how to improve course content

1. Start With A Bang. You never get a second chance at making a first impression. Use your opening line to hook your learners in. ...
2. Train, Don't Educate. To know how to improve your training content, you must first understand its intended audience and purpose.
3. Tell A Story. Every human culture loves a good story. ...
4. Be Brief. When we advised you to "tell a story" in our previous tip, we meant a short story – not an epic saga.
5. Omit Filler Words And Phrases. There are few things duller than a text brimming with filler words. You know their kind. ...
Study Good Writing. There are many excellent free writing resources available on the internet, and a few commercial ones that are worth the money.
Study Video And Multimedia Production. A lot of corporate training videos are just one person talking on camera, intermixed with the occasional common stock photo or animated title.
Invest In Quality Equipment. Most training videos have what the broadcast industry calls "low production values". In plain English, they look and sound bad.
Learn About (And Use) The Available Tools. As a content writer in 2018, you have many advanced tools at your disposal. ...
Get Others Involved. Writers are often blind to certain deficiencies in their writing. ...

Full Answer

How to improve your training content?

To know how to improve your training content, you must first understand its intended audience and purpose. For example, whereas academic training is focused on providing students with a deep understanding of a subject, enterprise training is all about meeting the company's goals.

Why should I plan my course content?

Planning your course content creates a solid foundation for your entire course business, and here is the fool–proof guide. Skip to main content Money Money Grow your team Small business finance Taxes and payments

How to increase the value of your online course?

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 courseand sweeten the deal for people who might still be debating whether or not they want to take the plunge and purchase.

How can I improve my content writing skills?

Commercial enterprise courses (like the ones you can find on the TalentLMS Marketplace) are written by professional content writers that know their craft. Studying their structure, tone, and writing style will help you improve your own writing. 7. Study Video And Multimedia Production

What does quality course content mean?

The concept of learning content includes information that course organizers broadcast to students.

What Criteria Should You Use to Evaluate Your Course Content Quality?

High-quality content arouses the interest of the audience and motivates students to learn.

How to Improve the Quality of Online Course: Useful Tips

Lectures and seminars are most often used for corporate training. But for greater interest in learning, you can add other formats, such as webinars or training projects. What is the best way to do this?

In Conclusion: How To Create Awesome Online Course Content

I hope the tips above will help you increase student engagement, and they will take an active part in online classes. However, keep in mind that you need to improve the content, its format, and how you deliver it to give students active learning opportunities.

Explore my online courses

If you want to experience good quality course material which has been loved many thousands of people around the world, check out my popular digital courses here.

How to help students with attention span?

Help your students. Make sure each class session is purposeful. Let students know each session’s goals and structure and your expectations for them .

How to make Round 2 online better?

1. Build a personal connection with your students. Instead of simply introducing yourself, consider conducting a student survey.

How to teach empathy to students?

Encourage your students. Provide them with scaffolding: rubrics, check lists, sample responses to test questions, background information, glossaries. Offer some flexibility on deadlines and opportunities to re-do assignments. And provide prompt feedback.

Is project based learning impossible?

Even in our socially-distanced environment, project-based learning is not impossible.

Follow Your Style Guide Consistently

Professional sites are consistent with their branding across all pages. It is important to define a visual style for your courses from the start so you can portray a unified experience to your students. At the same time, consistent style guidelines contribute to the image your site conveys, appearing more professional and put together.

Prioritize Text Readability

The ultimate goal of any online course is to share knowledge with others. In order for students to absorb knowledge from your courses, they’ll need to be able to properly digest the content you share. The visual design of your pages plays a huge role here.

Use White Space

There’s nothing worse for a reader than a crowded page. When designing your course and lesson pages, make sure to include plenty of white space. This will allow you to space out different elements, so that the reader can visually identify them on the page and absorb their content without any distractions.

Include Media

In today’s digital age, simple text isn’t enough to fully grasp your students’ attention. With most sites and social networks revolving around images and video, it is essential to implement multimedia elements on your course pages.

Design For Consumption

People will process visual content in a given order, scanning the page from top to bottom and from left to right so make sure to design your pages accordingly.

Choose A Simple Color Palette

When designing your course pages make sure to use contrasting colors that stand out and won’t get lost in the background. Preferably stick to a simple color palette, with 2-4 different colors, to avoid visually overwhelming the reader.

Bottom Line: How To Design An Online Course Page

A well-designed online course is not only more professional and nice to look at, but contributes to delivering a better learning experience to your students. By applying the simple visual design tips mentioned above, you can improve your online course pages, encourage your students to focus and help them get the most out of your content.

Why is online training important?

An online training database is beneficial for EVERY member of your corporate audience. Those who are struggling can use the material to catch up with their colleagues, while those who are excelling can learn more about a topic that interests them.

What is corporate training support?

Corporate training support can come in one of two forms: direct support and “moment of need” support. Direct support pertains one-on-one chats, instant messaging, and emails that address a concern or answer a question that the leaner may have.

Do you have to overhaul your online training?

You don’t have to give your online training course a complete overhaul to make it a success. In most cases, it’s just a matter of assessing your current interactive corporate eLearning strategy to determine its weaknesses, and then making small changes to create a truly effective online training program.

