Using Storyboards in Online Course Design

September/October 2004 - Using Storyboards in Online Course Design
By: Virgil E. Varvel Jr. <vvarvel@uillinois.edu>
Keywords: instructional design; storyboards; multimedia design; flowcharts; course design; online education; online courses

Online education continues to grow around the world. As technology continues to improve, so too does the level of interaction, complexity, and diversity of multimedia elements involved in online course design. It is now time for course developers to look towards methods of enhancing their instructional design in order to take into account these changes. Simple notes on paper no longer capture the needed elements of the online course development process. Storyboards are a means to graphical represent the layout, organization, content, and linkages of information within a multimedia rich online learning experiences. They help to create a conceptual idea of the information location, meaning, and appearance. This presentation will describe the usefulness of storyboarding in an online instruction context. Why they are used, and how they are used will be discussed. Finally, examples of storyboards from my practice and the simplified template that I use are shown. I have so many ideas in my mind concerning how I utilize and develop storyboards that I feel confident that I will leave some things out. Still, I hope that you will find that what I have remembered to place herein will be most useful in your own practice. Remember that one of my primary principles in using storyboarding is simplicity. Do what is most necessary in order to make the time used most efficient while still providing educational benefit to the final design.

Why Use Storyboards