how to develop course content

by Brice Bruen 10 min read

  1. Choose Main Topics. Refer to textbooks, research articles, and updated literature for course topics. Consult with colleagues and subject matter experts on the important topics chosen for content development.
  2. Organize The Structure. Organize the structure of the topics to be taught in the classroom so that material prepared is understandable for students.
  3. Develop Content. The next step is to develop the content as per your findings from the previous two stages. ...
  4. Decide Teaching Methods. After the course content is developed, it is important to think about how to present it to the students.
  5. Develop Evaluation And Assessment Methods. Teachers have to develop exam patterns and assignments for the structured course content and make sure the questions in the exams are aligned to ...

To design an effective course, you need to:
  1. Consider timing and logistics.
  2. Recognize who your students are.
  3. Identify the situational constraints.
  4. Articulate your learning objectives.
  5. Identify potential assessments.
  6. Identify appropriate instructional strategies.
  7. Plan your course content and schedule.

Full Answer

How do I create course content?

Mar 21, 2022 · There are a variety of techniques you can use to make your course content “come to life”. One way is through storytelling. Creating characters and immersing the learner as part of the story. The folks at The Great eCourse Adventure do this with incredible success.

How to create engaging course content?

Jun 23, 2021 · How to Create an Online Course and Share Your Expertise 01. Choose the right subject matter. The topic you choose is entirely in your hands, and can be pretty much anything -... 02. Test your idea. Creating an online course requires a lot of hard work and effort on your part, so running a test... ...

How to develop effective training content?

Jan 22, 2020 · Adjust your list to reflect course goals and student characteristics. Simultaneously, use the content you have selected to fine-tune the course goals. Reduce the list of topics accordingly. Most teachers plan more material to teach than they can actually cover within a designated time frame.

How to start a course?

Jul 23, 2021 · Modules, lessons, and topics (if you need them) break up the content into easily digestible sections. They make the course easier to follow and allow learners to easily refer back to specific parts of the course if they need to. Breaking up the content also helps learners determine the expectations for each section.

How can course content be improved?

8 Ways to Improve Your Online CourseBuild a personal connection with your students. ... Motivate your students. ... Help students maintain focus. ... Create a sense of community. ... Make discussions meaningful. ... Increase student engagement. ... Address equity issues. ... Identify and support struggling students.Aug 11, 2020

What is course content example?

Any informational material that is required for participation or understanding content such as assigned readings, video recordings, exams, and any other material needed for learning.

What are the contents of a course?

The three primary components of a course are the learning objectives, assessments and instructional strategies. Once these three components are identified, at least provisionally, the next task is to organize them into a coherent, dynamic whole.

What is course content blackboard?

Within the app, you can view the folders, documents, assessments, and other items you added in the web browser view of the course.

What is yellow on blackboard?

The colors map to these percentages: > 90% = green. 89–80% = yellow/green. 79–70% = yellow.

How do you structure a course?

3:378:04How to outline and structure an online course (Make an AMAZING course)YouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipThink about where your student is now and the end result you'd like to create has opposite banks ofMoreThink about where your student is now and the end result you'd like to create has opposite banks of a river what major milestones. Will they need to achieve to arrive on the other side of the bridge.

What to keep in mind when working on an eLearning course?

One of the main things you need to keep in mind while working on your eLearning course is the fact that your training targets adult people. Adults have different training needs and expectations compared to kids, so you need to get acquainted with the main principles of andragogy.

What do adults need to know about training?

Adults need to know that the training will have a direct and immediate impact on their daily job duties. The training needs to be problem-oriented. Your content has to focus on defined problems and how they can be solved. Adults prefer to learn through their experiences.

What do adults prefer to learn?

Adults prefer to learn through their experiences. Your job is to provide them with a safe environment where they can test new things, make mistakes, progress, and use their knowledge. Adults prefer to have a say in the training development and assessment process.

What is course content?

Course Content, basically, means the study material for the academic course. The content of any course should be such that it helps students to enhance their knowledge and skills. So, the development of course content should be effective but. Here are steps that can help you to develop course content.

How is content developed?

Content is developed by the teachers based on whether it can fit the time frame and engage the students. Multiple teachers can work in collaboration with different experts to provide multiple inputs for improving the course content.

How to collect data for a teacher?

Data collection is conducted through readings and discussions with the content-specific curriculum teams. Teachers should make sure that global standards are met in the content and curriculum. Teachers should focus on certain criteria such as: 1 Meeting the needs of the students. 2 Implementing different methods or theories focusing on how students learn. 3 Understanding the current situation of the subject. 4 Ensuring availability of resources 5 Ensuring availability of technology 6 Methods for assessment

Why is planning important in a course?

To develop any course, planning is very important. To build a course content, the team has to meet in advance to discuss the content, teaching methods, course policies, etc. Before developing the course content, one should be able to define the course goals. For instance, one should understand what students should learn.

What is important after a course is developed?

After the course content is developed, it is important to think about how to present it to the students. In this case, teaching methods have to be developed for the students.

