Skip to Main Content

Building Online Scenarios for Library Instruction

Online scenario based instruction can provide a way for librarians to access the critical thinking skills and user thought processes of students by having them "choose their own adventure" as they navigate through an information need. Similar to simulatio

General Advice

  1. Start with a focused learning outcome that is "doable". 
  2. Create a story and/or game - keep it fun.
  3. Have a 'winning' outcome, a middle outcome, and a failure outcome along a spectrum.
  4. The student can be asked to go through a situation from an 'evil' perspective, to learn how scammers for example operate and thus learn to avoid them.
  5. Keep it simple - too complicated a scenario can be hard to build and create fatigue in the student.
  6. Chunk the scenario so that there are stages of play.  Branch inside each chunk and then bring them back together for the next part.
  7. Storyboard, storyboard, storyboard!