Statistics show that in 2018, 47% of the students chose online classes. Students prefer online courses for the flexibility they offer. They are able to attend the classes and at the same time get time for their other commitments. Learners are also looking for courses that allow them to work at their own pace. Personalized learning and convenience are also among the factors that motivate learners to go for online courses.
As an educator, you should ensure that you meet the learners’ expectations of taking your online course. Here are the features of an outstanding course.
1. Relevant and Authentic Content
Award-winning online instructors provide their learners with relevant content and materials for the courses. The materials should also be from authentic and reliable sources. Also, encourage the students to use primary material for their coursework. This will allow them to take an active role in anchoring their learning.
We are talking about listening to podcasts, going through video recordings, and even radio shows with related topics. This will go a long way in boosting your online course’s engagement and challenge your students’ critical thinking.
2. Structured Plans
There is a need to organize your modules for easy access and viewing of the learners. Take a look at your content and learning resources and group them accordingly. That is in order of similar themes, topics, and ideas.
Additionally, progressively organize your lectures. This is so that the ideas build-up and lead to a deep understanding of the coursework. This will avoid confusion, save time, and ensure effective learning.
3. Encourage Active Learning
Active learning will help the students understand the material better and engage with it. It will enhance recall and boost their learning skills. It involves going through case studies, group discussions, and debates.
Assignments such as essay writing will also, in its element, boost active learning. By collaborating with paper writing service providers like domyessay.com, the students will get more in-depth knowledge and develop their critical thinking skills.
Active learning will motivate students to learn.
4. Reuse Content
You can save a lot of time by reusing your resources. You do not need to reinvent the wheel, as it might take you a lot of time. Content that is already in your blog and your onsite teaching resources can prove to be useful.
Reusing will mostly entail converting the content into different forms. For instance, you can create PowerPoint presentations using already existing course notes. If you have webinars, blogs, and videos, integrate them with other learning resources to provide the learners with various engagement options.
5. Choose the Most Engaging Materials for the Different Courses or Subjects
Knowing the best way to deliver your content, subjects, and courses is the first step towards running a successful online course. It is essential to balance audio, visual, and practical techniques of delivering the course. Different topics will need a different approach for a better and deeper understanding.
6. Personalize Your Content
The demand for personalized learning is on the rise. Before you start building course works or creating a lesson plan, it is vital to understand the learners’ needs.
Thus, a survey is necessary to allow the learners to express what they expect from the course. The survey can also target their ideal learning time and the learning materials they find most engaging.
With a deep understanding of what your students need to learn, you will be able to set practical and realistic objectives for your online course.
7. Monitor Performance
You are required to set measurable learning objectives so that you can monitor the performance. There is no other way you will know if you are impacting your students unless you measure their progress.
By so doing, you will get the insights you need to improve your online course delivery and improve its quality. The main metrics to look at in this case would be grades, scores, and completion rate to determine the course’s overall success.
8. Divide Your Content
The one thing you should avoid when delivering an online course is information overload. Make the learning objectives as simple as you can and chuck your content accordingly. Chunking will help the learners process the information you give them easily.
This will, in turn, improve understanding and enhance recall. Learners’ preferred method of online studying involves chunked text. You can achieve that by having short paragraphs with short texts.
Help your learners point out your content’s main ideas using headings and subheadings, formatting keywords with bold and italic, and using bullets.
9. Design Learner-Centric Material
Learners want to get a personalized learning experience. Create user-centric content for learning by using case studies they can relate to, real-life examples, and examples applicable to their situations.
This will help in driving your point and enhancing understanding.
Take Away
Every instructor that has been able to design an award-winning online course has used the manual above. Learners are looking for a flexible and personalized learning experience. When designing the course, have the learners in mind. Make it easy for them to process the information you provide them
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