6 Tips on How to Structure an Online Course |
Whether you're building the first or your 10th or 10th grade course, these 5 tips will help your audience benefit the most from the experience.
There's an abundance of online classes available. It's true... There are a lot.
Certain are great. Some are okay. Others are awful.
The popularity of online courses indicates that a lot of people are trying to cash in with their own online courses This is fantastic! However, many online educators create courses of poor quality, which don't serve them or their students.
There's an art to building the perfect online course. In spite of many competitors, a well-designed, well-thought-out program that provides the change they require is still able to do very well.
In this piece, we're going to talk about how to structure an online course so that students are getting the best from it. The following tips will allow you to have clarity on the transformation you're taking your students through, and how you can get them there. If you follow these guidelines, you'll be in the process of being able to deliver a high-quality course as well as testimonials from students who love it.
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In this article...
3. Test for knowledge retention
Beginning at the ending
We can explain the problems that is causing too many online courses?
The majority of course creators begin by describing what they are familiar with and want to teach. The things they like to talk about. And they start plotting out the course.
This is a mistake.
Good courses don't come from simply dumping your brain with every thing you've ever learned. What makes an amazing course is to make sure you are clear on what you want your students to take away from it. Where will they be when it's done?
Start with the end in the mind of your. For people building online communities We define this goal as being a Big Purpose assertion.
"The" Big Purpose statement is like this.
The Major Purpose of a course doesn't sound much different. You're bringing together a certain number of individuals who wish to attain a particular outcome. That's what your course is to be used for.
It's not:
- Sharing everything you know
- Inspiring them with your expertise
- The goal is to make them deep experts on a topic (unless there's an introductory masterclass)
Your primary objective for the training is to lead participants to undergo a change that is of a certain kind. It could be a huge, life-changing transformations. It could also be simple, personal and enjoyable.
Here are some examples of transforms:
- Learn to go from having no knowledge of guitar and playing around the campfire
- Go from being a couch potato to a slow AF running
- From becoming a florist and having an enviable floral business
- Learn little about marketing, to becoming an expert in YouTube advertisements
The most sought-after transformations are those that people desire. Therefore, you must define what transformation that you would like your students to be able to complete. You can then reverse the process and build into the course EXACTLY what your ideal student NEEDS to achieve that transformation: no moreand no less.
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Concentrate on the steps
When you've got a clear defined goal for your course then you're able drawing out an outline of what your course needs to include. This might take some research If you're instructing something that you've already learned It could just be sitting down and thinking through how you have learned.
Take a blank piece paper or blank document. Record the conclusion. Next, ask yourself "What is the actual need to complete this transformation? ?"
One of the dangers here is what's called the "curse of knowing." It can be hard to know how to teach a beginner, especially if you've mastered something and it's been a while since you were a beginner. Did you ever get caught up the trigonometry class when your teacher was talking about hypotenuse, but without providing a definition of what it is?
This is probably the curse of knowing working. You assume somebody knows something that you think is common sense.
Therefore, to answer the question concentrate on the actions. You should ask yourself "what steps would it take to master this?" And include everything-whether you think you know the answer or not.
So, for example we'll say that you've got an introductory guitar class. You've chosen a cool name that you'll refer to it as: "Campfire Guitar Mastery: Start from 0 and lead Singalong ."
What do people who've never had a guitar have to know in order to move from playing 0 to a campfire?
Here are some of the steps which could make sense:
- What is the best way to select a guitar if you don't have one
- The guitar's parts
- How do I find and understand chord charts
- Patterns of strumming
- Playing your first track
- What can you do to use it efficiently
- Where to find chords for songs
- How to sing while playing
- How do you find the confidence to play in public
Once you know what the purpose is, you'll have the right direction for the best way to design an online course to help your students achieve the objective. They could be lessons or your modules.
Don't give them anything More than what they require!
We have discussed this above. One of the most common mistakes teachers make is to cram an entire course in the space of all they've learned. It's tempting to do this for a lot of reasons, however, most often it's because it gives us the impression that your students are going to appreciate the course more if it has EVERYTHING in it.
