Welcome back to Designing Learning Sunday! The weekly blog that takes an everyday approach to instructional design, and learning and development, then break it down into easy to understand chunks.
This week is Designing Learning Sunday # 6 - The Storyboard. I am Instructor Dave, and I am your tour guide of a sort. Let’s review what we have talked about so far. In the previous weeks, we have begun our journey into instructional design by talking about a few of the foundational topics that are listed below. DLS Blog 1 – Is this a training issue or a coaching issue? DLS Blog 2 – Needs-Based Assessment?! DLS Blog 3 – The Design Document DLS Blog 4 – Choosing a Delivery Method DLS Blog 5 – Learning Objectives
Building on what we covered last week with Learning Objectives; this week we continue our journey by discussing Storyboards. Let’s talk about what storyboards are, and then how they can benefit you.
Have you ever used storyboards before? We use them all the time, and much like everything else we’ve shared, they are an invaluable resource.
Traditionally storyboards are used for planning out scenes in movies, animation, and literature. At their core, however, storyboards are used to plan out a story. Designing learning is similar to writing a story. Like a story, we have a beginning, a middle, and an end, or more appropriately, an introduction, content, and a conclusion.
Storyboards help us by creating a visual reference or illustration of your planned scene. The visuals provide the placement of graphics, images, colors, and key pieces of information.
Like most design aids storyboards come in a variety of layouts. Some have large panels, some are small.
Larger panels allow for detailed information to be displayed.
Smaller panels allow for more information to be seen at once.
To use a storyboard, you simply have to start filling it out. It is just that easy. You might be asking yourself, “But, Trainer Dave, how do we fill it out, and use it?” Well, I am glad you asked.
We use storyboards when planning PowerPoint presentations (also called slide decks) when we are creating e-learning, or when we need to plan out learning that needs to have visuals displayed.
Let’s make one using the storyboard examples above.
First, we will start by continuing on our designing learning path with the request we had to create “Customer Service Soft Skills” training. To start with, we will make a presentation that the instructor can use to discuss the importance of customer service soft skills.
In this storyboard, we will plan out what our presentation slides will look like. We are using the 6-panel template.
Like with every good story, there are essential components to a storyboard; there is a beginning, a middle, and an end. We have highlighted a few of the panels we use below.
In our first panel (Slide 1), we have listed our course title. This is important to include here because this can be either your course name, company info, or the course description. It is not required to plan this out as part of your storyboard, but it does help with sharing information, especially if you have to turn that over to requestors or stakeholders. I do it each time, so adding the COURSE TITLE is part of the habit. Next, we have our COURSE INTRODUCTION. This panel provides the introductory information that is shared with your learners to highlight why they are in the training at this time. I have seen designers and instructors use this panel as the guidelines of their course, etc. If you choose to use an introduction, be sure to include the reason for the training. To some, including the introduction before the objectives can be considered design heresy, but I like to use this to create my WIIFM for the learners (the WHATS IN IT FOR ME, the WIIFM).
COURSE OBJECTIVES are fairly standard. Using what we have learned about Learning Objectives, we can inform the learners about what they should be expected to get out of the course, and what we are expecting them to get from the course. There are several different ways to display your learning objectives, and my recommendation is to use what looks best to you, and follow your company guidelines if you have them for objectives. The next three panels include a quick visual of a branching scenario (like a choose your adventure) activity that the instructor will lead the class through (more on this later). This is easily transferrable to eLearning (more on that later, too!). I have included a character that will be in the slides, as well as their positioning, and recommended text fields on the slides. Notice that as we move from one slide to the next, the character will need to be updated to reflect the change in gesture and tone. We move from a neutral gesture to a raised hand gesture, to an irritated gesture. Based on our chosen design for this presentation, it is important that the visuals we use reflect what is being learned. We have included in our panel notes font information, bullets, and background preferences, and characters that will be on display.
Keep in mind, a storyboard is a visual outline and does not need to include all of the finite detail that would be included in your primary design or slides. On the template example above, notice that there are several eraser marks. They are there because I did not like what was initially recorded or written, and I chose to change it. You can also include breaks in activity, knowledge checks, FAQ’s, and anything that would benefit from a visual representation. I know people that note how long they want to spend on a slide, or include questions to ask the learners, and a whole gamut of things to include in their slides or learning. Storyboards have to be one of the most versatile tools in our toolbox. Another way to look at a storyboard would be to liken it to a sketchbook.
Depending on your contract, or company guidelines, and where you are within your design process, you may be asked to submit “early storyboards” that display your basic ideas and outline and may be full of eraser marks, and “final storyboards”, a more detailed and polished copy. Whichever you end up sharing, always remember that it is just a guide of how you would proceed.
After the initial panels in my storyboard, I would note a change in font, graphics, or images, and anything pertinent to the slide design. This is reference material we are creating. Something to look back on that can be quickly referred to and updated, without the need to press save, or save alternate versions of the document.
And, this is why storyboards are useful. They provide a visual reference point in your design and help you record your ideas. They can be as detailed as you want them to be, or as basic as you need. You can design your own template, use ours that are attached below, or find others online.
Sometimes our ideas may seem great in our heads, and when we put them onto the screen they look, for lack of a better term, bad. It happens. Just get them out.
Storyboards are versatile. You do not have to use them, but give it a try. However, don’t get lost in it and spend your day on the storyboard. Get your ideas out and move on. They are only supposed to be a reference. We have attached below a couple of templates for you to use. Take a look, use them if you want to, or make your own.
Next time we will talk about how to include Information, Activities, and Engagement in your learning designs. Look forward to it.
Reach out to us if you have any questions, and always be learning!
- Instructor Dave
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