what are the top 5 guiding questions to ask when creating an online course

by Jana Kertzmann 3 min read

Knowing your learners is key to creating a course that they will find relevant, meaningful and engaging. Questions to ask yourself include: Where are they from? What do they do? How old are they? What do they know? How much time can they invest in your course?

Imagine: you've got a great idea for an online course that you're sure learners will love.
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Contents
  • Who are your learners?
  • What do they need to know?
  • Why do they need to know it?
  • How will they show their learning?
  • How will you course be facilitated?
  • What does success look like?
Sep 18, 2018

Full Answer

Why do I need to ask questions about my course?

These questions aren’t essential, but it can give you a better understanding of how learners interact with your course and with other users. This can help you make their overall experience better or assess how effective your efforts were to make it more enjoyable.

What are general questions about the course?

Questions About The Course In General These questions help you find out what are the overall impressions of a learner, from start to finish. Although they seem more general, think of it as a warm-up. For example, ask them to name the top three adjectives that come to mind when they think of the course.

How many survey questions should I Ask my online course?

If you’re creating a survey for your online course, use 5-6 questions that you think are relevant based on what you need to improve the most. Just remember that feedback is a gift but also takes a bit of work and at the end of the day, it’s your job to ask relevant questions so learners can help you in return.

What should I look for in an online course?

If an online course’s purpose is to lead the learner from point A to point B, you need to know if it has achieved that, to what degree, and assess how the course can be improved to help others in the future. Have you applied anything that you have learned? Why or why not?

What are five design tips to improve online courses?

5 Tips for Engaging Online Course DesignDevelop Course and Module Learning Goals and Objectives. ... Use Multiple Media for Learning Materials. ... Choose Appropriate Learning Tasks. ... Humanize the Technology. ... Include Multiple Learning Assessments.

What are some questions about online class?

How supported do students feel in their online coursework?...45 Questions to Understand Student Engagement in Online LearningHow excited are you about going to your classes?How often do you get so focused on activities in your classes that you lose track of time?In your classes, how eager are you to participate?More items...

What are 5 keys to a successful outcome in an online course?

5 Key Components To A Successful Online CoursePicking the right platform for a successful online course. Your school can't deliver successful online courses without a reliable course platform. ... High class engagement. ... Easy access to course materials. ... Secure attendance tracking. ... Virtual office hours.

What are the best questions to ask for designing an online learning system?

Get To Know Your Online Learners: 10 Questions For eLearning ProfessionalsWhat skills do they currently possess? ... What is their preferred learning environment? ... Do they have any negative past eLearning experiences? ... What do they expect to take away from the eLearning course? ... Do they have the time to actively participate?More items...•

What are the key factors for making an online course effective?

Previous PPIC research has identified five key factors to help ensure student success in online programs:Use a systems approach to course design. ... Provide professional development. ... Set student expectations. ... Create community. ... Take advantage of the online environment.

What questions should I ask in a class survey?

Here are some essential questions to ask students.Which activities in the classroom do you enjoy the most? ... Given a chance, what is one change that you would like to see? ... Do you have supportive classmates? ... What motivates you to learn more? ... Do you think that the school provides you with adequate sports facilities?

How do you create an effective online course?

5 Tips for Designing Effective Online Courses in 2022Know Your Audience. ... Create Well-Organized Courses / Micro-Learning. ... Make Your Lessons Interactive. ... Incorporate Synchronous and Asynchronous e-Learning Styles. ... Make Content Accessible.

How do you create a successful online course?

Share this articlePick the perfect course topic.Ensure your course idea has high market demand.Create Magnetic and Compelling Learning Outcomes.Select and Gather your Course Content.Structure Your Modules and Course Plan.Determine the most engaging and effective delivery methods for each lesson.More items...•

How do you structure an online course?

0:041:41How 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 questions should I ask about e learning?

10 questions we ask before we start any eLearning project:WHY do you need it? ... WHAT problems will it solve? ... WHO is it for, specifically? ... Have you done this BEFORE? ... What do staff need to KNOW after they've taken the course? ... What do staff need DO differently? ... How often are the different types of knowledge and skills used?More items...

What are some key questions to ask when evaluating an e learning digital tools?

To make sure the solution you choose will be effective, here are five questions to ask when you're evaluating an online learning provider.Do the courses balance flexibility with structure? ... How do students learn the content—and will they be engaged? ... How does the online learning provider ensure high quality?More items...•

What question would you ask a Q&A page about education?

Answering 8 essential questions about educationDo you feel that the current way we are educating children fully prepares them for the needs of the 21st century? ... What is the role of the teacher? ... What do you feel the most exciting or effective learning environment would be?More items...•

What should every piece of online training content you include?

Keep in mind that every piece of online training content you include should tie into the goals and offer real world value. In other words, it needs be applicable on the job. Conduct online surveys, assessments, and interviews to get a clear idea of what knowledge they really need to absorb and retain in a practical sense.

What is the importance of planning and research for online training?

