what are feature to start an online course

by Queenie Gutkowski 3 min read

Key features of the Online Learning platform 1. Learners Should be Able to Access Classes Easily 2. Your E-learning Website Should also Feature Some Free Classes

Full Answer

How do I create an outline for my online course?

Put simply, this is how to create an outline for your online course: 1 Identify the primary learning outcome 2 List the skills necessary for achieving the primary learning outcome 3 Use the skill checklist to create course modules 4 Set learning goals for your course modules

What do you need to launch an online course?

Prior to launching an online course, you should make sure you’re armed with two things: an email list and 20 percent of the content ready to go. The email list: the backbone of good business

What are the features of online courses?

What are the features of an online course? The School of Continuing Studies online courses are instructor-led and delivered primarily through an online course site using one or more collaborative, communication and/or social technologies.

What should I choose for my online course topic?

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. Try and think about what it is that you do best, and what people come to you for advice on.

What are the features of an online courses?

The Best eLearning Features You Need To KnowCollaboration Of Various Learning Tools. ... Strong Reporting With Customization. ... Web-Based Business Support. ... Brand Integration. ... Online Course Catalogs. ... Self Registration. ... Responsive Design Features. ... Accreditation Support.More items...•

What do I need to start an online course?

How to create an online courseChoose the right subject matter.Test your idea.Research the topic extensively.Write a course outline.Create the course content.Bring your course online.Sell your online course.Market your content.More items...•

What characteristics do you need to be able to make online class a success?

Self-motivated. Students can direct their own learning environment and methods to fulfill course requirements and achieve individual academic success. ... Independent Learner. ... Computer Literate. ... Good Time Management. ... Effective Communicator. ... Personal Commitment. ... Academic Readiness. ... Technologically Prepared.

How do I start my own course?

Online course launch checklistChoose a “first steps” course idea.Create the course outline and the first module.Make your sales page.Set up a post-purchase thank you page.Devise your sales emails.Create a landing page for your live challenge.Set up a thank you page for your live challenge.More items...•

How do you plan a course launch?

Plan the content you'll need to build your online course. Create an outline of the lessons and modules that will be included in your online course. Your content outline will give you a head start when it comes to creating content. Keep a consistent voice throughout your content creation and your online course launch.

What are the needs of students in online classes?

Based on frequencies of responses to the open-ended question, the top four needs of online students were technical help, flexible and understanding instruc- tors, advance course information, and sample assignments.

What are the strengths of online learning?

Strengths of Online LearningAnywhere… ... Anytime, Any Pace… ... Synergy. ... High Quality Dialog. ... Student Centered. ... Level Playing Field. ... Access to Resources. ... Creative Teaching.More items...

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.

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 does it mean to get started teaching?

Which means you need to get your knowledge together.

How to keep students engaged in a course?

One way to keep your students engaged is to provide an early return on their investment. If a student feels they’ve learned something just from the first module alone, they’re a lot more likely to stick around. Nothing gets someone down faster than them feeling stupid or unproductive, which is very easy to do in a learning environment. Give them feedback, and an ongoing sense of accomplishment, and they’ll stick around.

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 do you need to teach a class?

Ideally, you should have demonstrable expertise on the subject you are teaching. That could be either by education or practical knowledge on the subject. Having real qualifications to show to your students makes a big difference in establishing trustworthiness for yourself.

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.

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.

How to develop a curriculum for online classes?

Now is the time to develop the curriculum for your online course. On a piece of paper, write down a list of the different lessons you plan on teaching online. Within each lesson, break it down to the main topics you want to cover. 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.

What does competition mean in online courses?

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.

What to do if you already have professional experience with your course topic?

If you already have professional experience with your course topic, it’s likely that you’ve put together content about it in the past. Have you ever written a blog post or created a webinar about the subject? Maybe you host a podcast or run a YouTube channel for your business in which you’ve discussed similar themes? If so, go back to these materials. Repurposing existing content into your online course will help get you started and save a lot of valuable time.

How to get your audience to work on a topic?

Ask a group of friends, as well as your existing audience, what they think of the subject you had in mind. Test it out by sharing polls or online forms for your audience to fill out. You can make a short tutorial first, and monitor its performance. Then, follow up on the tutorial on social media or via email marketing campaigns, asking your audience if this type of material is something they’re interested in seeing more of.

How to test your idea?

In order to test your idea, use a landing page builder to create a page for your upcoming online course. Although you haven’t created the course just yet, you already know what it’s going to be about. Include a concise description of the course explaining what people can expect to learn and add eye-catching imagery to further reflect the concept. Check out these fully customizable landing page templates to use as a starting point.

How to determine competitor price?

Competitor prices: Start by doing a quick audit to determine the average course price on your topic. While the prices can fluctuate depending on how much of an expert the course instructor is, try to get a sense of what the going market rate is for reference.

What is dashboard in a course?

