how to make an instructional course

• Pinpoint the course goals. What do you want the students to learn and be able to accomplish? ...
• Course content. What are the major topics and what order will they be taught? Choose main topics. Preview current textbooks and updated literature for a unique course topic.
• Develop the teaching methods and tools. After the course goals and content are determined, it is time to think about the content and how you will present it.
• Decide on the method of evaluating the learning of your students. Organize the assignments and exams. Remember that evaluation must align with the course goals. ...
• Selection of other materials and text (s) First, determine what materials and text (s) you will use dependent on whether the course goals are met best by a published text ...
Outline the course policies. Decide how to grade the work: papers, assignments, exams, and if appropriate, class participation. ...
Make up the course schedule. As mentioned earlier, the tendency is to try to do too much within a given class period. ...
Prepare the course syllabus. A typical syllabus is comprised of a course title; the time of the course; the location; any prerequisites; the required materials and texts, topics of the ...
Tweak the Course Design. Remember that planning a course is a fluid process. The diagram shows this below. ...

Full Answer

How to create an effective instructional video?

Aug 12, 2021 · List the Topics Covered in the Training. Start creating your instructional design document by listing all of the topics that will be covered in the training. Making sure you’re covering all of the right topics is usually the first thing your stakeholders and subject matter experts will be interested in verifying.

How to prepare an instructional design document?

Jan 22, 2020 · This article includes tips on designing and building a course. Allow enough time to carefully plan and revise content for a new course. Careful planning will make teaching easier and more enjoyable. Talk with other teachers who have taught similar content and discuss various strategies as well as student reactions to the material, etc.

How do I design and build a course?

Do you need to make a how-to video or a tutorial?

How do I create a learning course?

How To Easily Create eLearning CoursesChoose an authoring tool that is right for you. ... Research your eLearning audience and subject matter beforehand. ... Create an eLearning template or use an existing one. ... Choose a cloud-based learning management system. ... Use links to add multimedia and resources.More items...•Jan 13, 2015

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.

How do I create a PDF course?

How to create an online course PDF checklistOpen up your free (or paid) Canva account.Type “checklist” in the search bar.Select your favourite layout.Adjust colours to your brand colours.Adjust fonts to your brand fonts.Insert your content.Click download as PDF.Upload PDF to your online school.

How do you design a course content?

Take time and figure out why you are doing this, and for whom. This will help you categorise what kind of curriculum design you want. Make sure you have all the necessary information, including the desired goals, resources, learners' interests, teachers' interests, course details etc.Mar 19, 2018

List the Topics Covered in the Training

Start creating your instructional design document by listing all of the topics that will be covered in the training. Making sure you’re covering all of the right topics is usually the first thing your stakeholders and subject matter experts will be interested in verifying.

List the Audience (s) Who Will Receive the Training

After you’ve identified each of the topics that will be covered in the training, the next item to include in your instructional design document is a list of the audience (s) who will receive the training. This is important to define, especially when designing a training solution with several different target audiences.

List the Learning Objectives that Will Be Accomplished Through the Training

Once you’ve defined your target audience (s) for your training, the learning objectives are the next set of items to outline in your instructional design document. Here, you want to define what your learners will be able to do once the training is complete, as it relates to the topic being taught.

List the Modalities that Will Be Used to Deliver the Training

After defining your learning objectives, the next step in creating your instructional design document is to list the modalities that will be used to deliver the training.

List the Measurements that Will Be Used to Evaluate the Effectiveness of the Training

The final item to include in your instructional design document is a list of measurements that will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the training. This is where you can help your stakeholders and subject matter experts see how the training will help them accomplish their business goals.

What is an instructional video?

An instructional video is any video that demonstrates a process, transfers knowledge, explains a concept, or shows someone how to do something. Creating instructional videos isn’t limited to instructional design professionals. At least, not anymore. Anyone, in any industry, can (and probably should) create instructional videos.

How to make an intro for a video?

To create your own video intro, add some space at the beginning of your video. Hold the shift key on your keyboard and drag the playhead to the right. Then, open your media bin and select the Library tab.

Why do companies create training videos?

Companies often create online training videos to cover interpersonal topics, such as compliance and harassment training, or job-related topics, such as hardware and software training. Training videos often use footage of real people to connect the trainer and trainee.

How long is a tutorial video?

Tutorial videos are the go-to instructional method for teaching a process or providing step-by-step instructions. Usually between 2-10 minutes long, tutorial videos may leverage multiple instructional methods. Sometimes referred to as “how-to” videos, the best ones are carefully planned and have a professional touch.

What is a micro video?

Micro videos are short instructional videos that focus on teaching a single, narrow topic. They’re usually less than a minute long and appeal to today’s media consumers, who have notoriously short attention spans.

How to get clear screen video?

Start by cleaning up your computer screen and closing unnecessary applications. Turn off notifications that might pop up. Follow these directions to get crisp, clear, screen video. The last thing you want after you record all your footage is to realize you have a blurry video.

What is an explainer video?

