what elements to use in an online course

by Claude Torp 3 min read

A course outline is one of the most crucial elements you can create for your online class. It’s the blueprint showing the foundational structure and design for the entire course. Designing your course without an outline is like beginning a journey without a map.

Six Key Design Elements of Successful Online Learning
  1. Transparent Goal-Setting. ...
  2. Proactive, Planned Communication. ...
  3. A Balance Between Structure and Choice. ...
  4. Elevation of Faces and Voices. ...
  5. A Feedback Plan. ...
  6. Student-Friendly Wayfinding. ...
  7. 3 Phases of Creating a High Quality Online Course.
Mar 20, 2020

Full Answer

What makes a good online course?

Good online courses can be more personal and rewarding for students than the traditional learning in large lecture halls. (Shutterstock) Here’s some advice for students (and their parents) about what to look for as learning remains online. A good online course is informed by issues of equity and justice.

Do you need a course outline for your online class?

You may have a great idea or a helpful skill you’re dying to teach — but moving from an idea to a full, enriching online course can feel like crossing an impossibly wide chasm. A course outline is one of the most crucial elements you can create for your online class.

How do I prepare students for an online learning experience?

From the beginning of an online experience, be clear with the students about the goals of the unit. On module introduction pages, GOA teachers clarify which competencies and learning outcomes students will develop and how they will be assessed.

Is there a 'right' way to do online learning?

It's worth saying again: there is no one "right" way to do online learning. Just as in a brick-and-mortar environment, online learning experiences should be tailored to your students and your context. What have you found to be the essential elements of effective online learning experiences?

What are the elements of an online course?

Advice for students and parentsA good online course is informed by issues of equity and justice. ... A good online course is interactive. ... A good online course is engaging and challenging. ... A good online course involves practice. ... A good online course is effective.More items...•

What are the elements of the course?

The main elements of course design include;Need Analysis.Learning or Course Goal.Learning Objectives.Assessments.Delivery Methods and Strategies.Activities.

What are the five elements of an effective online learning environment?

Private-independent schools set themselves apart with five essential elements that help spur academic success: positivity, predictability, support, connectedness, and challenges.

How do you structure an online 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 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.

How can I make my online classes more effective?

10 Tips for Success in Online ClassesEstablish a productive learning environment. ... Set a schedule for completing and reviewing assignments. ... Seek virtual interactions with your peers.Use the 'chunking' strategy to section out tasks.Try to increase your interest in the work.More items...

What are the six key elements for an effective online video?

The best video content hooks its viewers right from the start and retains their interest the whole way through....Check out these visually appealing video formats to help you generate some ideas for your own content:Stop motion.Time lapse.Animation.Cinemagraph.Video scribing.Slideshow.

What are the key elements of distance education?

distance learning, also called distance education, e-learning, and online learning, form of education in which the main elements include physical separation of teachers and students during instruction and the use of various technologies to facilitate student-teacher and student-student communication.

What are the most important elements in creating an engaging online learning community?

According to Du et al. (2010) , there are 4 elements of online learning communities: interactivity, collaboration, trusting relationship, and communication media.

What is an online test?

Online tests and quizzes. Despite the fact that e-learning lacks the element of physical presence, tests and quizzes are still an essential part of the educational process. Through online tests and quizzes, an instructor is able to track the progress of students and assess the effectiveness of the curriculum, while at the same time students have ...

Why is the role of the instructor important in e-learning?

The role of the instructor is very important in the e-learning process because it’s in his hands to encourage, inspire and ensure students don’t feel like they have embarked on the learning trip alone, and also because it will ensure that students will be tracked and given proper feedback which is very important throughout the learning process.

What makes an online course good?

A good online course is engaging and challenging. It invites students to participate, motivates them to contribute and captures their interest and attention. It capitalizes on the joy of learning and challenges students to enhance their skills, abilities and knowledge. A good online course is cognitively challenging.

What does "online course" mean?

It means audiovisual materials that don’t stereotype, shame or degrade people. It may mean that open educational resources are prioritized over expensive textbooks. A good online course is interactive. Courses are much more than placeholders for students to access information.

What is accounting course?

In an accounting course, students could analyze the financial statements of a company they’re interested in rather than one selected by the instructor. Such flexibility not only accommodates students’ backgrounds and interests, it provides space for students to make the course their own.

What is creative writing class?

In a creative writing class, students may write a short story, receive feedback, revise it and then write a different story. In a computer programming class, they may write a block of code, test it and then use it in a larger program that they wrote.

Why is online learning important?