How effective is course design?

For that, one needs to understand who the students are, what you want your student to learn and how you will assess their learning. When you have answers to these questions, you will be able to focus more on their learning outcomes .

What is the role of a teacher in a course?

Teachers along with subject matter experts and academicians plan course content for the students. They are generally from different schools and have years of experience. While developing the content – study material, learning activities, or any specific skills, they should consider the needs of the students and what they should accomplish from the course. The planning phase, thus, plays a crucial role in developing content for a course.

Qualifications met

Some people get hung up in this stage. But as you set out to plan your course content acknowledge your fears. We realize many online course creators have that moment of panic that says, “Who am I to teach this? I’ve only just learned it myself and I’ve never taught anyone anything! I’m not even an expert!”

Narrowing down a course topic

For the purpose of this post, we’re going to imagine that you already have a pretty solid idea of what you’re going to teach. But before we go any further, let’s refine it.

Deciding who your course is for

When you’re working to plan your course content, you need to decide what level your audience is currently at. If they already know the basics of your topic and you’re going to help them advance in their skills or apply them in a new way, you don’t need to spell out the very beginning steps.

Creating your course structure

Take yourself back to when you knew what your target audience knows and nothing more. Now, start writing down every single step you took to get to where you are now, no matter how small or insignificant it might seem.

Creating your video outline

Once you’ve broken your course topic down to steps, you’ll need to buff each individual step out further. For example, sticking with our knitting example, casting on is more than just “casting on.” There is some twisting and tying and looping and pulling. List out every thing involved in each step. Don’t treat anything like it’s too obvious.

Putting it to the test

Before you go all in and commit to recording everything, consider asking a friend you trust (who doesn’t have experience with what you’re teaching) to take a critical look at your outline. Ask them what questions they might have or what gaps need filling.

Planning supplemental materials

A lot of online course creators like to add bonuses to their online course. Things like workbooks, checklists, online communities, and whatever else they can dream up. These bonuses help increase the value of your online course and sweeten the deal for people who might still be debating whether or not they want to take the plunge and purchase.

How to make an online course more engaging?

An easy way to make online courses more engaging is to stimulate the student visually. This means pictures and videos. The simplest method of using picture and videos in an online course would be constructing your online class more like a PowerPoint presentation:

What is the most important part of creating an online course?

One of the most important components of creating an online course is setting a learning goal for the course . However, there’s more to it. Every online course consists of various sections, and each individual section also needs to have a clear learning goal.

What is the target audience of an online course?

The target audience is the group of people to whom you are writing your course.

What does it mean to get started teaching?

Which means you need to get your knowledge together.

Is teaching more than imparting knowledge?

Remember, teaching is more than just imparting knowledge. Never in human history has so much knowledge been so accessible to anyone with such a low barrier for entry. Just on your phone, you can bring up a wealth of information about Nuclear Physics with just a few keystrokes. Fifty years ago, you’d have to break out an encyclopedia or a book dedicated to the subject, and it’d be just as much work to get another point of view on the same topic.

Is it easier to drop out of online courses?

The thing with online courses is that it’s a lot easier to drop out of them: you just stop, and there’s no consequences at all, nothing to bite you for not completing. This understandably damages completion rates. A study examining sixteen online courses offered by the University of Pennsylvania revealed that the average completion rate was 4%.

Is it a waste of time to create an online course?

It’s crucial that you decide on a specific course subject in the beginning phase of creating your online course. Be as specific as possible.

How to Create Engaging Course Content

At the very core the course content needs to deliver upon any promises. For example, if your course is about teaching people search engine optimization techniques then when your learners apply the content they should see measurable results.

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What should the topic of an online course be?

The topic for your online course should be either a subject that you’re already knowledgeable about or are willing to invest in learning thoroughly. Either way, you need to be passionate about the subject.

Why is online education important?

Therefore, fostering a community of learners around your course will greatly improve their experience, contributing to the overall success of your course. An active online community can help users share their learning process with a group of peers.

How to teach a lesson?

Go in a logical order and try to make your ideas evolve naturally from one to the other , to ensure a smooth and frictionless learning process. Remember that teaching is about guiding your audience through an idea, step by step. To make this clear in your course outline, define an objective for each of your lessons.

What to do after a video is filmed?

After you’ve filmed your content, invest some time editing your raw footage. There are many free video editing software available, from iMovie, to Lightworks, and the Wix Video Maker. Try to craft a nice rhythm to your video by breaking it up into digestible bites.

Can I create an online course at home?

As a home-based business idea, creating an online course can be done with relatively simple equipment, and you don’ t have to be a video production pro in order to create a high-quality course. After all, the level of education you provide is what matters most, and you can create quality content even if you’re working from home.

What is a paid plan?

Paid Plans act as a pay-wall, allowing users to access the content only after they pay and log into the members area within your site. One-on-one real-time lessons: In addition to the course, you may teach live lessons to students in a personalized 1:1 setting.