It is a place to manage courses, classes, and track progression to achieve more efficient results. The dashboard needs to be a place for the user to see and manage it all in comprehensive and easy terms.

What is the purpose of offering courses in multiple languages?

By offering courses in multiple languages, you open your platform up to a larger market of non-English speakers and expand the accessibility of your content. Right now, little to no E-learning platforms offer such a service which means your platform would be one of the few that did. This will also garner your site notoriety as a trailblazer.

What is progress tracking?

A progress tracking feature with clear goals will aid in the productivity of the learners as well as boost the overall usage of the platform as they competitively want to reach the next milestone. Many platforms do this by a percentage bar that shows how much of the course the learner has completed. Another method is a rating system where the overall scores of the learner determine whether they are a novice, intermediate, or master of a certain course.

What should a user profile allow learners to see?

For learners, their user profile options should allow them to see the history of the courses they have taken and access to courses already enrolled, It should also be filled with tools that allow them to assess their progress and receive feedback.

What is the purpose of e-learning?

The idea of an E-learning platform is to allow for newbies to pick up new skills and learn about new concepts. As such, keep course descriptions readable and easy to understand. Avoid the use of overly technical terms that might intimidate potential learners to keep them from availing.

What is a well designed layout?

A well designed layout is one that facilitates easy navigation for both learners searching for the right course, and teachers posting quality courses with ease. It must also be pleasing to look at with colors and themes that induce a sense of comfort and productivity.

What is the Academy Model?

As the name implies, the Academy Model creates comprehensive courses on certain fields of study or skill sets. They operate on a monthly or yearly subscription basis so income under this model is earned passively,

What is the education phase?

In the education phase, you’re essentially warming up your list. You’re getting familiar with the audience and getting them familiarized with the product and the pain points it solves.

What are the sides of a launch strategy?

Think of a launch strategy as two sides of a coin: the education side and the selling side . Neither can function without the other, and every creator needs to pay attention to both when launching an online course.

What is the selling phase of email marketing?

Once the email flow is set, the selling phase can begin with—you guessed it—emails . This time, it’s all about marketing the course. From building excitement to actually giving subscribers the opportunity to buy, the following outline serves as a play-by-play email guide creators can follow.

How to sell online courses?

Doing a webinar is one of the best ways to sell online courses. It allows you to show your personality and teaching style to your audience and helps establish a real connection with them.

When starting with your outline, what should you think about?

When starting with your outline, think about the course’s goals, the end result, and the problem you’re trying to fix.

Why Start an Online School in 2021?

An online school model is different from selling self-contained courses. It focuses on building a comprehensive academy around a subject/industry, rather than just offering one-off online classes.

How much is the eLearning market worth in 2020?

The COVID pandemic led to a huge spike in demand for online learning. As a result, the eLearning market reached $250 billion in 2020 and is expected to cross $1 trillion in 2027.

What is the final string in making sure your school is ready?

The final string in making sure your school is ready is setting up analytics.

How to get feedback on Facebook?

You can start by analyzing the discussions in popular Facebook Groups or online communities. And you can go one step further by reaching out directly to your potential customers and seeking their feedback.

What should a school website say?

Your school website should shout what your business is and who it’s for. The best way to do this is through proper branding.

How has online learning reached the mainstream?

One way in which online learning has reached the mainstream is through language learning apps. Supported on most tablets, through the browser, and on phones, many language learning apps engage in “micro learning” to slowly build up your confidence in a new language.

Is online degree cheaper than traditional degree?

Luckily, many online degrees are already offered at lower prices than traditional degrees. Additionally, online degrees tend to support students who are working or otherwise engaged. This means you don’t have to leave your source of income while you’re pursuing your degree.

Why is online training important?

The reason being that it’s faster and more effective than traditional training. Online courses offer an impactful way to gain new skills and knowledge. An online training academy is also a great way to access and spread knowledge. Moreover, it’s a cheap and profitable business. Hence starting your online training academy in 2020 couldn’t have come ...

Why is it important to have a course?

It’s also important that the course is relevant to your industry and target audience. The course topic should also be a topic that you are passionate about and have experience (life or formal) in. This will make your content more engaging. Your content quality has to be good with professional-looking writing.

How to make your academy easier?

Knowing your audience will make creating your course content easier. It will also make marketing your academy easier. You can hire a market research organization to do it. You can also do an informal survey or put a “sign up for updates” form on your landing page or Facebook.

How to start a training academy?

The first step to start your own training academy is to know your specific target audience. If you are a company this could be your employees. If you are an individual this could be people who want to enroll in your course. Knowing your audience will make creating your course content easier. It will also make marketing your academy easier. You can hire a market research organization to do it. You can also do an informal survey or put a “sign up for updates” form on your landing page or Facebook. With this information find out who they are and what they want to learn. Next, determine the size and location (local/international) of your audience. As this will affect your content, its delivery, and payment methods. It's also important to consider is if you’re targeting businesses or the general market.

Can you do training academy yourself?

