5 Best Practices for Offering Online Courses
We used to learn in classrooms, sitting in rows of desks and chairs, all staring at one person in the distance. This process was mostly a one-way channel, always in one place at a specific time.
With eLearning, the classroom disappears and the audience is always in the front row with the instructor. The users can access the content any time and anywhere.
However, with the multitude of content and courses that has filled the internet, you want your educational offerings to stand out and be seen.
In order to do that, your course needs to be polished and take advantage of the best platform and tools the internet has to offer.
That’s why we’ve created simple guide to get you more than ready to take the association education world by storm!
1. Have clear learning objectives for courses
A course is only as good as its objectives.
Make them too general, and the material will miss the target. You’ll confuse your audience about what you’re trying to say, and your key points will become muddled. Instead:
- Be clear.
- Be concise.
- Focus on what’s most vital.
Build course content around solid goals and your lessons will be like a well shot arrow, true to the mark!
2. Build a supportive learning community
One of things that has made the internet such a thriving place to communicate and learn is that communities have been built around almost every subject. Your association should do the same.
You need to be able to foster that community connection and encourage conversation. This can be done easily through easy-to-manage discussion boards and forums built directly into your platform; make sure the learning management system you choose to host your content can accommodate this!
Don’t forget: your encouragement to your audience to join the conversation should be constant and consistent–you need your members to know the tool exists so they can actually use it!
3. Use video for course development
Online courses need video content. It’s that simple.
Video is engaging because it’s a both audible and visual.
With video, you can show complex ideas step-by-step, demonstrating how they come together as a whole. The presenter can be front and center for the audience, taking them wherever they need to go.
Nothing keeps audience attention better than video!
4. Choose an easy-to-navigate learning management system
Many platforms are based on out-of-date technology (and thinking). They’re often known for being clunky, obtrusive, and difficult to navigate.
Instead, the platform you choose should be as simple to navigate as possible, while still giving the user everything they need to successfully complete–and enjoy!–their course.
Your platform should organize your content into modules, where video is interspersed with quizzes and resource documents. It should be designed to be intuitive, allowing the user to naturally follow the course without issue.
5. Add feedback and evaluation mechanisms
The best way to improve is to gather and implement course feedback.
Surveys and evaluations can point you to which topics are lacking and which are being covered too heavily.
With user feedback capabilities built into your eLearning, it becomes easy to improve your courses and better target the audience you want to capture. This feedback can also be gathered with advance reporting that shows you how each segment is being completed, how users are progressing, and where they may be getting stuck.
You may also like: Supercharge Your CE: Taking Advantage of Niche Content
Conclusion
When curating your association’s educational content, there will always be a lot to consider, from the topics you cover to the platform and tools you use.
Thankfully, by following these best practices, you’ll be able to better ensure that your course is engaging and offers learners a rewarding experience. And, with clear learning objectives, a supportive learning community, incorporated video, the right learning management system, and evaluation mechanisms, you can create an online course that’s both engaging and successful.
That’s a win for your association–and your members!
