Course Outline

What is a course outline?

A course outline is a general plan of an online course that structures the learning experience in a logical order. Instructional designers use course outlines to provide a roadmap of the course, including learning objectives, multimedia elements, assessments, and the individual chapters or lessons to be covered. A start to finish vision of student learning helps L&D teams create more engaging, effective courses. 

Example: Our L&D team produces course outlines so that all key stakeholders can review, edit, and approve course objectives and content before publishing. 

What are the benefits of a course outline?

The course outline is an important step in the course creation process. Starting with a course outline helps instructional designers save time on course development. The training course outline process ensures that all key stakeholders—SMEs, instructional designers, managers, and learners—are all on the same page before a course is published. Expected learning outcomes are clear and course content is mapped out, which makes course authoring more efficient. 

How to create an effective course outline

To create an effective course outline, define your expected learning outcomes. What do you want your learners to be able to do or understand at the end of the online course? Match learning outcomes to organizational goals. Use logical sequencing—identify and describe what each lesson or module covers and achieves, like a course syllabus would. 

Within each lesson, include interactives and assessments. Will you use drag-and-drop activities, branching scenarios, or labeled graphics with hotspots? Whatever multimedia elements you choose, make sure they have a clear purpose. Lastly, keep your course outline clear and readable for all key stakeholders. Use clear headings, short descriptions, and bulleted lists for easy scannability.

Now, with Articulate’s AI Assistant, you can create a course outline—and a full course draft—from old source material or prompt in just a few minutes.