Though building an eLearning course isn’t necessarily an easy task the first time around, it doesn’t have to be a frustrating experience. Like most things in life, creating your first course simply requires structure and a little know-how.
If you’re here, you are probably a beginner and eager to learn more about how to create effective eLearning courses. In an attempt to make your journey easier, we’ve compiled five essential tips to help diffuse the drama around successful eLearning development.
To begin an eLearning course successfully, you have to consider why exactly are you starting it. Is there a problem that needs to be solved? Why do employees need this program? And what are the desired outcomes for the company and learners?
Knowing what a client or student should know by the end of the course will define what you decide to include, how it is introduced, and when to introduce it. When learning objectives aren’t clearly defined, the timing and effectiveness of elements that are included in the program will most likely reflect a similar vagueness.
For those who struggle with defining objectives--and even for those who don’t, Bloom’s Taxonomy is a great resource. This is a classification of the different learning objectives and skills that you set for your students (learning objectives). Learn more here.
Another practice that you might find helpful is content mapping. The art of content mapping is based on identifying the behaviors that you’re trying to change, matching the action with one or more learning objectives that fit. It’s imperative that you don’t just dive in. A little purpose can help your content flow smoothly from one source to another. The last thing you want a user to feel is doubtful.
Once again, defining goals will lead to selecting the appropriate instructional design techniques.
Read more: Write Rockin’ Course Objectives: 7 Do’s and Don’ts
A big part of the “why” is about your audience and their needs. To understand them better, you need to take a close look at their skill gaps, their goals, motivations, where they are, and where they need to be.
Think about it. How will you know what level of content is applicable for your users? Are you developing a module for executives, for people who have two years of experience, or people who have over 30 years in the field?
An often-neglected part of audience analysis is understanding what they expect. What do your learners expect to gain from the course? If you don’t bother to learn this, you may find a group of disappointed and disillusioned learners who are unable to engage with the material.
When you understand your audience, you’ll be able to properly base your first eLearning course on:
Basing your course on these things is far more beneficial than creating learning for the sake of learning.
Helpful resources:
Don’t fall into the trap of thinking, “I already have a successful classroom training program. I just need to transfer this online, and I’m all set.”
More often than not, the initial attempt at online learning is based entirely on PowerPoint-based training or a simple text document. Transferring content from any of these formats to an online platform is an art as the delivery changes completely.
What may work great in traditional classroom settings may ultimately fail in eLearning environments. A lecturer can stop and talk through a PowerPoint presentation to an in-person audience — but online or on mobile devices, this content will likely lose the audience quickly.
Instead of simply transferring content, consider how you will instead transform it to best serve the needs of your online learners.
Here are a few points to consider to help content stay as effective as it was in its original form:
Transferring content to an online platform is a great exercise for any instructor or organization to brush up on what’s really essential and how it can best be communicated to anyone who is in need of the skills being shared.
Go over these helpful resources:
Despite subject matters being objective, the act of learning tends to be an emotional adventure. This is why you want to make sure that you make this experience a pleasant one. An example of this is shying away from verbose content or complex words. Reading for long periods or having to look up words may discourage the student in this particular environment. That’s why it’s important to cater to the learner’s preferences when creating your course.
What does this mean?
Also read: Four Key Elements of Learning Experience Design
One of the final steps in any work is assuring the quality of the end product. It’s important to make sure that content and visuals flow properly. By checking all of your content, you’ll avoid having a learner unable to move forward because a section or link isn’t working properly. The smoother their experience goes, the more credible your course and each of the elements that you’ve provided for them will be.
A good checklist to swear by:
Check for consistency too: The consistency of a course reduces the cognitive load of learners focusing on unnecessary features of the course. If every screen of the course has different color schemas and fonts, it does not foster a continuous learning experience. A consistent tone is also important so that users don’t feel the program was written by various people.
The last thing you want is someone doubting what they are learning. Once doubt is introduced, your learners won’t be as receptive. As they say, content is king.
So as we mentioned earlier, creating an eLearning course doesn’t have to be a frustrating experience. Use these tips as a guide to help share your knowledge effectively. The world is waiting!
Here are some other beginner resources you might want to check out later: