how to format an e course

by Vaughn Botsford 10 min read

The course format can be selected in Administration > Course administration > Edit settings. An administrator can enable, disable or delete course formats for courses in Administration > Site administration > Plugins > Course formats > Manage course formats.

Full Answer

How to convert a traditional course into an eLearning format?

So here are the top 5 tips that will help you convert your traditional course into an eLearning format. 1. Identify The eLearning Course Format A f2f course can be converted in the following three eLearning formats: Learning in which interaction between instructors and students occurs intermittently with a time delay.

How do I create an eCourse for my course?

How To Create An Ecourse 1. Decide on a topic 2. Create solid learning outcomes. 3. Organize your content. 4. Decide on delivery media for your lessons. 5. Create the ecourse content. 6. Get your course on your preferred platform. 7. Determine the right price for your ecourse. 8. Launch and market your course.

What eLearning format is best for me?

The question is "What eLearning format is best for me?". According to research and to my own experience, the learning format that has most advantages is the hybrid or blended learning format because it uses the pros of both synchronous and asynchronous learning.

Is it time to convert your F2F course into elearning?

Technology is the media and you should definitely do your own research to find the most appropriate educational technology that you will help you achieve your outcomes. After you convert you f2f course into an eLearning format you may believe that it is time to offer it to your online learners.

How do you structure an e course?

0:231:41How to Structure an Online Course - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipOnce you determine the starting and ending points organize your curriculum to take the student fromMoreOnce you determine the starting and ending points organize your curriculum to take the student from point a to point b in a logical sequence. Let them know when they hit milestones.

What is the format of an online course?

An average eLearning module consists of ten activities: 5 or 6 documents, 3 or 4 questions, and a course outline. An eLearning exam module generally uses a document or outline followed by 15 to 20 questions. The document should explain the exam format and contain any needed context or instructions.

What is the best format for a online course?

1) A Step By Step Program This is probably the most common online course format and it works well in taking your students on a clear step by step journey from where they are now to where they want to be.

How do you outline and structure an online course?

How to Outline Your Online CourseIdentify Modules. ... Break Each Module Down into Core Steps. ... Brainstorm the Details. ... Building Your Outline. ... Add Worksheets and Bonuses. ... Validate Your Outline.

What is the course format?

A course format refers to the layout of a course. The course format can be selected in Administration > Course administration > Edit settings. An administrator can enable, disable or delete course formats for courses in Administration > Site administration > Plugins > Course formats > Manage course formats.

How many lessons should an online course have?

The number of lessons you choose to include in your online course mostly depends on the learning objectives you promise to deliver. Most short courses comprise of a couple of 5-minute videos while longer ones have 20 to 50 videos which are each around 5 to 20 minutes long.

WHERE DO I EVEN BEGIN?

A good place to start is to think about needs. First, consider the needs of the people who’ve asked you to create the eLearning course. This should be done to make sure that a course is actually necessary to achieve their goal. Sometimes it’s best not to create a course at all.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT CONTENT CREATION AND DELIVERY

The first thing beginners usually mix up is content and platform. A platform is also called Learning Management System (LMS), Learning Experience Platform (LXP) and other names.

HOW TO CREATE E-LEARNING CONTENT?

Ok, we have now covered what an LMS (platform) is and how to select it if you need to, and, to be honest, in 9 cases out of 10, your organization already will have an LMS (platform), be it Moodle or any other, so you can manage users, and see their progress.

The rise of the authoring tools

So, the question was how to develop e-learning more affordably, faster and allow non-technical developers to participate in the process? Welcome to the world of authoring tools.

Responsive elearning

Before we go further I wanted to clarify one more thing regarding e-learning content – Responsive courses. What the heck is that? Well, it’s quite easy actually. Historically, I mean 10-15 years ago, when we were developing e-learning content for usage on computers only, everything was very simple.

Elearning templates

Returning to our discussion on how to build e-learning, building from scratch sounded fun, if you are a techie, using authoring tools, much easier, but still quite a lot of effort.

