Architects prepare blueprints before contractors set about building houses or office towers. Engineers prepare schematics before technicians construct complex machinery. The same process holds in eLearning development. As Adeboye (2014) explains, without preparing a map of what an online module should look like, it’s easy to suffer from scope creep (the scope of the project continuously growing because there are now criteria to indicate what needs to be done, and when it is done). It’s also possible for you, as a developer, to get lost and start feeling over your head. Adeboye also describes some of the key components that you should be including in a storyboard for an online teaching module.

Gutierrez (2014) provides some more useful tips on how to get started in her article A Simple Guide to Creating Your First eLearning Storyboard.  More recently, Slade (2019) described The 3 Types of eLearning Storyboards, and provided advice on choosing the right type for your project.

Using a Storyboard for a Pilot Testing Project

Measure Twice, Cut Once (Power, 2025)

In this video, Power (2025) discusses the importance of blueprinting and pilot testing in the instructional design process for online learning. Power compares the blueprinting process with that of planning to build a house, and discusses why instructional designers select a smaller “chunk” of a larger course to design, build, and pilot test before building an entire course.

Prepare Your Module Storyboard

Now that you have done your pre-planning and perhaps even created a module outline or syllabus, it’s time to map out what your unit should look like. Prepare a module storyboard that could guide you, or any other content developer, through building the module according to your needs and specifications.

Review Penn State (2016)’s Course Blueprint and Audit Template. Penn State provides downloadable blueprint templates that you can use to complete this part of your Project Plan. Or, you could download one of my Sample Blueprint Templates. Alternatively, you could create your own template or use one from your institution.

Sample Blueprint Templates

• Word (.docx) Blueprint Template
• 13-Week Canvas Course Blueprint Template (Excel)
• 13-Week Moodle Course Blueprint Template (Excel)

A Worked Example

The following is a worked example of a blueprint for one of my graduate-level instructional design for online teaching and learning courses. In this example, created using the Excel-based Canvas Course Blueprint Template, I have completed the details for just one of the six weeks for this (compressed) six-week intersession course (which is what I would ask participants to prepare before starting to develop their ID projects).

• Worked Example (using Excel Template)

Additional Resources

The following video resources provide additional perspectives on the storyboarding or blueprinting process.

Unit Planning: Organizing Course Content (Ascuena, 2011)

How Can I Use an eLearning Storyboard to Improve My Courses? (Neovaton Learning Solutions, 2023)

What’s The Story Behind Storyboarding? (InSyncTrainingLLC, 2017)

References

Adeboye, D. (2014, Oct 21). Principles of Storyboarding for e-Learning design. https://youtu.be/l9PZ2bEuKFA

Ascuena, A. (2011, May 4). Unit Planning: Organizing Course Content. https://youtu.be/geEYjQmzAno

Gutierrez, K. (2014, September 25). A Simple Guide to Creating Your First eLearning Storyboard [Web log post]. http://info.shiftelearning.com/blog/a-simple-guide-to-creating-your-first-elearning-storyboardLinks to an external site.

InSyncTrainingLLC (2017, July 20). What’s the Story Behind Storyboarding? https://youtu.be/mvy5bkjPcjk

Neovation Learning Solutions (2023, March 30). How can I use an eLearning storyboard to improve my courses? [Video]. https://youtu.be/aMYqkz0dEVg

Penn State. (2016). Course Blueprint and Audit Template. http://facdev.e-education.psu.edu/plan/audit

Power, R. (2025, February 26). Measure Once, Cut Twice. [Video]. https://youtu.be/EEXDLs96_X4

Slade, T. (2019, June 1). The 3 types of eLearning storyboards & when to use them. Tim Slade. https://timslade.com/blog/types-of-elearning-storyboards/