Overview
Online learners depend on course design far more than classroom learners do: they cannot ask a quick question at the end of a lecture, so navigation, instructions and feedback loops have to do that work. Good online courses are organized in predictable weekly or unit modules, state what students will learn and do, and include regular low-stakes activities that show both students and instructors where understanding is weak.
We follow a standard instructional design cycle — analysis, design, development, implementation and evaluation — adapted to your timeline. The subject matter expert (usually a faculty member) supplies content and makes academic decisions. We produce the course blueprint and storyboards, build the pages, activities, quizzes and gradebook in your LMS, and prepare accessible documents and media.
Before launch we review the course against an alignment and quality checklist informed by the Quality Matters Higher Education Rubric's eight general standard areas and test it against WCAG 2.2 Level AA success criteria for the content we create. Official Quality Matters certification requires a QM-managed peer review; we help you prepare for one but do not award it.
Who it’s for and the problems it solves
This is for you if you are…
- Universities launching online or blended versions of existing programs
- Faculty who must move a course online with limited instructional design support
- Teaching and learning centers needing overflow development capacity or a course template
- Training centers and professional bodies building self-paced or cohort-based courses
- Ministries and agencies developing online training for teachers or civil servants
Common problems we help with
- Course shells are dumping grounds of files with no clear path through the week
- Discussion boards are empty because the prompts invite nothing beyond 'I agree'
- Students complain they cannot find deadlines or know what is graded
- Scanned PDFs, uncaptioned videos and color-only charts create accessibility barriers
- Every instructor builds differently, so students relearn navigation in every course
- Online assessments are either easy to outsource or unfair under time limits
What’s included — and what isn’t
Included
- Course blueprint: outcomes, module structure, activities, assessments and estimated weekly workload
- Storyboards for each module showing content, interaction and assessment sequence
- LMS build in Moodle, Canvas or Blackboard (Original or Ultra course view): pages, modules, quizzes, assignments, discussion forums, rubrics and gradebook setup
- Reusable course template with consistent navigation, 'start here' module and instructor contact information
- Accessible document and media preparation: headings, alt text, captions and transcripts, contrast, tagged PDFs or HTML alternatives
- Interaction design: discussion prompts with clear expectations, peer review, group work structures and instructor presence plan
- Online assessment design that reduces opportunities for misconduct (authentic tasks, question pools, staged submissions)
- Pre-launch review against an alignment and quality checklist and a WCAG 2.2 AA spot check
- Instructor guide for running the course and a short LMS walkthrough session
Not included
- Teaching the course or moderating student forums
- Supplying disciplinary content without your subject matter expert's input and approval
- Awarding Quality Matters certification or formal accessibility conformance certificates
- LMS system administration, plugin installation or integrations that need your IT team's access
What you receive
- Course blueprint
- A one-document map of outcomes, modules, activities, assessments and workload, approved before any build starts.
- Module storyboards
- Page-by-page plans that the subject expert fills with or approves content.
- Built LMS course
- A complete course in your LMS or an exportable backup (for example a Moodle backup file or Canvas course export), ready for the instructor.
- Quality and accessibility review
- A checklist report with fixes made and any remaining items needing your decision or IT action.
- Instructor guide and template
- Running notes for each week and a reusable shell for future courses.
How it works
Discovery
We agree the delivery mode (fully online, blended, HyFlex), LMS, cohort profile, accessibility obligations and timeline with the program lead and subject expert.
Blueprint
Outcomes and assessments come first; module structure and activities follow. The blueprint is signed off by the subject expert.
Storyboard and content
The subject expert provides or reviews content module by module; we script, structure and prepare media and documents.
Build
We build in a development shell in your LMS, following the agreed template.
Review, pilot and handover
Quality and accessibility review, a student-view walkthrough or small pilot, fixes, then handover with the instructor guide.
Standards, models and platforms
- ADDIE and rapid prototyping
- A staged design cycle with a prototype module reviewed early, so feedback changes the design before the whole course is built.
- Quality Matters-informed review
- Checks across the rubric's general areas — overview, objectives, assessment, materials, interaction, technology, learner support and accessibility — with particular weight on alignment.
- WCAG 2.2 Level AA
- The current W3C Recommendation used as the benchmark for content we create: perceivable, operable, understandable and robust materials.