Do you need to run a test before starting an online course?

Creating an online course requires a lot of hard work and effort on your part, so running a test before you begin will allow you to validate this online business idea as one that will pay itself off down the line.

What do you want students to learn and be able to accomplish?

What do you want the students to learn and be able to accomplish? With your goals clearly defined, decisions to include certain content, the teaching methods to employ, and the types of assignments and exams to utilize can be more readily determined. To help with curriculum planning primarily in defining goals to maximize student learning (opposed to course content, it is called Backward Design ), check out G. Wiggins and J. McTighe’s Understanding by Design (1998). Basically, according to Backward Design, instructors should clearly define what they expect their students to have learned by the end of the course or section.

Why is it important to allow time for active learning?

It is essential to allow time for active learning as well as to block out sufficient work/study time for students to complete major assignments and to prepare for exams.

How to grade work?

Decide how to grade the work: papers, assignments, exams, and if appropriate, class participation. Determine how you will deal with issues of student tardiness, attendance, late work, and any extensions/rescheduling of assignments/exams.

What should the exam focus on?

For example, if a course goal is to sharpen problem-solving skills, then the exam should focus on a question that uses problem-solving, not mainly recalling facts. Similarly, both homework and class activities prior to the exam should involve questions and exercises that deal with problem-solving skills.

Is planning a course fluid?

Remember that planning a course is a fluid process. The diagram shows this below. Each step is made with the other steps in mind and, likewise, each step will be refined every time you teach the course.

How long does it take to create an eLearning course?

The idea behind rapid eLearning is where you use every tool and strategy you can to potentially create a course in 2 to 3 weeks instead of taking several months. So within your lessons, outline the exact content you will cover.

How long should a microlearning lesson be?

Depending on how far down the path of microlearning you are going, lessons might only need to be a couple of minutes up to 10 to 15 minutes in length. There's not too much content in a 2-minute lesson so you really need to get at the heart of the topic and do so quickly if you're going that route.

Why is it important to have an outline?

Having an outline allows you to organize these topics in a way that will make sense to your students. In addition, it prevents you from forgetting to add critical information that is relevant to the topic. Writing out what you plan to cover will also help you generate ideas.

What is assessment plan?

Assessment plans fall in line with learning objectives. While your learning objectives identify what the student will learn, the assessment allows you and the student to have a clear picture of how well they have mastered the objectives. Your outline will identify the types and frequency of assessments.

Can you use a pen and paper for outline?

Like with everything, there are tools you can use to help you outline your course. You can definitely use a pen and paper for this exercise, but it's really nice if your outline is already on a device where you can work with it later. That way you can expand on it when you go from outline to your actual content.

What is training material?

Training materials are a necessary part of any program or activity that involves knowledge acquisition and retention. The best approach to developing instructional materials is to start by examining the training plan and available resources.

How to evaluate the effectiveness of training materials?

Evaluate the effectiveness of the training materials by asking training program participants to share their opinions. Training material feedback forms could contain questions about organization, clarity, variety and usefulness, and may be used to revise and improve the materials.

What is training plan?

Develop a training plan. A plan is an overview or outline of how training will be approached. It typically includes the training program schedule, key learning objectives and a list of the available resources. Estimate how much time to spend on each learning objective.

What is the goal of a computer lab training program?

Identify the objectives of the training program. The goal may be to teach computer lab managers how to access and navigate various software programs. In a classroom of aspiring babysitters, the objective may be to help teenagers master the most critical aspects of caring for small children.

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Topic Analysis

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To succeed at this stage, you have to work with Subject Matter Experts (SMEs). They will provide you with their knowledge and existing training materials, such as PowerPoint presentations, presenter notes, reference documents, web resources, test questions, etc. It’s your responsibility to analyze these training materials (wit…
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Practical eLearning Content Development Tips

  • So, you already defined the topics of your eLearning course, now it’s time to continue with the content development. Here are 6 simple tips that will make your text useful, interesting and easy to read. 1. Your text should be easy to understand, clear and consistent throughout the training. 2. Don’t use phrases or jargon that some learners may not understand. 3. Use consistent formattin…
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Additional Tips

  • Here are some additional tips that will ease your training content development process. 1. Usually, SMEs will provide you with a PowerPoint presentation or any other type of text document. Take time to get acquainted with the topic and the existing content. Find additional resources on your own. Make questionnaires to use during the meetings with t...
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The Theory Behind Successful Training Content Development

  • The Adult Learning Theory Of Malcolm Knowles
    One of the main things you need to keep in mind while working on your eLearning course is the fact that your training targets adult people. Adults have different training needs and expectations compared to kids, so you need to get acquainted with the main principles of andragogy. Malcol…
  • Robert Gagne’s 9 Events Of Instruction
    To create effective training that focuses on the results and changes in learners’ behavior, you can use Gagne’s 9 Events of Instruction. 1. Gain learners’ attention right at the beginning of the training. To achieve this, you can use an interesting example or a task that they need to complet…
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