A good online course promotes student agency . It gives students autonomy to enable opportunities for relevant and meaningful learning. Such a course redistributes power - to the extent ...

When will online courses be available in 2020?

June 16, 2020. The 7 Elements of a Good Online Course. June 16, 2020. George Veletsianos. With very few exceptions, online teaching and learning will be the primary mode of education for the majority of higher education students in many jurisdictions this fall as concerns about COVID-19 extend into the new school year.

What is an econometrics class?

In an econometrics class, they might examine relationships between different variables, explain the meaning of their findings and then be asked to apply those methods in novel situations. A good online course is effective.

What are some good things to add to an online training course?

8. Relatable Characters. Character cutouts, cartoons, and images add a human element to your online training course.

What are the visual elements of online training?

Here are 9 visual elements that no online training course is complete without. 1. Targeted Typography. Fonts are one of the most overlooked visual elements in online training. We all use text to convey the key takeaways, but it can also set the right tone for your entire online training ...

What is the golden rule of visual design in online training?

The golden rule of visual design in online training is less is more. Every image, graph, and button you include must have a purpose. Otherwise, you may end up with a cluttered design in online training that may cause cognitive overload.

What is online menu?

Online Menus. Last, but not least, menus are the most important visual elements to include in online training courses. They provide employees with a general overview of the online training activities, modules, and assessments they need to complete.

How to make sure your online menu is featured prominently on your main page?

Make sure your online menu is featured prominently on your main page, and that employees can access it at any point during the online training course. Keep in mind that visual elements are there to support the key takeaways. They should reinforce the subject matter instead of serving as a distraction.

How to use images in online training?

However, it's more of a distraction than a valuable learning aid. Ensure that all of your images are relevant, relatable, and targeted to your audience. There are a number of free image sites you can use to enrich the online training experience.

Why do you need visuals in online training?

They help to simplify complex concepts, boost knowledge retention, and add more interactivity in online training, but screen space is limited. Thus, you must pick-and-choose your visual elements carefully.

1. Transparent Goal-Setting

From the beginning of an online experience, be clear with the students about the goals of the unit. On module introduction pages, GOA teachers clarify which competencies and learning outcomes students will develop and how they will be assessed.

2. Proactive, Planned Communication

In brick-and-mortar classrooms, we might be accustomed to announcing assessments or other major events in advance, but online, even smaller interactions require advance planning.

3. A Balance Between Structure and Choice

While it’s true that collaboration and discussion require advance planning in online classes, it’s also true that online learning design facilitates student choice and differentiation more readily than in-person classes.

4. Elevation of Faces and Voices

Your first priority when facilitating online learning is relationships. When will students connect with one another? Will it be synchronously or asynchronously? What role will you, the teacher, play as a facilitator in each of those spaces? When will they work individually, and when will they connect with a partner or a small group?

5. A Feedback Plan

Speaking of feedback, much teacher-to-student, student-to-student, and student-to-teacher feedback happens spontaneously in a face-to-face class.

6. Student-Friendly Wayfinding

At GOA, we’ve been talking about wayfinding for some time. Director of Learning and Design Eric Hudson wrote about teaching as wayfinding for Hybrid Pedagogy in 2015, and it continues to be one of the most important and relevant elements of online learning design. The purpose of wayfinding design is to reduce the cognitive load on your students.

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Consistent Instructor Presence: The Value of Feedback

A Streamlined and Well-Designed LMS

  • When talking about the success of a LMS, we primarily mean that we want an e-learning site that will be easy to navigate, is well-organized and contains high-quality material. Everyday tasks include the distribution of new material and sending, receiving and grading assignments. A well designed LMS will ensure that those tasks are hassle-free and that its users can easily tap into t…
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Content That Is Up to Par

  • Aside from the ease and design of your LMS, the next most important thing to keep a student satisfied is the material. The role of the curriculum is to set the tone for an organization to design a successful courseand offer both teachers and learners a set of guidelines. So while a system must be well designed and efficient, the quality of the content must be on par with the impressio…
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Tested Delivery Methods

  • Let’s start with an example: you are running a course on astrophysics and you have found a very interesting video that you feel enhances the points made within the already existing content. Is adding said video to the material the right move? As with any other website, application or product, compatibility is always a delicate matter. We need to always be sure that the material w…
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Online Tests and Quizzes

  • Despite the fact that e-learning lacks the element of physical presence, tests and quizzes are still an essential part of the educational process. Through online tests and quizzes, an instructor is able to track the progress of studentsand assess the effectiveness of the curriculum, while at the same time students have the ability to track their ow...
See more on talentlms.com