BLUF

This article provides guidance on how to develop training and education material for online courses.

Summary

COVID-19 has resulted in an increased demand for online courses. This demand means that many traditional courses need to be converted into online courses. However, many of these converted online courses fail to engage the learner. Virtual presentations require new thinking and new techniques. William Arunda of Forbes outlines six strategies to help improve the quality of your online courses as follows:

  • Start from scratch. Merely converting your existing materials is the wrong approach. 

  • Ignore the bit about short Attention Spans. Invite the audience to chase answers continuously.

  • Know your competition. Apply variety in your online course.

  • Get the tech right. Ensure your video and audio are functioning.

  • Make the virtual real. Use the power of stories.

  • Use visual aids. Pictures, slides, video etc., can replace lots of text.

Overall be aware of the strengths and weaknesses of technology, and always make the learner the focal point. Consider any online courses you might have taken, and then think about how you could have improved these courses.

Learn about how to prepare good quality online courses

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