Online learning is a growing trend and, in a business context, it’s essential for training employees and enhancing their professional skills.
However, it’s crucial to consider the information included in these courses. According to the Towards Maturity Transforming Formal Learning study, 92% of individuals seek relevant information in the online courses they take.
In this post, we take you through the steps you need to create online courses that meet your employees’ expectations and help them grow professionally.
How to create an online course?
Start with a student-focused, great idea
Always begin with a strong idea. A common mistake is attempting to make your first course overly complex, which will be difficult to execute and promote. Instead, consider starting with a basic course like “first steps to…”.
Once you have the idea, precisely define the desired outcomes, in other words, the skills your students will develop if they take part.
Consider the design of your information
When creating an online course, it should be useful, relevant to the user, and also visually appealing. Unclear content or poor design can hinder learning. Color, typography, font size, images and videos all significantly impact user experience and learning outcomes.
Studies by the universities of Newcastle and Sheffield also indicate that 94% of people judge a digital tool based on its design. It’s therefore essential to ensure that your online courses consider design as well as content.
Add interactive resources to engage your audience
Your online courses should not only have good design but also be interactive to encourage active participation, improve the learning experience, and consequently, the results.
Here are some benefits of interactive online courses:
- Content becomes more pedagogical, motivating, and intuitive by maximizing visual resources.
- Students become the protagonists of their learning journey, freely interacting with content and resources, leading to greater engagement and commitment.
- Learning is reinforced through multiple tasks, moving beyond reading to activities like comparing, practicing, and decision-making.
- Interaction provides feedback to students, confirming their learnings or correcting their mistakes.
Until recently, including interactive elements in e-learning involved additional costs and expertise in instructional design. However, authoring tools like isEazy Author now allow you to create your own engaging course content, no experience required.
Here are some popular interactive resources offered by isEazy Author:
- Cards: These allow you to present content on both sides, ideal for question-and-answer or cause-and-effect content.
- Image galleries: Use these to explain step-by-step processes or present a series of images with associated text, granting learners the freedom to advance or go back as they wish.
- Hot spots: Highlight important parts of an image or offer complementary information. The creative possibilities of these active elements are limitless.
- Reinforcement exercises: These enable students to assess their understanding of the material. isEazy Author offers exercises that you can insert anywhere in your course, including multiple-choice and concept grouping exercises.
- Games: Gamify the learning experience with activities like Trivia exercises. These encourage fun and motivation through rankings, levels, and achievements.
Take your content to the next level
While interactive elements are essential, it’s crucial not to overuse them during course development. Everyone’s learning process is different, so consider the knowledge you want to impart and adapt the course accordingly.
As well as interactive resources, you can include images, video clips, podcasts, case studies, and beyond to take your content to the next level.
Ready to create and share your own online courses? Design unique e-learning content with isEazy Author‘s pre-defined templates, slide editor, over 25 interactive resource types, pre-defined games, and much more!
