what goes into creating an online course

by Dr. Eugene Pouros V 9 min read

How to create an online course
  • Choose 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.
Jun 23, 2021

How do you create your own online course?

 · How to Create an Online Course: 11 Clear Steps to SUCCEED Make a course plan. Know what your course outcome is. Get feedback on your course idea. Decide if you want course creating guidance. Create a course outline. Develop the entire course content. Choose your course building platform. ...

How to make a great online course?

 · How to Create an Online Course for Free Choose Your Course Topic. In all significant endeavors, you need to plan. Your plan for making an online course should... Identify the Target Audience. After choosing the topic for your online course, it’s now time to identify your target... Gather and ...

How to start creating an online course?

 · Validation is critical. Creating an online course usually takes weeks or several months, so you want to make sure you’re setting yourself up for success with a profitable course idea. Validation is one step you do not want to miss if …

How to create and sell a profitable online course?

 · Skillsoft, a Boston-based firm that specializes in delivering online training, partners with colleges and industries to deliver coursework. Online learning requires a blend of approaches, with access to e-books, an instructor, and online assessments.

What is involved in creating an online course?

Pick the perfect course topic. Ensure your course idea has high market demand. Create Magnetic and Compelling Learning Outcomes. Select and Gather your Course Content.

How do I create an online training course?

How to Create Online Training Courses in 5 Incredibly Easy StepsStep 1: Define Your Online Training Goals and Learner Persona. ... Step 2: Create an Outline for Your Online Training. ... Step 3: Build the Content for the Online Training Courses. ... Step 4: Engage Your Learners. ... Step 5: Measure Meaningful Engagement Metrics.

How do I create a course content?

Four Steps to Create Course Content that FlowsConsider your goals in teaching this course. Decide what you would like your students to accomplish from taking this course. ... Develop topics and subtopics, then narrow down further. ... Structure the course with what you have finalized. ... Plan your content types.

How do you design a course?

A simplified concept map for the course design process:Pinpoint the course goals. ... Course content. ... Develop the teaching methods and tools. ... Decide on the method of evaluating the learning of your students. ... Selection of other materials and text(s) ... Outline the course policies. ... Make up the course schedule.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.

Introduction

As you may already know, I’m pretty big on online courses. I started my first online course in 2001 and transitioned it to online around 2004. Over all the time I’ve run that online course, I’ve helped thousands of people reach their goal of passing an exam so that’s a pretty successful course.

Further Benefits of Offering Online Courses

Online courses fit under the category of info products (or at least that’s what we used to call them before watching videos online was even possible). Back then, you could choose from ebooks, big-box items, or live seminars.

MARKET RESEARCH

In this first section, you’re going to conduct some market research to help you with your course topic. You’ll do it from the perspective of finding the unique angle for your online course in the marketplace.

Validation

First, you need your online course idea. Then you need to validate it as best you can.

Format of Course

The next step is to figure out the format of your online course. If you spent the time researching your competition, then this will be easier to do. There are three ways to go about this.

Medium

When it comes to your medium you want to be clear on how your online course materials will be delivered. Here are some questions to ask yourself:

TOPIC RESEARCH

You may already know enough about the topic for your online course that you don’t need to do any research. If so, then that’s great. But after reviewing the boundaries of your course, you may find that you have gaps you need to fill. You may need to research specific topics.

What to consider when considering a course?

Consider which ones you valued and why, as well as why you were drawn to the course in the first place.

What is digital course secret?

Digital Course Secrets is an A-Z training on how to create an online course. With hundreds of five, six, and seven figure students, this program is worth considering. You can get more info below by checking out the free training.

Why is it important to have goals in class?

Having goals helps to keep both you and them on track.#N#These are also important because they help you assess your own teaching effectiveness.

How many videos can you make in a video series?

The depth of your content will likely be the determining factor in how long the course should be. You can create a 45 video series course, or 15 videos.

Why is online education so popular?

