morroneQH


Journal of Teaching and Learning with Technology, Vol. 1, No. 1, June 2012, pp. 61 – 62. 

Storyboarding with PowerPoint to bring cases, case problems, and 
course content to life 

 
Michael Morrone1 

 
Keywords: PowerPoint, engagement, case studies, storyboard 
 
Framework 
The case method is widely used in business, law and other disciplines as a way of 
contextualizing course content.  Most commonly, cases are delivered as paper descriptions of 
problems that arise in the field being studied.  The case method leads to student engagement as 
students use course content to understand and to propose solutions to real world problems.  
Technological developments, however, empower teachers to easily move away from paper 
presentation of cases and to bring cases to life with multi-media elements.   
 
 
Making it Work 
 
In order to integrate course readings and a business case for my Business Communication class, I 
use a storyboard approach in PowerPoint (sample screenshots left and below).  The case 
discussed here includes five acts (modules) and centers on potential problems a jeweler faces 
because unscrupulous diamond vendors still find ways to sell conflict diamonds to jewelers.    

The first slide of each act includes a link to a discussion of learning objectives presented 
in print and audio.  As the students read the act, they discover other embedded links in the story.   
Pictures (all pictures are royalty free) of corporate offices, jewelry stores, etc. were used to create 
context and setting.  Characters (again royalty free pictures were used) involved in the case 
converse with each other.  Links to course content appear in conversation and thought bubbles, 
computer screens, and work files pictured in the act.  For example, in the first act the executives  

	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  
1 Senior Lecturer, Kelley School of Business, Indiana University, mmorrone@indiana.edu 



Morrone, M. 

Journal of Teaching and Learning with Technology, Vol. 1, No. 1, June 2012. 
jotlt.indiana.edu	
  

62 

 
at a regional jewelry chain begin to deal with fallout from a 60-Minutes episode featuring the 
arrest of one of the jeweler’s diamond vendors.  The students see the executives in a conference  
room discussing the company’s public image crisis and a potential ethical lapse.  The students 
click on the computer screen in the conference room and it shows a video that discusses crisis 
communication.  As the story develops, the students become a part of the story as their 
assignments represent the company’s attempts to deal with the crisis. 

 
Implications 
 
In class students take a readiness assurance quiz regarding course content.  In follow up class 
days we apply and generalize the course content to other business contexts.  Culminating 
assignments for each act and the class as a whole relate to the storyboarded case.  This approach 
allowed me to create one storyline and easily use the case in class.  Students showed enthusiasm 
for the case by learning character names and discussing, sometimes with surprise, the ways 
business messages have to change depending on purpose, audience, and channel.  In general, the 
engagement with the lifelike story helped students remain engaged in the course and course 
content, while connecting course content to a variety of business situations.    

This approach to case/course delivery can easily be replicated for other cases and classes 
in other disciplines.