No magic wand? No problem. Explore real-world strategies, including generative AI, to develop high-quality online courses quickly without sacrificing quality. After discussing templates, tools, and time-saving strategies, you will swap tips, share successes, and co-create ideas for fast, fabulous design. You will leave ready to Bippity-Boppity-Build your next course!

Bibbity-Bobbidy-Build: Online Courses at Magic Speed 

Objectives

1. Identify key strategies and tools that support efficient online course design and development. 

2. Evaluate trade-offs between speed and quality in fast-paced design projects. 

3. Compare time-saving approaches with peers to build a shared toolkit of effective practices in rapid online course development. 

4. Analyze your own workflow to identify opportunities for improvement and acceleration. 

5. Discuss solutions for rapid design challenges. 

Session Overview

In a world of tight deadlines and rising expectations, instructional designers (IDs) and video producers (VPs) are increasingly asked to deliver high-quality online courses - at near-magical speeds. We may not have fairy godmothers’ wands, but we do have powerful strategies, essential tools, a sprinkle of AI magic, and the collaborative energy of a community that transforms the impossible into the achievable. 

This session explores practical, scalable approaches to designing and developing online courses quickly without compromising quality. Drawing from our experiences in cross-functional teams, we will share our experiences for thriving when time is short, expectations are high, and quality must remain a priority. 

We will facilitate discussion on strategies for: 

• Streamlining design and production workflows 

• Leveraging technology, including generative AI, to accelerate content creation 

• Using templates, asset libraries, and pre-built interaction models 

• Navigating trade-offs between speed and quality. 

At the same time, we will candidly acknowledge limitations inherent in rapid development, such as: 

• Courses needing extensive accessibility remediation, which require additional time 

• Projects involving complex, media-rich, or graphic-heavy video production that require significant additional time and resources 

• Faculty or SMEs with limited online course development experience, who may need extra guidance and support 

• Innovative or complex course designs may not fit rapid-build models without significant adaptation 

Despite these constraints, instructional teams can still work smarter and build faster by strategically leveraging resources and support systems. During the session’s collaborative component, participants will: 

• Analyze their current workflows to identify opportunities for improvement and acceleration 

• Share effective time-saving tools and strategies from their own institutions or practices 

• Evaluate potential rapid-development bottlenecks and trade-offs between speed and quality 

• Co-create a practical “rapid design toolkit” filled with actionable solutions. 

This session directly addresses the real-world pressures that instructional design and media teams face in today’s fast-paced academic environments. As institutions expand their online offerings to meet evolving demands, the capability to efficiently design and produce courses, without sacrificing pedagogical or media quality, is critical. This session provides a space for engaging in honest reflection, peer-to-peer learning, and resource sharing, leaving participants equipped to tackle future rapid builds with strategy, creativity, and perhaps just a dash of sparkle.

Interactivity

Throughout the session, participants will actively engage through both small- and whole-group discussions. We will begin by polling the audience to identify participant roles and experience levels, and we will adapt discussions accordingly. Participants will then use pair-and-share and group activities to collaboratively explore key questions aligned with our objectives, such as: 

• What strategies, tools, or technologies (including AI) have helped you design and develop courses quickly without sacrificing quality? (1, 5)  

• How do you balance speed with instructional integrity, and what trade-offs have you made when working under tight deadlines? (2,4) 

• Which parts of your course design process take the most time, and how have you streamlined or prioritized tasks when time is limited? (1,4) 

• What are your top time-saving tips or “rapid design toolkit” items you would recommend to others, and what lessons have you learned from your experiences? (3,5) 

Connie Hahn

Lead Instructional Designer at Purdue University-Main Campus

Emily Craven

Video Production Specialist at Purdue University-Main Campus

Dr. Larissa Cremeens

Senior Instructional Designer at Purdue University-Main Campus