By 2024, the estimated value of the worldwide eLearning market is $406 billion. Online classes currently have 25 percent of all U.S. students enrolled. As a result of eLearning, 42 percent of American corporations have seen a revenue boost.
Online education is continually reaching new achievements. There are several choices offered for internet-based classes, such as MOOCs, live online sessions, flipped classrooms, and hybrid courses.
Gone are the days when online courses were exclusively accessible on desktops. These days, online courses are far more captivating and appealing than their past iterations. This accounts for the surge in online course enrolment and the subsequent amplified request for online learning opportunities.
1. Know Your Audience
In order to create a lesson plan that is effective for your audience, it is important to first gain a comprehensive understanding of who they are. A one-size-fits-all approach may not be engaging or tailored enough for certain students, resulting in a lack of retention of the information you are trying to convey.
It’s possible that students of a younger age prefer lessons to be divided into smaller segments that are easier to digest. They could be more interested in using interactive resources and participating in group exercises to enhance their learning. Conversely, older learners may favor a lecture-based course that delivers essential information more straightforwardly. They may have reservations about technology and perceive it as a hindrance to the learning experience.
The usefulness of specific tools may vary according to the course topic. A tutorial that provides instructions on tasks such as automotive repair or musical instrument playing may benefit from incorporating video demonstrations.
To effectively teach math or science, it may be necessary to use tools such as an interactive whiteboard or a digital writing pad/tablet for writing equations. By recognizing the audience for each course and assessing their needs, instructors can determine the most suitable teaching strategy for optimal learning outcomes.
2. Create Well-Organized Courses / Micro-Learning
Micro-learning is a concept that comes into play for students who opt for online courses due to various reasons such as cost-saving, greater course options, and lack of time to handle the workload of conventional courses.
Micro-learning refers to a form of education that focuses on small learning units and utilizes short-term tactics that are custom-made for skill-based comprehension and training.
By presenting course material in smaller, more manageable portions, students can avoid being inundated or weighed down by an excess of information, thereby creating a more conducive atmosphere for completing the course successfully. Additionally, individuals in the corporate field who are pressed for time can utilize micro-learning to conveniently access smaller increments of information while on the move.
The initial module can act as the outline for the course, outlining the goals, framework, and prerequisites of the course in its entirety. All succeeding micro-learning modules must progress towards these objectives, and be approached in a way that maintains students’ concentration.
It is advisable to ensure that each module begins with a clear goal and concludes with a brief recap to aid students’ recollection of key points. While incorporating interactive activities within the course content, particularly in the middle of certain modules, enhances student engagement, which is a vital aspect of effective online course design. This practice is highly valued by students.
- Learners may find it difficult to spare 2 to 3 hours for your course. That’s where microlearning can help.
- Microlearning refers to delivery of content in small modules lasting no more than 10 minutes.
- To create an effective microlearning course, just divide your content into different parts or modules, define their objectives, and prepare the content accordingly.
- Create online training modules in such a way that they explain a topic effectively, even as a standalone course.
- Include all the relevant information about the topic, but do not overwhelm the learners by cramming everything in one module or session.
- At the end of each section, provide a summary to the learners so that they can remember the important points easily.
- Include exercises or questions related to the topic to keep them engaged while learning the course.
- You can also include separate sections for practice tests after the theory.
3. Make Your Lessons Interactive
While there are benefits to classroom-based instruction, such as the ability to gather a multitude of pupils or workers in a shared physical location and instruct them all together, there may be limitations to the level of engagement provided, and it can grow monotonous. When determining effective online course design, keep in mind that there are numerous interactive tools at your disposal.
When organizing digital courses, educators can utilize audio recordings or video clips to captivate their pupils. Why describe a concept if you can visually display it?
Furthermore, incorporating video into the class not only enhances its dynamicity, but also improves information retention since research shows that the brain processes images more effectively than written text. Moreover, utilizing video encourages storytelling, which is a reliable approach to maintain students’ focus throughout the lesson.
To add some variety to a lesson and ensure student involvement, a possible strategy is integrating live quizzes. Real-time evaluation of learners’ comprehension is crucial as it helps teachers to assess academic progress and gauge the efficacy of the course.
Find Out What they Think
Creating an effective online syllabus necessitates this key stage.
- Ask the learners what things they want to learn, and their ideal expectations from the course.
- Conduct a market and training needs analysis to understand the knowledge gaps
- You can do this by either adding a short survey form along with the enrollment form of your course or by contacting them via emails and social media.
Share Your Story
- Tell your learners clearly about the objectives of the course, how your journey was, what your professional experience is, and how that course will be able to make a difference in their lives. (check out some amazing training survey question examples here)
- For instance, if you are blogging for 10 years now and you want to share your knowledge about blogging through a course, you can easily explain your story about how you became a blogger, the challenges you faced, and how you overcame them.
- Inspire people with your story. Share interesting facts that will make them interested in developing the skill you are providing through the course.
