How to create a successful online course from scratch in 7 steps
How to create a successful online course from scratch in 7 steps
Online learning has taken over the world and has become our new norm. For students, this is a convenient format that allows them to be mobile and save time. And for schools - a way to scale business and reduce the cost of organizing the educational process. If you are planning to transition to online education, this guide will help you choose the right LMS (learning management system) for your business.
We will talk in detail about how to choose the best LMS, learning management system features, benefits, and it will serve as an LMS features checklist.
The topic of the course depends on two factors. On the one hand, you need to teach what you are competent in. On the other hand, it is important to make sure that the chosen topic will be relevant and interesting to a wide range of people. In order to figure it out you can:
If you have chosen and approved the topic, you can proceed to the analysis of the target audience. In order to do this, you need to answer several important questions:
Online learning is a format for the disciplined. No one is standing over your shoulder, and curators usually connect only when students begin to excessively skip classes. Unfortunately, this happens quite often. Learning new things is not easy and any complex topic can greatly undermine your commitment.
In order for people to sign up for classes and reach the finish, you need to motivate them and convey the value of the courses in advance. How exactly will the new knowledge help to change ones life for the better? For example, if you conduct courses for testers, tell them that this is the most affordable way to enter the IT sphere and in the future they can grow into a demanded developer. And the main value of the SMM course is that it will help you get an actual profession, choose projects to your liking and work remotely from anywhere in the world.
Curriculum developers (methodologists) understand that a well-thought-out structure brings 80% success. There is even a separate discipline in the educational environment - educational design. In fact, this is the creation of the architecture of classes. To plan a course, you need to determine the needs of students in advance and meet them as you study. The sequence of lessons is also very important. So that people feel progress, do not forget to complicate tasks.
A storyboard will help you create a complete picture of the course and think over a lesson plan. This tool is very popular among screenwriters and animators. Your task is to break the course into modules and blocks, picture them in the form of graphic sketches and arrange them in chronological order. The storyboard can reflect not only the curriculum map, but also the learning goals, as well as the skills that students will receive after each lesson.
We are unlikely to surprise anyone if we say that the best format for online courses is a video. Allan Pease, a classic communication theorist, claims that we are able to remember only 10% of what we read and 50% of what we see. It turns out that showing is always more effective than telling. Therefore, recording high-quality video tutorials with a lecturer will be an excellent solution. It is also worth trying to reanimate existing content. If you have shot videos for YouTube, recorded webinars, live broadcasts or podcasts, feel free to adopt them.
In general, any interactive learning format works perfectly in e-learning. Tests, games, animation, gamification - all this turns the study into an exciting quest that you want to go through to the end.
Learning management services are called LMS platforms (learning management system). These are cloud-based programs where you can download and play content, monitor progress and analyze student performance. Also, many LMS platforms for education have a convenient online school constructor. Do you know programs like Tilda or Wix in which you can build your own website? It's about the same here. In these programs, you can build a structured course with a beautiful visual without involving a development team. To do this, the services have block templates for different types of educational content - tests, simulators, articles, video tutorials.
Some programs have additional useful functions. For example, in the MOST Technology platform, in addition to the designer, there is a personal account for teachers and students, a built-in tool for sending emails and a CRM system. This platform is one of the best LMS software for education.
The online format allows you not to limit the number of students. The more people find out about your course, the more profit you will get. We have collected ways that are definitely worth trying:
Let's summarize the results. To transition to training online, you need to move consistently. Start by searching for a topic that will interest potential students, analyze the target audience and competitors, and formulate the value of your project. Remember that what is best LMS for schools might not be the best LMS for small businesses. Pay maximum attention to the development of the course structure and lesson plan and think over the content formats that you will use. Monitor the best LMS for continuing education platform, identify the features you need and select the appropriate option. And before launching the course, use as many sites for promotion as possible.
We hope that our step-by-step instructions will help you successfully launch your courses. And if you want to learn more about the capabilities of the MOST Technology platform, please write to us and we will answer all your questions.