A Storyboard Template
Using a template can be an effective way to create a storyboard for Instructional Design. This is immensely beneficial, helping you save time and resources and avoid the challenges of creating a storyboard from scratch. A template allows you to incorporate unique elements into your storyboard, like beautiful layouts, creative intro pages, etc.
4. Develop Content For Your eLearning Objectives
Create content for each objective to keep your users focused on the storyboard. Let me explain that. Start by stating your idea. Emphasize the primary points and follow a conversational tone using short, simple sentences. Additionally, you can ask your audience questions. It enables them to think, present their answers, and move on to the next storyboard module. Also, consider using examples and real-life scenarios to explain complex subjects further.
5. Review With Your SMEs
An easy and effective way to include Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) in the development process is storyboarding. You must obtain their feedback on your storyboard before you start creating the eLearning course.
6. Choose A Consistent Theme And Style
Your organization may follow distinct style and design elements for other training materials. In that case, ensure the storyboard indicates how these elements will be used in eLearning courses. This will provide for a consistent theme and styling.
Conclusion
Creating an eLearning storyboard is a six-step process that begins with evaluating your requirements and ends with choosing an authoring tool. You can refer to examples of storyboards for training courses. However, you can work with a company specializing in web development for the best results. They can follow the storyboard process effectively and create an eLearning website for your organization.