Explainer videos are short types of videos (usually less than two minutes) that explain a business concept or product in an entertaining, visual way. They typically use basic animations to explain a larger topic, product, or service. Explainer videos simplify complex ideas into easily digestible content.

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.

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.

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.

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 to make an instructional video easy to follow?

To make your video easy to follow, include visual cues in your storyboard, such as character expressions and actions or header text.

How to ensure that your video is meeting its learning objective?

To ensure that your video is meeting its learning objective, show the script to experts in the video’s subject. They will be able to confirm whether the knowledge you’re sharing is accurate and useful before you dive into video production.

What is Asana video?

Asana, a project management software, uses a combination of live action and screencast video to explain how to integrate their product with another. One type of instructional video isn’t better or worse than another—it just depends on how well the style serves your subject.

What is an eLearning video?

eLearning professionals often create instructional videos with different scenario branches, a form of learning that is similar to a “choose your own adventure” book. The learner makes a decision in the course—choosing an answer, clicking a call-to-action button—which causes the video to unfold in a unique way.

Can you draw stick figures?

It’s okay if you only know how to draw stick figures. As long as you can communicate the main actions in every frame, your storyboard will be useful. Here’s an example from Kenneth Chan at Stanford University:

What is storyboarding in video?

Storyboarding is the process of visually representing every shot of your educational video , whether that’s through drawing or a computer program. By looking at each frame, you’re able to evaluate the visuals of your video and decide which imagery is serving your learning objective. 12.

How to avoid cognitive overload?

Viewers can process only so much information at a time. To avoid cognitive overload, limit the amount of sensory content you present at one time. For example, don’t present dense information through narration at the same time as an energetic music cue.

What Does An Instructional Design Document Do?

The Instructional Design Document provides a framework that guides all key individuals involved in the eLearning development process.

Why Is The Instructional Design Document Important?

The process of eLearning development involves several people –project owners, project managers, trainers, Subject Matter Experts, learning design experts, authoring tool experts, technology specialists, translators, audio narrators, and more.

An Outline For The Instructional Design Document

So, we can create an Instructional Design Document using either MS Word, MS PowerPoint, or any other tool that works for the team. The key is to prepare it and get it vetted by all key stakeholders of the project and get their buy-in. Here is a sample outline that consists of the key information required to prepare an Instructional Design Document.

Final Thoughts

The format and structure of the design document may vary, based on the way it works in your organization. However, essentially, the above outline will help you ensure all key information is captured before the development of the course. You can customize this outline based on your specific needs.

How to train a trainer?

Write to your training audience. Use the second person and refer to the learners as "you.". Don't ignore the audience you're hoping to train by writing simply about work processes or machines. And don't write about the learners in the third-person--address them directly.

What grade should I be writing?

The average American reads at about a 7th or 8th grade level. So you should generally keep your writing at that level, too. If you're writing for doctors, attorneys, and engineers, write at a higher level. If you're writing for people who don't speak English as their first language, write at a lower level.

When to use pronouns instead of "it"?

When you refer to a noun by its name (example: refrigerator), everyone knows what you're talking about. If you begin using pronouns (example: it) instead, though, you may confuse people. Things get even more confusing if the learners can't tell if the "it" refers to a refrigerator or a toaster that you also mentioned.

Who is Anna Sabramowicz?

Anna Sabramowicz is a very good instructional designer who focuses on scenario-based learning that is firmly rooted in storytelling. This is a series of videos to help you get started.

What is a SME?

Subject matter experts, or SMEs, are bright people. They're passionate experts on the topic they're describing. This makes them prone to violate many of the rules we just discussed-even if they DO happen to be good writers, which isn't always true. Here are some more tips on working with SMEs.

Who is Lisa Cron?

In this one, she discussed the importance of storytelling in instructional materials and talks with noted author and storytelling expert Lisa Cron, author of Wired for Story.

Is it necessary to leave it out?

It's it's not necessary, leave it out. For example, if you're teaching learners to make a common household item, your training shouldn't start with a 15-minute history of that item's development over the past three centuries.

What is infographics video?

Infographics are animated visuals that are made up of blurbs of information. Here is an infographics-based video to get an idea of what they look like and how they work.

How to record a video with a microphone?

Here’s how: 1) Download Screenrec and Lightworks . 2) Prepare your script and your slides, if any. Open Screenrec and hit Alt-S or click the Record button (it looks like a video camera). 3) Click the microphone icon to use your built-in microphone for narration. Once you’ve finished recording, click the stop button.

What is the best video editing software?

A good video editing tool to consider is Lightworks. The features include text effects, animation and graphics effects, and many other tools to add a professional polish to your training programs. Like ScreenRec, Lightworks is also free. You don’t really need dedicated training video software.

Can you use a script for eLearning?

Scripts are especially useful when you’re new to creating eLearning videos. Once you’re a professional, you can speak by simply looking at the outline but, if this is your first video and it’s going to be a short one, it could be a good idea to have a script. You can hire someone to record a voice-over to an audio file and then just edit the video accordingly.