Instructional Design & Consultation Services for Canvas LMS
Simple, Efficient, Customized Solutions
Need Help with Online Learning & Canvas LMS?
We Provide Complete Instructional Design and Consultation Services for Higher Education.
Whether you’re launching new academic curricula, meeting course development requirements for a grant, or upskilling your workforce, our services ensure accessible, engaging, and results-driven courses tailored to your needs. Explore how we can transform your vision into reality below.
Developing online course shouldn’t take months. Who wants to keep working on the same project that long? We solve the common pain point of long development times that delay your program launches, drain resources, and frustrate stakeholders. Our streamlined process can deliver a fully functional course within as little as 4 weeks.
Say goodbye to prolonged timelines and hello to rapid, impactful online learning experiences.
The Pain Points
Traditional course development often stretches over 6 months due to content creation hurdles. Many universities find themselves sending course development requests to individual in-house instructional designers (IDs) that often juggle multiple projects for various programs/schools, reducing course design output and quality.
Data suggests IDs spend only 50-60% of their time on actual course design work.
Without efficient project management, and standardized workflows, many in-house instructional design departments waste time and resources.
This leads to missed opportunities in fully engaging with SMEs, delayed course launches, extended build timeframes, and low course output.
The Solution
Let us help tighten up your online course processes from consultation to course development! We apply a unique, agile methodology that compresses the timeline without compromising quality.
We handle everything from auditing courses for quality and accessibility, improving productivity within design departments, developing courses with SMEs/faculty, training IDs how to work with SMEs, or even providing fully managed services within your institution to work with SMEs to deliver ready-to-launch online courses in as little as 4 weeks!
Don’t know how to write course content, no problem!
We are here to help and guide. With over 20 years in higher education, we can help you curate and create content to make creative learning experiences that align with program and course level objectives.
From Concept to Launch in 4 Weeks
We understand your already over-busy life juggling multiple responsibilities including teaching, grant writing,
departmental reports, and other administrative responsibilities, publishing, attending conferences, and trying to maintain work/life balance does not give you months and months to develop a course.
After working with various universities and organizations and observing all kinds of course development models, we have created a unique and streamlined approach to help you get your course built and launched within a month!
Discover Our DCBI Design Model
We don't think course development should be a daunting experience that takes months to complete. So...we created our own Instructional Design Model called DCBI, based on over two decades of experience working with multiple universities and organizations offering online courses and professional development. Our method streamlines development and ensures universal design and accessibility compliance—all in just 4 weeks.
Week 1: Discovery
We align on goals, map the course, and start sourcing content (e.g., your materials, research, input). We create a schedule for sourcing content to ensure the build stays on track. We also provide content sourcing worksheets to help you share your brilliance, research, and field specific content so we can build it into the course!
Week 2: Content Creation & Curation
We provide you with guidance on developing content and recreating it into learning experiences. We refine content, blending your resources with custom multimedia and design techniques and partner with you or your Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) to apply their insights and expertise to ensure impact. We can use various forms of content to develop your course.
Week 3: Build
We construct the course to meet accessibility standards, add engaging elements, and ease of navigation including grading rubrics, outcomes assessment, digital badges (if available), certificates, and facilitation guides. We construct the course in your Canvas LMS, integrating rich content, multimedia, accessible modules, quizzes, grading rubrics, embedded outcomes assessments, and creative learning activities tailored to learners.
Week 4: Iterate
We provide a prototype of the course and go through several iterations to ensure you are satisfied with the look and feel of the product. We test and make adjustments with stakeholders to refine the design and ensure functionality based on feedback to prepare for a smooth launch. If you need your course facilitators trained, we can offer that service as well!
Why Choose Us?
We specialize in creating engaging and accessible courses in Canvas LMS, tailored for higher education and corporate training. Our consultants have extensive experience supporting universities and organizations nationwide, leveraging best practices to ensure learner success and rapid delivery.
Accessibility & Universal Design
We design courses to be inclusive, meeting ADA and WCAG standards so every learner can thrive.
Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
Offer content in multiple formats (text, audio, visuals) to support diverse learners, from neurodiverse students to global corporate teams to boost engagement and accommodates varied learning styles.
Screen Reader Optimization
Use structured headings and semantic HTML for seamless navigation. Benefit: Enhances accessibility for visually impaired users, ensuring compliance and equity.
Modern, Intuitive Look
Our courses feature clean, professional layouts to keep learners motivated and focused.
Sleek, Branded Aesthetics
Incorporate interactive elements and your branding for a polished look. Benefit: Reduces cognitive overload, improving retention by up to 30%.