As it will make your training academy stand out. You can either do it yourself or hire a writer. Next, you will check if the course content has a market demand or not. It will be essential to also check if the competition is offering similar content. With MindScroll you can create online courses in minutes.

What is online learning?

Online learning is also enthusiastically adopted by companies training their employees, professionals looking to upskill, and career veterans looking to enter a different industry. According to HubSpot, 75% of professionals surveyed prefer to learn using online training videos; similarly, 68% of professionals trust the online learning platform of their choice.

Why is online learning better than traditional classes?

Online learning allows for better quality interactions between students and tutors . This is because tutors have various teaching methods at their disposal. Additionally, they can focus on individual students a lot more than they would in traditional classes. Most online learning courses that rely on live streaming have a cap on the number of students who can enroll, ensuring that each student gets adequate attention and advice from their tutor.

How has technology changed classrooms?

The meaning of traditional classrooms has changed over the years, especially with technology permeating some, then all, domains of the classroom environment. From projectors to smart screens and everything in between, technology has changed classroom learning as we know it. And now, online learning serves to switch up what we expect from learning environments, processes, and experiences. Many of the perks offered by traditional classrooms are now being provided by eLearning platform services, with a few additional features. The public’s appreciation for online learning has only increased over time, with 46% of surveyed recent graduates having taken an online course already. The variety of eLearning platform features, accessibility, lower costs, and access to high-quality education from all parts of the world have contributed to this rise. While the question of which online learning platform is best is still up in the air, all learning platforms offer distinctive benefits to those who enroll in their courses.

Why is online learning so popular?

Summary: Online learning has been on the rise in recent years, largely due to the convenience, cost, and accessibility the system offers compared to traditional learning. This growth has only been fueled by the coronavirus pandemic that forced down the shutters of universities and schools worldwide.

Why is retention rate higher in online courses than in traditional courses?

This is likely due to the decrease in stressors and pressures otherwise present in traditional schooling systems.

Is online learning cheaper than traditional schooling?

Online learning is priced lower than traditional university courses and is also worth the cost. The fees often don’t account for accommodation, textbooks, equipment, groceries, transport and other factors that contribute to the full learning experience in traditional schooling. Online learning slashes most of these costs at least by half, leaving students to make the most of the affordable prices they’ve paid. Lower costs don’t mean a decrease in quality; lower costs ensure that a wider audience has access to universities and courses that were once reserved for those with higher budgets.

Do companies have to build eLearning platforms?

This way, they gain education and knowledge while fulfilling their responsibilities within the company. Companies will not have to build eLearning platforms of their own to train employees, they can still gain a higher-skilled workforce by making an initial investment in an eLearning platform for enterprises.

What makes a great online course platform?

For this piece, we only considered platforms for building and selling an online course, which means we did not consider learning management systems (LMS). While the terms are often used interchangeably, LMS software is generally used either in a school setting or to help companies train their customers and employees. The platforms covered below, on the other hand, are designed for businesses and individual creators to earn money by selling their courses.

What is the process of creating an online course?

While the concept and reasoning behind building an online course is simple, the process often isn't. It's more than just uploading a video: it requires you to build out a course curriculum, develop assignments (if you want), design the course pages, promote the course, and more.

What is Skillshare for students?

Instead of favoring final outcomes, Skillshare encourages students to share their progress, garner feedback, and tweak their work accordingly—which is perfect for the creative topics you'll be teaching.

How long is a Skillshare class?

Free or premium, Skillshare classes have three major moving parts: video lessons, a project, and community discussion. Each class includes 20-60 minutes of video, broken down into 2-5-minute lessons. The practical project then ensures hands-on experience. For instance, a social media class project might require students to promote their Instagram account, or a writing class might require students to draft a pitch. Finally, the community portion of a class allows students to post their work.

What is Skillshare for?

If you're an entrepreneur, designer, writer, photographer, or blogger looking to teach your craft online, Skillshare is great for teaching creative skills . You'll find courses on all kinds of topics, both popular and niche: marketing, photography, cooking, hand painting, doodling, and even wall hanging.

Why launch your first course on Udemy?

Why launch your first course on Udemy? Because the platform offers loads of support for creating and marketing a course. For example, if you're not sure if your video lessons are up to snuff, you can submit a sample for review and get feedback on video and audio, along with suggestions for equipment. And for tutorials on planning a course, filming your first video, and related topics, Udemy offers the Teach Hub with tips and tricks.

How to create a course on Thinkific?

There are two parts to creating a course on Thinkific: course material and landing page. To get started, choose from the following templates: pre-sell, mini-course, flagship course, membership resource library, and webinar replay. Unlike other course builders, where you start with a blank slate, Thinkific templates provide helpful cues and tips to build a valuable course. Apart from video lessons, the templates are pre-populated with sample quizzes, downloads, surveys, and instructor messages, at regular intervals throughout the course. Add or remove content as you see fit, or follow the template as is.

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