TIME FOR SOME INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN

Once you know how your eLearning course will be produced and where it will be hosted, it’s time to start working on content.

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 does it mean to get started teaching?

Which means you need to get your knowledge together.

What is the target audience of an online course?

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

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.

Do online courses require money?

Contrary to popular belief, the process of creating online courses doesn’t require a large chunk of money. If you know what you are doing, you can develop profitable online courses at no cost whatsoever. Creating successful online courses is like building powerful magnets.

Do you have to create all the content for an online course?

That being said, you don’t need to create all of the content for your online course before you start selling it. It’s always better to start off with a smaller batch of content, as this will allow you to take in feedback from your students and make improvements accordingly.

Who should review an eLearning course?

A panel of experts should review your eLearning course. Experts include subject matter experts, instructional designers, eLearning developers, etc. Revision Of The Web-Based Course. Based on their constructive feedback you have to begin the revision of your eLearning course.

Which learning format has the most advantages?

According to research and to my own experience, the learning format that has most advantages is the hybrid or blended learning format because it uses the pros of both synchronous and asynchronous learning. If you still want help to answer this question, I highly encourage you to analyze your learners' needs.

What is the interaction between an online learner and an instructor?

The "learner to instructor" interaction refers to the interaction between the online learner and an instructor, tutor, mentor, or content expert. The second type of interaction occurs via print, electronic dialog, e-mail, computer conferencing, or electronic online classroom discussions.

What is the meaning of "learner to content"?

a) Learner To Content. The "learner to content" interaction refers to the interaction between the online learner and the content or subject matter. Moore believes that if a learner interacts with the content or subject matter, then changes in the learner's understanding occur.

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.

What does competition mean in a course?

Having competition means that people find the topic relevant and helpful for them. It’s also a good idea to create content that can comfortably fit into an existing, tried-and-tested space. Once you have a clear target audience in mind, you are best equipped for later creating and marketing the course.

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.

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.

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.

Can you rent a lesson on a video by video basis?

Individual lessons for rent or purchase: Allow users to rent or purchase your online course on a video-by-video basis. When purchasing a video, users will enjoy unlimited streaming of the lesson they’ve purchased, so that they can go back and rewatch the content at all times.

What is a video course?

Video courses are simple courses with one or more sections which only contain video. For each section you may have a title/topic, some description and a video file embedded into the section. The description is displayed below the video window. You may also attach course resources as you can do with other types of courses.

How important is it to make sure your course start date is correct?

Important Make sure your course start date is correct. If it is not your weeks will have the wrong date on it. This is especially important if you are restoring a course to use with a new section of students. Students can only see one week at a time.

What is a course structure?

Course Structure. Each course consists of one or more sections often called topics. The course sections (topics) are learning content holders of the course lessons and study material. Each course has one Common resource section which holds common course resources like URLs, Files, Videos. On its turn course topics may have their own resources.

Can you attach course resources?

You may also attach course resources as you can do with other types of courses. Technically you may have courses with no weeks, topics or sections. In this case the only visible section will be the Common Course Resources. This is where you can publish files, links and other resources.

Do course weeks have to match calendar weeks?

Optionally the course creator may specify a time frame of each week making the respective course visible only during a certain time frame. Course weeks do not have to necessarily match calendar weeks. Topic-based Course Format. The course is organized into topics. Each topic-section has a title.

Why are online courses bad?

They can get a bad rap because some people are sleaze-balls and make crappy things in life. But the same thing can be said about terrible websites, spammy e-books, and blogs with 47 email capture popups.

Is e-courses a good way to get rich?

E-courses are NOT a get rich quick scheme. They take a lot of work to put together, and there are no revenue guarantees. HOWEVER, if you enjoy teaching and sharing your gifts with others on a one-to-many scale, e-courses could be an excellent way for you to create real revenue doing something you love.

Can you do written only courses?

If you’re not comfortable in front of a camera or recording your voice, you can always try a written-only course. You could put your course content in daily emails, slide presentations or a series of PDFs. While you may lose a little of that personal connection with your students, the time and money investment are certainly much lower than going the audio/video route, so if you’re on a tight budget, written-only is a good place to start.