Can eLearning have a negative impact on training?

However, there are also those that fly under the radar during the corporate eLearning design and development process. While they may not be as obvious, they can have a negative impact on our online training strategy. In this article, you’ll discover 7 ways to improve your next online training course that you may not have even considered.

Students are consumers, and accessibility is important

There are different laws that universities and colleges need to be aware of and working towards being compliant with. We’ve written about these in this article on keeping content compliant in higher education. Students and prospective students want to get what they are paying for, and universities need to be working hard to accommodate.

So how do you manage content output during times of change?

In the age of digital transformation, COVID-19 and changes to student and prospective student needs, content creation comes down to three things:

A clear workflow

How many times has content been derailed and overrun on budgets due to getting stuck in feedback loops, struggling to get hold of the person who needs to sign off the work, and often, the wrong people looking and signing off work? Then it becomes a rush job and scramble to get last minute edits over the line.

Defined roles and responsibilities

To keep content creation productive and flowing, you need to have clear roles and responsibilities, and tasks within projects. Stakeholders need to all be on the same page, and ideally, content creation is centralised.

Structured content templates

The use of templates is crucial for course content management and planning, when you’re managing large volumes of content across different departments.

A useful and usable style guide

All higher ed organisations should have a style guide. But, don’t just have it in a static PDF. Your style guide will change and morph over time and that’s okay. Check out our article deconstructing the University of Dundee’s style guide. And this article on how Mailchimp onboarded their team to a new brand voice.

Course content has never been more important, or high-stakes, for universities

Good content management and strategy looks at people, processes and technology holistically. GatherContent helps organisations with this. See how it can help your higher ed institution with the planning, production and management of content by visiting our higher education industry page.

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.

What should students understand about the content of a course?

Students should understand what content they will learn, what skills they will develop, and what attitudes, values, and feelings may change as a result of taking the course. Including such information will help you develop some well considered course objectives, if you have not already done so.

Why are course syllabi important?

Your course syllabi are an important teaching legacy. They often provide the only permanent record of your teaching philosophy, commitment to teaching, and pedagogical innovations. If you keep old copies of your course syllabi and read several years’ worth at one sitting, you can easily see how you have developed as a teacher.

Why is a syllabus important?

In addition to informing your students, a good syllabus provides a record of your course for colleagues who may teach it later. It can also aid departmental and institutional curriculum planning, and assist outside agencies in assessing your program’s goals and effectiveness.

What does the tone of a syllabus mean?

The tone of your syllabus can indicate how approachable you are, and students often form an immediate impression of whether they will like you— and your course—from reading the syllabus. Needless to say, it is better if the impression is positive.

What is the process of writing a syllabus?

The very process of writing a well-constructed syllabus forces you to crystallize, articulate, organize, and communicate your thoughts about a course. This thought and writing produces what Gabbanesch (1992) calls the enriched syllabus, which compels you to publicly reveal your previously well concealed assumptions.

Do teachers have to adhere to the rules and procedures set forth in their syllabus?

It is imperative that all teachers adhere faithfully to the policies and requirements set forth in their syllabi. Do not forget the reciprocal nature of this contract. By requiring students to abide by the rules and procedures spelled out in your syllabus, you are also agreeing to do the same.

Why do eLearning courses look like a jumble of ideas and concepts?

Some eLearning course screens look like a jumble of ideas and concepts because the course designer mistakenly presumes fancy design leads to more effective eLearning. In fact, the exact opposite is true. Each screen in a course should convey one idea, and one idea only.

How to engage learners in eLearning?

Learning is an active pursuit. Ineffective eLearning courses let the learner sit passively, almost encouraging the learner to check out. Provide a learning experience that promotes openness, thought and discussion. Some ways to engage learners actively include: 1 Active buttons in the course to poll learners on their understanding; 2 Student discussion in blogs or communities; 3 Or email to extend the learning past the course parameters.

What is a learning target?

Learning targets explicitly state what a learner should know or be able to do by the end of a course and how learners can demonstrate their learning. Setting a target and a goal achieves two critical goals. First, learners will know why the course is important and how it will help them in the future. Secondly, targets help keep course content focused.

Do you need a degree to design a course?

Course designers don't need a degree in graphic design to follow some basic design principles, especially those principles with proven track records at creating more effective eLearning. Using the 10 basic design elements including an attention to white space, consistency and reducing on-screen clutter can make a world of difference in a course. A few tweaks based on these principles will instantly improve the visual impact of your course.

How to maintain high quality response rates?

The most effective method to maintain high quality response rates is to make automated evaluations and deliver results in quick turnaround time to faculty and students, and develop action plan based on the feedback. Online course evaluations can handle substantive feedback from students.

What is a student course evaluation?

Student course evaluation is purposeful, systematic and careful collection of insightful feedback, conveying the effectiveness and impact of programs and courses that needs a change and improvement.

Why is student feedback important?

Student feedback is critical to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the courses, programs and instruction to drive improvement institution-wide. Course evaluations enable faculty and administrators to measure the classroom experience.