Streamlined Navigation
Organize content with clear modules and intuitive pathways. Benefit: Speeds completion, ideal for time-sensitive academic or corporate settings.
Built for Engagement
We integrate active learning tools to make courses interactive and effective.
Multimedia Integration
Embed videos, podcasts, and simulations. Benefit: Enhances knowledge retention by 40-60%, per e-learning research.
Collaborative Tools
Include forums, group projects, and peer reviews. Benefit: Fosters community and builds teamwork skills for students and professionals.
Creative & Authentic Assessments
Our courses align with your goals through strategic evaluation opportunities:
Formative and Summative Assessments
Design quizzes, assignments, and rubrics linked to program outcomes. Benefit: Supports accreditation for higher ed or ROI tracking for corporate training, with automated data collection via Canvas.
Choice
Give students a choice of how they will demonstrate mastery of the learning outcome with flex assignments.
Authentic
Make your assessments relevant to adult learners by focusing on field specific scenarios in quizzes, assignments, and discussions.
Tailored Customization
We align courses with your brand and systems for seamless integration.
Branded Customizations
Reflect your institutional or corporate identity. Benefit: Builds trust and a professional learner experience.
LMS Integration
Leverage Canvas tools (e.g., LTIs, Outcomes Assessment) for scalability and compliance. Streamlines workflows and ensures GDPR/FERPA readiness.
Grant Work
We specialize in working with academics who have received grants and need courses built to satisfy the requirements.
Digital Credentials
Need to issue digital badges. Let our team offer suggestions that fit with your budget and infrastructure.
Subscription Based Pricing
Instructional Design Services
Tier 1: Essentials (Instructional Design)
Description
Entry-level access for foundational course building with accessibility. Suited for smaller schools or organizations in edtech.
Key Features
1 course development per month/12 courses per year.
Faculty guides for facilitation.
Rubrics for all graded assessments.
Priority email support.
2 rounds of revision
Cost
$5,900/month ($70,800/year)
Media production (e.g., custom videos or interactives ) + $1,200 per media piece.
Annual Perks
Free annual accessibility/quality audit for up to 5 additional courses.
Tier 2: Enhanced (Instructional Design)
Description
Mid-tier for assessment-focused ongoing design. Ideal for programs emphasizing student outcomes and data.
Key Features
All Level I features.
2 courses/updates per month/ 24 courses per year.
Embedded Program Level Outcomes Assessments.
Custom assessment tools and reporting templates.
Monthly check-in calls.
3 rounds of revision
Cost
$11,800/month ($141,60/year)
Media production (e.g., custom videos or interactives ) + $1,200 per media piece.
Annual Perks
Essentials Perks+
2 free training webinars per year.
Access to our resource library (templates, guides).
Tier 3: Premium (Instructional Design)
Description
Top-tier for full multimedia and comprehensive support. For ambitious schools wanting cutting-edge, media-rich courses.
Key Features
All Level II features.
3 course developments per month/ 36 per year.
Dedicated project manager.
Cost
$16,583/month ($199,000/year)
Media production (e.g., custom videos or interactives ) + $1,200 per media piece.
Annual Perks
Enhanced Perks +
Annual accessibility/quality audit for up to 10 courses.
Access to beta features + co-branded case study for marketing.
Consultation Services
Tier 1: Foundational (Consultation)
Description
Light-touch ongoing audits and basic advice, with introductory project management and revisions. For institutions with established teams needing spot-checks on limited budgets or those in need deeper insights into their course development processes.
Key Features & Pain Points Addressed
Monthly audit of 4 courses + iterative adjustment recommendations (design, accessibility, navigation, quality, engagement, and experience).
Project management: Basic tracking and coordination support.
Guidance on revision basics (e.g., version control best practices tailored to current systems/budgets).
Email/phone support for accessibility or branding queries.
Address outdated materials, tech limitations, minor workflow issues.
20 hours/month
Cost
$3,000/month ($36,000/year)
Annual Perks
Quarterly annual needs assessment report with suggestions for optimization.
Tier 2: Growth (Consultation)
Description
Proactive process building and optimizations, including mid-level project management. For growing departments combating inefficiency within reasonable financial constraints.
Key Features & Pain Points Addressed
All Basic Features +
Monthly audits of 6 courses + iterative recommendations.
Project management & workflow refinements with project management tool of your choice and milestone monitoring.
ID team coaching & Training on UDL, engagement strategies, and revision setups based on existing systems/budgets (e.g., scalable low-cost iterations).
Address learner motivation, faculty resistance, time pressures, version mismatches.