Planning and research are vital to the success of your online training program. You should learn as much as possible about the background of your online learners, the goals that must be achieved, as well as the performance gaps that need to be filled if you want to develop a succinct and successful online training course for your organization.

Is online training part of ongoing training?

In fact, it should be a part of an ongoing online training initiative that involves a supportive online training community. Stress the importance of your online training courses and make your employees feel like they play an important role in the online training process.

Do you have to have a deadline to complete a course?

Some courses are open-ended, and may not require a deadline to complete. Learners sign up to them and expect to take them at their own pace, or they may plan to be subscribed indefinitely. Or, your learners might be looking for a course with a strict schedule that they can complete within a certain timeframe.

Do online courses require tutoring?

Will your learners require one-on-one tutoring? Most online courses are pretty hands-off, allowing learners to progress independently of the instructor. However, some courses may require individual attention, and if so, you will need to know how to handle the higher workload.

Can anyone enroll in a course without a clear understanding of what they will be learning?

It’s unlikely anyone will enroll in your course without a clear understanding of what they will be learning. You can define this by outlining the course syllabus, or by describing specific skills that the course is meant to teach. The more concrete examples you can offer, the stronger your value proposition.

Five Guiding Questions for Creating Strong Learning Outcomes

In a recent Watermark webinar, Kathy Telban, Chief Executive Manager for The Learning Organization, enlightened educators on shifting their approach to curriculum design. In her approach to curriculum strategy, Telban focuses on the importance of providing information to students that applies to their real-life roles after graduation.

Why do clear learning outcomes matter?

They're the backbone of your curriculum strategy. Learning outcomes are an integral part of curriculum mapping. Specifically at community colleges, outcomes are required at the course level and the program level, and weak outcomes won’t cut it when it comes time to measure student accomplishment.

1. Questions About The Course In General

These questions help you find out what are the overall impressions of a learner, from start to finish. Although they seem more general, think of it as a warm-up. For example, ask them to name the top three adjectives that come to mind when they think of the course.

2. Questions About The Course Content

The biggest area of improvement is your course content. Your learners offer a unique insight so this should be your main focus, especially if you have limited time or want to build a shorter survey.

3. Questions About Learning Outcomes

Learning outcomes are how we measure the success of a course. And while you might be able to assess them through online quizzes or other types of assessments, it’s great to know what learners think about the final result.

4. Questions About Their Interaction With The Course

These questions aren’t essential, but it can give you a better understanding of how learners interact with your course and with other users. This can help you make their overall experience better or assess how effective your efforts were to make it more enjoyable.

What is the best indicator of a course?

Completion course rates and time to complete the course: Completion rate or passing scores are a great indicator, but you can go beyond that. Evaluate if learners are taking too long to complete the course. That may be a sign that the course is either too difficult or too easy.

What are some ways to make a course more engaging?

There are many interactions that your team can consider to make the course more engaging like revealing icons, timeline, showing progress, drag and drop games, or comparing progress with other peers.

What if you were to decide not to do this training?

This answer will give depth to the initial question regarding the real issue. Pushing the envelope on the training will get the team to focus on the real objective and the hopes of the impact that it can have on employees and the business.

When a clear objective does not back a request, a team can often find themselves running into design recommendations that?

When a clear objective does not back a request, a team can often find themselves running into design recommendations that will be runarounds to what the business and its employees need. Each application needs to be broken down to include the issue in layman's terms. This background information will save your team many fancy, but useless designs.

Do eLearning designers forget to identify and communicate the problem the course intends to solve?

Believe it or not, many eLearning designers forget to identify and communicate the problem the course intends to solve.

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Who Is The Audience?

  • When you create an eLearning course, you do it because someone else needs it. There’s no point in teaching a skill, behavior, or attitude to someone if there’s no demand for it. However, curiosity for new information or desire to build new knowledge usually comes from a place of applicabilit…
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What Are The Learning Outcomes?

  • You should design your course with the learning outcomes in mind. They impact the delivery method or technology you choose and the content you’ll include in the course. But what are learning outcomes exactly? Learning outcomesstate what employees should learn as a result of taking an entire course or one of its modules, units, or lessons. Additionally, a learning outcome …
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When Will Existing Content Be available?

  • At this point, you know for whom you’re creating the course and for what purpose. That’s great—you’re on track! But remember from the last section that you need to define learning outcomes to choose course content? Well, we need to make a distinction before moving forward. Either you’re creating a course for your own organization or someone else’s. Let’s consider the la…
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Where Can You Use Real-World Scenarios?

  • The answer to this W-question is plain and simple: wherever possible! You shouldn’t miss one single opportunity to establish a correlation between the course’s content and the real world. Realistic scenarios increase engagement and dedication.That’s because theoretical knowledge is one thing, but applicability is a whole other level. The more relatable examples and challenges a …
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Why Might Learners Struggle with Key Decision-Making points?

  • Answering this question is the same as diving into the root cause of the problem that your course should solve. From junior employees to top executives, every role involves making decisions—whether very simple or extremely complex. These are some examples of employees who might particularly struggle with making decisions: 1. New hires, especially new graduates o…
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