Anne Carlsen
When designing a course, the designer must be careful that the project does not go off the rails and deviate from the goals and objectives. If there are a lot of moving parts, it is easy to lose track and fall victim to scope creep. This is where an alignment chart shines.
An alignment chart is a good way to make sure a design stays within scope. It also connects specific activities to terminal and enabling objectives to make sure that every objective is addressed in the course. The best way to start with an alignment chart is to work backward, that is to say start with the assessment(s) and build out activities that provide the information needed to complete the assessment, which in turn should answer learning objectives.
After creating assessments in the alignment chart, activities are developed from Horton’s framework: Absorb, Do, and Connect (2011). With careful planning, fleshing out these activities will ensure the course flows smoothly and makes sense to the learner. In this course, the Cyber Safety project portion featured in the alignment chart features the portion of the training focused on scams and passwords.
Horton, W. (2011). E-Learning by design. John Wiley & Sons.
