Thus far, I have not utilized or even reviewed instructional design templates in the work I’ve been involved in. In preparation for this assignment, I spent a lot of time reviewing instructional design templates and getting an understanding of why they are important and how they differ from the storyboarding task that I just recently began to appreciate.

The group I’m currently working with uses a “needs assessment” form, but it doesn’t really assess anything so much as it is a request form and list of contacts and basic course objectives. We also have not taken on any courses where branching was the optimal way to present the content.

That being said, I feel that I now have a better sense of the importance of using an instructional design document, and not just for branching scenarios thought I cannot imagine creating branching without planning out the flow and process of the overall course first.

Using an Instructional Design Document

Considering that the needs assessment document I’m most familiar with does not go into significant detail beyond learning objectives and what existing content there is to work from, I’m seeing a number of areas of our course creation that would benefit from even the most basic instructional design document for courses that are more than about 10 screens.

While learning objectives are clearly a key point that the course revolves around and is measured by, a course is not created from learning objectives alone.

Some of areas this needs assessment is missing include project context, development time estimates, a description of learners beyond title or department, any design specific notes (i.e., inclusion of audio/video and interactions), and an outline (unless provided in another form).

One area I’ve seen negatively impacted by lack of consideration prior to course development are assessments – sure, we know we’re going to have a quiz or knowledge check, but it doesn’t seem like any time is spent considering exactly what questions to ask and how to ask them. Some of our courses don’t require complex questions, but some of them do require showing some amount of consideration beyond just remembering a specific response. I believe quite a number of courses would benefit from some early consideration of those knowledge checks.

You Must Plan to Branch

If you don’t know exactly where you’re going, how do you know if you ever really get there? If you didn’t have a map app on your phone and you wanted to drive to San Francisco, where would you start?

The same is true when creating an eLearning branching course. You won’t be very successful or productive if you just sit down with Storyline and decide it’s time to work on this project. If you don’t, in advance of development, have at least a basic outline of where the branching is going to happen, how it’s going to happen, and how you’re going to help keep learners moving forward, you’ll be lost.

This level of planning helps you fully think out the scenario and make sure all aspects and possibilities are addressed. Learner feedback should also be incorporated into this planning.

My Next Steps

I still have some noodling around with how to integrate this into my work and making sure it sticks. I also need to compile my thoughts about what I might want out of an instructional design document and put together something that flows for my work.

Obviously not every course warrants the creation of a full-blown instructional design document, but I think if I start reviewing the information on what I create as part of a new course I will find more use for it and be able to modify it so that it works for me. I think for my long-term ID success it behooves me to adopt some of these new-to-me aspects of course creation.

The creation of effective quiz questions can be challenging, and I hope that by having these detailed documents will help create quality questions, and also be able to provide solid feedback during the course and quiz activities.

I’m also going to take a page from my thoughts about storyboarding and incorporate some color into my instructional design document to help me keep things organized and consistent.

References

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Elkins, D. (October 21, 2019). Resources for Creating Branching Scenarios. http://elearninguncovered.com/2019/10/resources-for-creating-branching-scenarios/.

F.Learning Studio. (June 25, 2021). Best Instructional Design Document Templates You Shouldn’t Miss. https://flearningstudio.com/best-instructional-design-document-templates-you-shouldnt-miss/.

Forgacs, V. (n.d.). Door opening on dark room image. https://unsplash.com/photos/iDF0FXUxGhE.

Gutierrez, K. (2018). 8 Templates and Cheat Sheets Every eLearning Professional Needs. https://www.shiftelearning.com/blog/templates-and-cheat-sheets-elearning.

Habeeb Omer, A. (November 12, 2016). An Outline for Creating an Instructional Design Document. https://elearningindustry.com/outline-creating-instructional-design-document.

Hill, D. (July 26, 2019). How to Create a Brilliant Branching Scenario. https://www.elucidat.com/blog/simple-branching-scenarios/.

Holt, K. (March 15, 2021). Do You Really Need a Course Design Document? https://scissortailcs.com/do-you-really-need-a-course-design-document/.

iSpring Solutions. (January 20, 2022). Scenario-Based Learning 101: Beginner’s Guide. https://www.ispringsolutions.com/blog/scenario-based-learning.

Karaolis, S. (January 23, 2019). 5 Brilliant Examples of Branching in Elearning: Branching Scenario Examples and More. https://www.elucidat.com/blog/branching-elearning-examples/.

Perkins, P. (n.d.). Post-it photo. https://unsplash.com/photos/ETRPjvb0KM0.

Randall, E. (May 30, 2019). 6 Steps for Creating Branching Scenarios for Business eLearning. https://blog.gutenberg-technology.com/en/6-steps-for-creating-branching-scenarios-for-business-elearning.

Rathi, A. (n.d.). Steps and doors photo. https://www.pexels.com/photo/brown-concrete-door-925067/.

Slade, T. (August 12, 2021). How to Create an Instructional Design Document. https://elearningacademy.io/blog/how-to-create-an-instructional-design-document/.

Snegirev, S. (October 31, 2016). Branching Scenarios: What You Need to Know. https://elearningindustry.com/branching-scenarios-need-know.

Whybrow, L. (April 10, 2015). Branching Scenario eLearning: 5 Killer Examples. https://elearningindustry.com/branching-scenario-elearning-5-killer-examples.