Due to unforeseen pandemics, the enormous expense for traditional educational institutions, and the convenience of learning new topics from the comfort of your own home , online education is more popular than ever.

Is e-learning a growing industry?

E-learning is an industry in a massive growth phase.#N#Due to unforeseen pandemics, the enormous expense for traditional educational institutions, and the convenience of learning new topics from the comfort of your own home, online education is more popular than ever.#N#As an instructor, educator, or coach, how do you begin to capitalize on this growing market and build a valuable online course?#N#How do you choose a topic with lots of demand, and how do you market it online?#N#Furthermore, how can you make it profitable for you and rewarding for the people you're training?#N#In this guide, we're going to provide answers to these questions and take you step by step through creating an online course that can make five, six, or even seven figures.#N#Here's the rundown.

Can you study other course creators who are teaching the same topic?

Also, you can study some of the other course creators who are teaching the same topic and get a better idea of what the market value is.

What is the purpose of creating an online course?

When you create online courses, you want to establish yourself as an authority on the subject, so it would be best to find a niche you can really excel in and stick to it.

How to engage students in online courses?

One way to engage your students in your online course is to add interactive content, which might come in the form of worksheets or quizzes.

How many instructors are there on Teachable?

Teachable: Teachable has about 22,000 instructors, and you can sign up for free and only pay transaction fees, or choose a plan starting at $29/month.

How to interact with learners?

Another way of interacting with your learners is to organize live Q&A’s. This gives your students a chance to interact with one another as well, improving course engagement.

How does the internet help you?

With the power of the internet, you can reach virtually anyone across the world with the content you create, giving you unlimited potential for earning and building your influence.

Does it cost anything to create an online course?

The good news is that creating an online course usually will not cost you anything. However, experts usually invest in the best-quality equipment, such as the following:

Is my course done after uploading?

After you have uploaded your course, your work is not yet done. At this point, be sure to promote your course on your social media accounts and your blog.

How to make a course interactive?

Plan for interaction! Make sure your course is rich in opportunities for students to engage with the content, with you and with each other. This means creating diverse activities like discussions, group work, case studies and collaborative problem-solving. Also, be sure to select resources that are relevant and present a variety of viewpoints and meet different learning styles. Consider multimedia, periodicals, web resources, etc.

How many students have taken online courses?

According to a 10 year study conducted by the Online Learning Consortium, 6.7 million students have taken at least one online course and roughly thirty-two percent of all higher-education students now take at least one online course during their educational career. And these numbers continue to rise.

How to align a course?

Using the learning objectives you can become more selective in what you include in your course. This selection process is known as alignment. Alignment occurs when the course component (activity, assignment, material, technology and/or assessment) will help the student meet the learning objectives. To get started, build a Conceptual Framework for each module. In this framework outline the learning by identifying the course competencies and learning objectives for the module. Then review the course components (each piece of your module that you identified in the module map process) and see if they fit (align), i.e. contribute to the student achieving the stated learning objective. If a component does not align you need to either change the objective, change the course component or if it is essential to keep this non-aligned component, make sure that it is clearly identified as supplemental.

What are course competencies in Maricopa?

In Maricopa there are “course level” competencies that are designed and written by faculty at the district level through the Instructional Council for each discipline . Course competencies are what is required to be covered and taught in every course. For course design and mapping, especially online, a faculty member designs activities, assessments, lectures, etc. to teach those competencies….along the way students will learn incrementally – those are unit or module level learning objectives. These help students understand what they will be learning, how all the activities and assignments help them learn, and then in the end see where they have been.

How to organize a project?

Organization is key to any project. Gather all the resources from previous courses you have taught, content and instructional materials you have researched or picked-up from colleagues, etc.. Put them in a format/file and store in a way you can easily access (computer, online or USB Drive). This includes your syllabi, notes, textbook, lectures, hand-outs, quizzes, exams, assignments/papers/projects, online resources, journal articles, and any other pertinent resources. Ask your department or colleagues for resources specific to your subject area. Sample syllabi, lessons and even course templates may be available to get you started. Taking the time to organize up front will save you lots of time later, so don’t skip this critical part of the process.

