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8 Tips When Creating Online Courses

If you have never created an online course then it is important to know a few best practices to maximize its impact.

A simple Google search will yield all kinds of advice and strategies, but these can over-complicate the process. Sure, these methods work but you dont want to get lost in the weeds.

If you are looking for some simple techniques then consider the eight tips below (as originally shared by NexLearn).

Just focusing on these components will position your course for success right from the beginning.

TIP #1: Evaluate Learner Needs Before you start building the content you should have a good understanding of what your target audience needs to learn. These will then help you form practical objectives.

TIP #2: Create User-Centric Material Always develop your content with the learner in mind. Make examples applicable to their situation. Use real-life scenarios to drive home the main points.

TIP #3: Choose a Proper Delivery Method Will the message be best delivered via video, or in text? Should there be a mix or would it be better in an audio (narrated) format?

TIP #4: Motivate Learners Use gamification and other methods to encourage learners to interact with the content and to keep going.

TIP #5: Re-Use Your Course Assets There is no need to reinvent the wheel as you build your course. When you create navigation menus, lesson structures, downloads, etc. make sure you save these templates for use through the course (and in other courses).

TIP #6: Add Interactions No one enjoys taking a course that is based on one-way communication. Incorporate games, quizzes, and assignments to get learners thinking about the content independently.

TIP #7: Chunk Your Content Keep your lesson objectives simple and chunk it accordingly. Giving too much information can result in your learners not remembering anything because of information overload.

TIP #8: Monitor Performance A critical part to any online course, you should measure completion rates and overall performance as they progress through the course.

Source: learndash.com