The pandemic has increased interest in online courses. The remote format differs from offline, so it has become new for course creators. Building a methodology for learning processes will be a key factor in the success of your online course.
1. Why you need a methodology
The methodology studies the learning process. Thus, it includes not only the program creation but also the organization of effective learning.
The methodology is a system that facilitates the education process. And unfortunately, most online schools don't use it. Without methodology, students lose interest in the course or completely leave it.
The task of the methodology is to understand how people learn, how they perceive information, how they process it, and what helps them study effectively.
The methodology helps to identify:
- what students need from the course they have chosen;
- what will increase interest in the study, and what demotivates;
- what psychological and age characteristics of the target audience are important for learning;
- how people study in practice;
- how to build the logic of the online course;
- what additional materials to prepare (manuals, checklists, workbooks);
- how to test knowledge and understand that the student has learned information.
2. Why some courses are recommended and others not
It is important to remember that people who have bought the course work and are engaged in personal affairs.
Motivation is the foundation that shapes activity and behavior in your course.
Short deadlines for completing tasks and daily reports on long-term training will quickly demotivate students.
Of course, control should be, but it is worth understanding:
- Will students be able to understand the material?
- Does the amount of tasks correspond to the time provided for execution?
- How to organize the work of the group so that process motivates them?
Create a system to reward students for their done homework. For example, every week, choose the best student with whom you will conduct an individual consultation.
Here are recommendations on how to create successful training:
1. Provide information piece by piece.
The brain will not process all the material in one day. Therefore, it will be difficult for a student to learn several tools and techniques simultaneously.
2. Systematize the information.
The course methodology should be based on returning students to the material studied and working with it repeatedly.
3. Divide learning into modules.
Studying the course in small blocks will give the student an intermediate result.
4. Come up with practical tasks.
Practice will help to apply knowledge in a real context.
3. Key organizational steps for course creation
Making a course, developing a strategy, and promoting is important. But note that the main goal of the educational product is knowledge.
Make sure you understand these features:
- What are your students' expectations for the course?
- How to explain complex things?
- How to provide a result of an educational product (skill, ability, experience, competence)?
It means that first, we work with content and structure, and only then do we start to sell.⠀
Follow the next organizational steps:
1. Create lessons considering the peculiarities of the online format: develop presentations, interactive tasks, digitize texts, pictures, diagrams, etc.⠀
2. Develop lesson scripts: structure, the format of material submission, build a system for homework checking.
3. Come up with a student motivation system: ratings, gamification elements, bonuses.
4. Transfer all content to the online learning platform. Learn how to work with this platform.⠀
5. Learn how to run webinars, record training videos, screencasts.
6. Monitor marketing approaches, create a landing page to promote your services, set up ads.
7. Create a student support system after the course.⠀
It is also important to make a test run. It will help you to see weaknesses and improve quality.⠀
If you are planning a large-scale project, you should make the team. It will make the whole organization process easier for you.
Tips for control a successful course:
1. One person must coordinate the entire process from development to the end.
2. Control all stages. If something goes wrong, you should have time to adjust.
3. Always ask yourself the question: "Why am I developing this course?" It should be useful.
4. Take to the team only those who will not fail you and are interested in general success.
5. Consider clear and understandable logistics: who processes course requests, who checks homework, who is responsible for maintenance.
The online course can be prepared in recording or the format of live broadcasts. Most experts create a pre-recorded courses due to the fear of live broadcasts. There are courses with many theories, instructions, and technical knowledge, and pre-recorded lessons for such classes are a good solution. But there are also cases when you should think about live broadcasts with students since contact with the audience is more credible.
4. Key logical points for course creation
The main question of the course organizers is how to make sure that students reach the end of their studies, perform tasks and get the result.
Note the following:
1. Training videos should be short. The duration is highly dependent on content and information, but try to submit information succinctly.
2. The "talking head" improves perception compared to courses where only the presentation is shown on the screen. An expert's presence on the video allows you to achieve personal communication between the teacher and the student.
3. Recording in a cool studio does not affect profitability statistics. On the contrary, the informal environment encourages students for closer viewing.
4. To keep students' attention on the screen, the speed of speech and the expert's tone of voice plays an important role.
Always remember your responsibility to the students. Follow our tips and create useful courses.