Can you edit PDFs digitally?

They can edit the PDFs digitally, or they can print out the resources and fill them out that way. This is also the point where I start to think about things like on-boarding. On-boarding simply refers to the process of getting new users (students) integrated into your existing system (course.)

What are the different formats of eLearning modules?

There are three main formats for eLearning modules: Read and click. These modules feature text, some images, probably audio and basic quiz questions. Creating eLearning courses of this type is a quick, and easy process as modules usually have no interactive components and feature only limited graphics.

Why should you include the latter in a course?

You may wish to include the latter in the course at a later stage, when learners are comfortable with the basics, as long as this does not make the course too long . Such practice avoids cognitive overload and ensures all the most important information fits within the time restraints.

How to make learning interactive?

The easiest way to make learning interactive is to add quiz questions within content of various formats. More complex interactions tend to take longer but are still possible with most authoring tools. Interactive learning courses usually use more media than the read and click format and often include videos.

What is interactive learning?

Interactive learning courses usually use more media than the read and click format and often include videos. Simulation.This highly interactive type of eLearning involves a variety of graphics, video, audio, scenarios and some gamification. This level gives the highest degree of interaction by the student.

What is an orientation course?

An orientation course provides an overview of all the courses you offer. If you are offering many courses in your Academy, create an orientation course to build student engagement and interest with the course contents and let them get acquainted with the goals of your Academy.

What are traditional academic courses?

11 Traditional Academic Courses. Academic courses are courses with a traditional academic structure followed by universities. Each section usually consists of an introduction to the course, where objectives are discussed, a short test to assess pre-existing knowledge, and multiple lectures.

What is a presell course?

Presell courses serve as a storefront of an upcoming course. They can rapidly validate a course idea and start building an email list of your potential students before officially releasing a course.

What is a mini course?

Mini-courses are short to consume summaries (teasers) of a full-sized course. Like presell and orientation courses, they serve as teasers that make students enroll in a course. However, in contrast to the other two categories, Mini-courses provide real educational value: A full summary of what will be taught in the full-sized course .

What is drip feed in a course?

With the drip-feed course, you can organize the timely release of your content (section by section) so that it doesn’t become available to your students all at once. For example, if you’re running a fixed time frame course, ten weeks, it makes sense to drip your content weekly to keep students engaged and moving through the course.

Can you teach online courses?

Online courses are not strictly used for teaching. An online course can be a suitable wrapper for a digital good you are offering. In other words, an online course can be used as a portal to give access to users to certain digital products or extra services.

6th Edition vs. 7th Edition

Before we begin, it might be helpful to explain the key change in e-book citation structure that happened with the publication of the APA’s 7th edition.

What You Need

To create an e-book citation, you will need the following information on your source:

E-Book Citation Examples

Author Last Name, First Initial, Middle Initial. (Year Published). Title of e-book in sentence case. Publisher Name. DOI or URL

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Research The Instructional Design Models

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I am sure that you are familiar with ADDIE, but it is not a universal solution! Based in my experience, Robert Gagne's instructional design model, which is best know as the Nine Events of Instruction, is the most appropriate Instructional Design Model for converting a traditional course into an eLearning format. However, to find the …
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Use of Interaction

  • Interactionis the most important aspect of an eLearning course. However, you should know why you use interaction and what you want to achieve. I have seen several eLearning courses full of interaction that is waste of time... Moore (1989) believes that interaction is a central component of online education and he describes 3 types of interaction:
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Choose The Right Educational Technology

  • In my opinion learning becomes more effective when people are mutually active with the learning materials, with the learning environment. Learning, by manufacturing innovative materials for other learners and by communicating with them about these materials, enhance their learning abilities. For example, based on social constructionist pedagogy,eFront offers several interactiv…
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Revision Procedures

  • After you convert you f2f course into an eLearning format you may believe that it is time to offer it to your online learners. WRONG! You should definitely revise your eLearning course before providing it to your learners. The following revision procedures worked for me and I highly encourage you to follow them. 1. SurveyA participant evaluation fo...
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