- Universal Design for Learning
- Multiple means of engagement, representation and expression, applied pragmatically (for example offering a transcript and a video, or two assessment formats).
- Community of Inquiry
- Designing for teaching, social and cognitive presence so online discussion and feedback are purposeful.
- LMS features
- Moodle activities and completion tracking, Canvas modules and requirements, Blackboard Learn course views, question banks and pools, rubrics and gradebook categories.
Designing for the week, not the file
Each module follows a predictable rhythm: an overview with outcomes, a short sequence of content chunks, an activity that makes students use the ideas, and a check for understanding with feedback. Consistency across modules reduces cognitive load, so students spend effort on the subject rather than on finding things.
- Module overview: what you will learn, what you will do, what is due
- Short videos (usually under ten minutes) or readings with guiding questions
- An applied activity or discussion with a clear deliverable
- A low-stakes quiz or reflection with automatic or instructor feedback
Accessibility is built in, not bolted on
Retrofitting accessibility is slow and expensive. We create documents with real headings, write alt text as we insert images, caption video from the start and avoid conveying meaning through color alone. Where your existing materials include scanned or third-party content, we list what needs remediation or licensing so you can plan it.
Assessment integrity online
Remote proctoring is only one option and raises privacy and equity questions. We favor designs that make misconduct harder and less useful: tasks grounded in local or personal data, staged submissions with drafts, oral follow-ups, randomized question pools for knowledge checks and clear rules on generative AI use.
What the work can look like
Illustrative example — fictional data
Illustrative excerpt: module blueprint row
A fictional 5-ECTS online postgraduate module, 'Leading Change in Schools', delivered in Moodle over ten weeks. Details are invented to show the blueprint format.
Week 4 plan
Outcome: analyze resistance to change using two models. Content: two 8-minute videos and one case reading. Activity: small-group forum analyzing a case with an assigned role. Check: 6-question quiz drawn from a 20-item pool. Estimated workload: 12 hours.
Alignment note
The forum task rehearses the analysis required in Assignment 2 (policy memo, 40%) and uses the same rubric criteria in simplified form.
Accessibility actions
Case reading re-created as tagged HTML; videos captioned and transcripts provided; forum instructions include word range and deadline in text, not only in the calendar.
Illustrative example with invented details; real blueprints follow your LMS, program and policies.
What you’ll need to provide
- A subject matter expert with scheduled time for content and review
- Existing course materials (slides, notes, readings, assessments)
- Access to a development shell in your LMS, or an agreement to build in a sandbox and export
- Institutional accessibility, copyright and AI-use policies
- Any branding or course template standards
You don’t need everything ready to ask for a quote — tell us what you have and we’ll say what’s missing.
What affects price and turnaround
Price depends on
- Course length and credit value, and the number of modules
- Amount and state of existing content (ready to use, needs restructuring, or to be created with the subject expert)
- Media production required: recorded lectures, animations, interactive elements
- Accessibility remediation of existing third-party or scanned materials
- LMS and whether we build directly in your system or in a sandbox for export
Turnaround depends on
- Subject matter expert availability, usually the main constraint
- Access to the LMS development environment and any IT approvals
- Launch date; building while teaching is possible but riskier
Every project is quoted individually. How we price our work.
Questions people ask before starting
Which LMS do you work in?
Moodle, Canvas and Blackboard are the most common. We can build directly in your development environment with a designer account, or in a sandbox and deliver a course export for your team to restore. Other platforms can be discussed at scoping.
Will our course be Quality Matters certified?
Certification is awarded only through an official QM course review. We design and review against QM-style standards so your course is well prepared, but we cannot promise the outcome of a QM review.
Who owns the course materials?
Ownership and licensing are set in the contract; typically the institution owns the built course and the faculty member's intellectual property rules apply to content they author. We respect third-party copyright and flag materials that need licensing.
Can you record the lecture videos?
We can script, storyboard and edit lecture videos and advise on simple recording setups. Filming on-site depends on scope. Recorded lectures are also available as a separate presentations service.
How much of the subject expert's time is needed?
Expect regular review sessions throughout development plus time to supply or approve content. The more existing material you have, the less time is needed.
Do you check accessibility of the whole LMS?
We check the course content we create against WCAG 2.2 AA criteria. The accessibility of the LMS platform itself is the vendor's and your IT team's responsibility.