Refrain from the temptation. Offer them the things they need instead. The satisfaction of students doesn't result from a long course. It's a direct result of an efficient training.
For our guitar campfire course, you'll notice that it does not have:
- A detailed study of the development of guitar
- Lessons on guitar music across the globe
- A guide to understanding music
- In-depth explanations of the reasons you need to learn how to play (from the course description, they know exactly why)
- Instructions for how to build an campfire
Concentrate on the steps they need. Then, pitch the rest.
Tips: After you've laid your plan out, look at each step and determine whether you are able to scratch one off. If you're able to eliminate of a module, but be confident that your students will get the outcomes they desire Do it!
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Test to determine knowledge retention
If you're planning to include tests or evaluations in your class Make sure that the exams adhere to the information they'll be required to recall in the future. Many courses view tests as an opportunity to determine if the students are paying attention, or ask silly questions such as "In module 2 who was the Queen of England we mentioned ?"
If you're taking a check your test score, be sure that you're evaluating and reinforcing knowledge they need to take forward and not checking that they remembered irrelevant information in the course.
Here are a few examples of bad and good questions:
Facebook advertisements Course:
- What color is the Facebook logo? (bad)
- What does "audience" refers to for your advertisement? (good)
Course in Business:
- What color pants did Jake wear for the 2nd lesson? (bad)
- What are some strategies to increase membership retention? (good)
Be sure that all questions are linked to the information and the skills that students will need to accomplish the goals of the class.
Create projects
Another option for you to organize online course materials is by having students build an assignment. It is possible to do this instead of doing tests and quizzes.
If you're able to see your students reach the conclusion of your class and have something to show for it It's great! And they'll have higher retention rates because they've actually done this in the first place.
In case you're teaching a class that has an artistic or practical output, walking students through building an assignment or portfolio may be the method to take.
Here are a few examples of work that might be derived from an online class:
Training: Web Design designed for Beginners
Website: Project
CourseDescription: Ruby on Rails
Project: Your first app
Course: Learn Watercolor Painting
Project: Your first painting
Course: Intro to Lettering
Project: A portfolio of lettering pieces
Course: Pitching Magazines
Project: A completed pitch sent out
Many courses teach students how to perform things and then leave them to apply the knowledge by themselves. If you SHOW the students how, walk them through the process as well as offer them something to keep, they'll be able to say they've gained the most value from your course.
Mix mediums
The last thing that will really aid in online course structure is mixing the delivery media. Different people learn in different ways. Thus, adding a variety of materials to your course helps to serve people who have different learning styles and makes the class easier to access.
As an example you can create courses using recorded, Asynchronous video. Students have the opportunity to either watch or listen and to start and pause as needed. The video could also be accompanied by an outline of text or a transcript of the film for those who read or have disabilities that make video or audio inaccessible. You could also add live discussions where members come together to chat about their course materials, ask you questions, and do some exercises with each other.
This form of mixed delivery gives many benefits to students and allows them to discover how they best learn.
Select the correct platform
Last, but not least the most important thing is to pick the appropriate course platform. There's a myriad of options out there, but only a few will permit you to perform all of those things mentioned in the previous paragraphs: mixing synchronous and asynchronous teaching, leading live discussions and questions, conducting evaluations, and letting students share their projects in class.
That's why choosing the right platform is an essential choice. If you're searching for an opportunity to create, come try ! It's got an intuitive, elegant course engine that allows you to deliver your content in just about every way you can imagine, and it gives you the resources to sell your course. Each course has an individual community that is customizable and can be a mix of recordings and live events.
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Conclusion
The final decision on the best way to design an online class boils down to focusing on what students want to change and how to get them there. If you're able to do this, you'll be far ahead of other courses out there.
So if you:
- Define the transform you'd like to offer to them.
- Determine the steps needed to get there,
- Walk them through it,
- Check to be certain that it worked...
Your course will be one that your students will love and talk to their peers about it, and an audience of enthusiastic fans waiting for your next lesson!
and if you'd like to build your own online course with HTML0 , you can test it out absolutely no cost - and with there is no need for credit cards.
Do you have the right tools to launch the online training course of your choice?