Project CW-2019

ENG 2250: Five Weeks of Creative Writing Online

summer 2019

Challenge: Design and teach a condensed, 5-week Introduction to Creative Writing course for a diverse, two-year college using Blackboard as the LMS. The course had no live meetings, but deadlines needed to stay aligned with the semester schedule. With only a brief catalog description to go on, I needed to create an engaging, easy-to-navigate online experience that gave students clear structure, consistent pacing, and meaningful opportunities to explore creative writing in a short time frame.

Google Sites & Blackboard

Solution: Drawing on my own experience as a writer and teacher, I built a five-unit course that guided students through the major creative writing genres—one unit per week. Each module in Blackboard included three key due dates to help students stay on track, while the rhythm of weekly readings, writing exercises, and reflections kept energy and focus high.

My goals were simple but intentional:

Give students a “taste” of each genre through strong, approachable examples.
Highlight the craft elements that connect all genres—like word choice, perspective, and tone.
Encourage a personal writing process they could carry forward beyond the course.

Assignments combined short readings, directed creative practice, and reflective writing. For the final project, students compiled and revised three original pieces into a “Final Manuscript” accompanied by a personal reflection on their growth and goals as writers.

To make navigation seamless, I designed a custom Blackboard course menu built around the weekly units, each with its own learning objectives and table of contents. I also created an accompanying Google Site that served as a central hub for the syllabus, calendar, and key resources—something students could easily return to throughout the course.

Visit the Google Site

BONUS Design Elements

This short Creative Writing course is only one course over the last 14 years teaching writing and developing my own unique curriculum through backwards design and scaffolding. I’ve developed courses that move students through building their own websites and blogs, and I’ve worked as a consultant within multiple project courses revolving around student publications, such as literary journals and informative websites. I’ve most enjoyed providing “exploratory” writing assignments, allowing students to choose their own topic and the direction of their research and discovery, assigning reflective essays as a part of the assignment in which they reflect upon the steps they’ve taken and new questions they have discovered. I have continuously revised my courses, surveying my students and inviting feedback from them in forms and through open forums. Here, I’m sharing three additional elements I’ve created and used in my courses to improve upon direction and assessment.