Is online learning an alternative to traditional learning?

Online education is not an “alternative” to traditional classroom learning.

Do we love our course content?

We all love our course content! As a result, it is tempting to throw everything into your course in an effort to spark that same love in the heart of your students. But how do students know what is important and essential to their learning? How do we help them focus?

How many modules should a course outline have?

From my experience, I recommend courses have no more than four modules/units.

How to start a successful business?

Gathering resources is one of the keys to starting a successful business. By making yourself and your knowledge available as a resource in an easy to access form such as an online course, helps position you as the go-to for entrepreneurs.

How to reach out to your customers after a webinar?

After people view the webinar, set the outreach plan into motion. Reach out to your customer base via email once a day until the last two days of the launch. Those days, increase emails to two or three per day. The emails should link to the sales page of your web site, but don’t be concerned if you’ve never written a sales page. Focus on the course: what your students will get, what’s included in it and why you’re the best solution to their problem.

How to scale a business?

One of the easiest ways to scale a business is to create passive income through an online course.

Do online courses create more value?

Many business owners look at online courses created by their competition and think if they have more modules it will create more value and, in turn, more buyers. That’s not the approach that will get your students results in a timely manner -- and it’s the results that will grow your course into a profitable stream.

How many ideas should I have for an online course?

You can generate online course ideas with or without a big audience. I recommend brainstorming five to ten different ideas, so you have enough to narrow down.

How to sell a course online?

In three easy steps, you’ll have your online course ready to sell! First, fill out the information with your course’s name and price. Fill out your product information. Secondly, upload your course files. (This is what your customer receives when they buy your course.) Upload your product files.

What is the first step in a content marketing strategy?

Your first step is to find your highest-performing content, or in other words, what your audience is already interested in learning.

What is Chan Crawford's course?

Chan Crawford’s course teaches her audience how to overcome obstacles and mental barriers:

What is a DIY website starter course?

The DIY Website Starter Course helps people learn to build a WordPress website by themselves.

Can I sell my online courses?

Here’s the thing: you can start and sell a profitable online course in just about any niche. But I get it—you're still skeptical—which is why I’m going to share tons of examples of online courses so you feel inspired and excited to create your own.

Is there a chance someone has created a course?

With so many online courses out there, There’s a good chance someone’s already created a course (or resource) in your niche.

What is online course development?

Online course development specifically includes the cost to create the course content. That's why in this article, I won't cover the costs to host and manage an online course or the costs for best online course platforms. Instead, I'll just cover the costs for developing the course itself.

How long is an online course?

Most complete online courses are at least an hour long. If you’re planning for your course to be 3 hours then you can take the 1 hour time estimate and multiple it out by 3 to give you your approximate costs. So I’ll stick with one hour of video course content for this case study.

How many people watch online courses every day?

A lot of online courses are set up like the image below: According to research, 78% of people watch online videos every week and 55% view online videos every day. Watching videos online is a popular way to consume course content.

How long does it take to produce one hour of eLearning?

I’ve read other articles claiming it costs $10,000 and takes 90 to 240 hours on average to produce one hour of eLearning material.

What is the most popular format for online courses?

Video with audio is the most popular format for an online course. Most courses consist of videos with a menu to navigate the course. Sometimes there’s supplemental text or links to supplemental materials beneath the online video. A lot of online courses are set up like the image below:

How long does it take to make a video script?

No matter which type of video you’re creating, you’ll start with the outline and script creation first. I estimate it will take 3 to 10 hours to script out 1 hour of video depending on the level of detail you’re including and your expertise of the subject matter.

What software can you use to make an animation?

Fortunately, in this day and age there are many options to help you shortcut this. One software you can use to get an animated effect is Powtoon.

image