40 hours/month.
Cost
$6,000/month | $72,000/year
Annual Perks
Basic Perks+
2 free workshops
Project management templates
Tier 3: Innovation (Consultation)
Description
Full advisory for transformation and innovation, with advanced project management and customized revisions. For ambitious institutions reimagining education while respecting budgets
Key Features & Pain Points Addressed
All Growth Features +
Weekly consultations + audits of 10 courses per month.
Project management & comprehensive oversight, including dashboards and stakeholder alignment.
End-to-end department optimization.
Setup/reimagination, AI integration pilots, and revision processes adapted to systems/budgets.
Addresses all pain points: engagement, career readiness, infrastructure, support lacks, scaling challenges.
80 hours/month.
Cost
$12,000/month | $144,000/year
Media production (e.g., custom videos or interactives )+1,200 per media piece.
Annual Perks
Unlimited access to premium resources +
Innovation projects (e.g., pilot AI tools, automated course requests, course development and textbook edition tracker).
Comprehensive Instructional Design + Consultation
Tier 4: Enterprise (Consultation & Instructional Design)
Description
Complete outsourcing to manage all course developments institution-wide, plus full consultation. This tier addresses high staffing costs and expertise gaps to establish foundational knowledge and inspire innovation.
Designed to replace 3-4 in-house Instructional Designers (IDs), providing high-value expertise at a fraction of multiple full-time salaries (e.g., equivalent to $320k-$450,000 in-house costs).
Key Features & Pain Points Addressed
Full management of institution-wide course developments.
From ideation to deployment, including audits, revisions, and high-volume output of up to 50 courses/year.
Advanced project management dedicated coordinator for course revision process, using tools tailored to your systems.
Holistic consultation to inspire departmental reimagination of processes or full replacement strategies, textbook/control processes, accessibility overhauls, and budget-optimized suggestions (e.g., cost-saving tech stacks).
Scalable support for new online program expansions, faculty training, instructional designer training.
Provide process for digital badge integration (based on institution access)
Review of current process and proposed scalable process for embedding program level outcomes assessment within courses.
Automated workflows—ideal for institutions seeking turnkey solutions without overhead.
Cost
$24,590/month | $295,000/year
Media production (e.g., custom videos or interactives )+1,200 per media piece.
Annual Perks
Dedicated account manager
Annual ROI report (e.g., savings vs. in-house department)
Success metrics and course lifecycle tracking (development/revision) for accreditation.
Our Vision & Leadership
This venture to offer quality instructional design and consultation services by educators for educators in the Fall 2025. It was created out of a comprehensive understanding of pain points universities and organizations offering online education struggle with! Our team is led by Traci Frees, Sr. Instructional Designer and Educational Consultant offering expertise to various universities and organizations over the last 20 years.
Using ADDIE and SAM models, she created a new instructional design process (DCBI) to make the most efficient use of SME and instructional designer interests, skills, and time. Over the years, she has served as department chair, faculty, associate director of instructional design, and senior instructional designer for various universities including University of California, Azusa Pacific University, Auburn University, and others. In 2020, Traci also founded WorkForceRemote.org, a professional development training organization. She now leads this crew to help make your vision for the future of education for your institution a reality!
What Others Say About Our Work
Academic Course | Canvas LMS
My most recent engagement with Traci involved one of my courses, which lacked a master template (dev master) and needed to be built from scratch. Traci helped me every step along the way, using her vast knowledge and advanced skills in Canvas, and performed flawlessly. Her on-the-spot attitude and willingness to go the extra mile (with a smile) made the difference. Traci not only helped me but also many students.
Her attention to detail and technical know-how enabled me to launch my class on time, which would have been an issue without her attention to my needs.
Traci has a highly positive attitude and treats her customers with respect and caring. There is never a “bad” time for her as she will always make room to help. Her technical skills and speed of service were astonishing. Simply put, Traci works extremely fast and knows exactly what she is doing. Her ability to collaborate and get the job done reflected her level of professionalism and zeal. It was an extreme pleasure to work with her, and I will feel much safer with a professional like Traci ready to assist.
University Nursing Grant Course | Canvas LMS
Her standout strength was her Canvas expertise, as she secured internal permissions for advanced features, allowing external students to enroll seamlessly and implementing automated data collection for unbiased student feedback.
Traci’s collaborative and proactive approach ensured a stress-free process, bypassing roadblocks to keep the project ahead of schedule.
The result was a dynamic, well-received course with smooth enrollment and accurate data collection, making it an empowering and efficient experience for all involved.