4. Incorporate Synchronous and Asynchronous e-Learning Styles
When joining a training seminar or attending a class, you engage in synchronous learning – a method of learning where an educator, instructor, or tutor leads a discussion in real-time, prompting active involvement from participants with the lesson content.
The concept of synchronous e-learning involves delivering lessons through an online virtual classroom, which could consist of various activities such as online classes, webinars, and training sessions. Certain aspects of your lesson are essential to be taught through this medium.
One advantage that Synchronous e-learning offers, in addition to promoting collaboration, interactivity, and engagement, is the possibility of decreasing expenses typically incurred during in-person training such as travel, lodging, meeting venues, etc., while still providing a personal touch.
By engaging in asynchronous learning, you have the flexibility to learn at a time and speed that suit you. Developing e-learning materials such as internet-based courses on an asynchronous basis presents a perfect opportunity to share knowledge with a broad audience.
As people seem to have busy schedules nowadays, it is crucial to have Asynchronous e-learning as a part of your teaching since it enables you to learn on your own schedule from anywhere, providing flexibility and convenience. Instead of limiting yourself to only one type of learning, why not consider incorporating both? This is a recommended online course design practice that should not be neglected.
5. Clear Objectives – Provide Clear and Precise Guidelines
Course Guidelines
- The first module of your course should describe the guidelines of your course. It should include the objectives of the course, any prerequisites, the complete syllabus and the complete structure of the course modules.
- These guidelines provide an overview to the learners and so, they must be clear and precise.
- This should be the first thing presented to your learners so that you can connect with them from the beginning of the course.
Module Guidelines
- Apart from providing a course overview, you should also offer an outline of every module. This not only makes your course look well planned and organized, but also lets the learners identify the highlights of every module.
- You can name all the important concepts or topics of the module in these guidelines.
- All the module guidelines should be presented just before starting the module.
6. Interactive Design – Keep Learners Engaged Throughout the Course
It is essential to have engagement from learners not just at the beginning of the course, but also throughout. This highlights the importance of designing a course effectively, making it a vital component of your complete online course design.
Ask Questions
Incorporate inquiries and discussions in your course that encourage learners to contemplate beyond the material covered in the course. Additionally, you could prompt them to conduct research on a specific subject.
Include Projects
Asking learners to complete a final project at the conclusion of a course can offer an opportunity for them to put into practice the knowledge acquired throughout the course, while also potentially increasing their motivation.
Encourage Discussions
Ensure that you provide opportunities for your virtual classroom learners to engage with one another. Encourage them to ask questions, share their opinions, and exchange ideas. You can help foster interactions between learners by:
- Learner communities
- Q&A sessions
- Discussion forums
- Social media
Furthermore, there are effective ways in which you, as an instructor, can engage with your learners. These strategies will serve as a response to your inquiry on how to be a proficient online instructor.
- Including comments section on the course
- Emails
Include Interactive Elements
Implement the subsequent concepts to develop engaging educational modules:
- Include interactive questions such as multiple-choice questions, objective type questions or activities.
- Encourage learners to develop a course connection with their instructor. After they have completed every module, appreciate their work and motivate them.
- You can also conduct webinars or live sessions to increase interaction with your learners and solve their problems on the fly.
- Include practical knowledge as much as you can. Back theories up with real life situations and stories. This will keep the learners engaged and make your course more interesting.
7. Make Content Accessible
To ensure that students return, it’s crucial to provide a welcoming environment on your virtual campus. This can be achieved by creating a clear and succinct course layout and individual pages. It’s vital to avoid clutter to prevent overwhelming your students. Ensure that any resources available to them are easily accessible and downloadable.
It is crucial that the files extracted from your online campus can be opened by students without difficulty, regardless of their platform. As an instance, a lesson recording may be accessible to students for future reference.
Students can download and view the file from any device, regardless of location, if it is in the widely-used mp4 format. It is recommended to steer clear of proprietary formats that may require students to download specific software in order to access the video.
Is your content available on various technological devices? Do students need to download a program to access it? Are they allowed to do so on their work or school-provided computer?
Most of these worries will be resolved by a platform that can be accessed via the internet, making it easy for students to communicate. Do both a desktop and a mobile phone provide a seamless experience? Confirming these matters will guarantee that your pupils have a hassle-free educational experience.
Side notes
As an instructor, you can benefit greatly by following these suggestions for creating impactful online courses. It is imperative to consider your students’ requirements and create a strategy that outlines the most efficient methods to engage with them.
By implementing several recommended strategies for online course design, you can achieve success in developing online courses that are both effective and captivating, effectively transforming unengaged viewers into active participants.
Teaching learners virtually poses equal difficulties to conducting classes in a conventional setting. To develop a successful course, educators must familiarize themselves with and employ new technologies such as online course creation software. Online instructors must continuously assess their performance and explore methods of enhancing the quality and efficiency of online education.
