Rinnelle Lee-Piggott CUTL 5106

I must admit that when I began developing the storyboard for my blended course I was

somewhat skeptical as to its usefulness because it is very similar to the Course Matrix that I

developed for CUTL 5001. It required the same pieces of information and was structured

in much the same way. Now, please do not misunderstand me; I’m not complaining

because I saved time simply cutting and pasting. One difference though between the

storyboard and the course matrix/plan was that the process allowed me to more clearly

see and adjust the balance between activities for face-to-face classes and those for online

ones. I found that I had to build in more online activities and resources into my planning in

order to make the course a blended one rather than one that was almost wholly face-to-

face. This is identified as a key benefit of storyboarding (Iowa State University Extension,

2004; Mallon, 1995; NCREL, 1999; Stanton, 2001; Usability Net, 2003, all cited in Online

Courses as Learning Scripts), which is also an important benefit for lecturers at UWI,

considering the visionary move to increase distance and online learning opportunities at

the St Augustine campus, in particular.

As I began to use the storyboard plan to design my course shell on myelearning, I realized

additional benefits. One is it served as a ‘… constant reference point’ during the design

process (Online Courses as Learning Scripts). I was able to check back and forth and not

rely on memory or a rough sketch to determine the content, resources and activities for the

shell. In this way, the design process moved smoothly and quickly.

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An added but related benefit is its usefulness in checking for completeness. As a reference,

the storyboard facilitated my checking for missing parts to be included in the course shell.

I was able to match that the number of activities and resources identified in my storyboard

were also present on the course shell. I was able to ensure that appropriate activities and

resources were included and that they were placed in the relevant session blocks using the

storyboard. Thus, according to Online Courses as Learning Scripts, “certain pitfalls”, such

as “missing information, redundant information [and] poor transitions” were avoided.

As I used the storyboard, I considered its usefulness for working with a team of developers

as is often done in my department and realized that through the previously mentioned

benefits the storyboard is also an important tool for building consensus among a group of

course developers and is easy reference for anyone of the developers forgetting what may

have been decided on. This also happens regularly in my department. Moreover, the

storyboard can be used when the time for course modification arrives and if submitted

along with the course outline and other necessary documentation for a new course

approval, it can be evaluated by others sitting on departmental and campus review

committees.

While only a few benefits of using storyboards for planning are mentioned here, they are

certainly important ones to warrant the future and continued use of storyboards for

planning and designing online course shells.

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References

Online Courses as Learning Scripts: Using Storyboards in Online Course Design. Retrieved

from CUTL 5106 course material; Available at:

http://www.uwex.edu/disted/conference/Resource_library/proceedings/04_1130.pdf