Your Recipe to Make a Great Online Course

It’s almost Thanksgiving and if you’re like me, you’ve been busy gathering recipes to make a mouth-watering holiday feast. Turkey – check. Mashed potatoes – check. Stuffing – check. Green bean casserole – check. And don’t forget the gravy!

But Thanksgiving dishes aren’t the only things with fulfilling recipes! We’ve perfected our recipe for online training courses by developing and hosting hundreds of trainings over the years. Here are our secrets to serve an online course that your audience will think is delicious.

Ingredients:

• 3-4 learning objectives, sliced
• 1 – 2 subject matter experts
• Engaging content, chopped into bite-sized pieces
• A dollop of visual and interactive elements
• A pinch of social share buttons
• And as a garnish, a link to the audience survey

Directions:

1. Start by identifying your target audience for the online course. What is their level of experience? What content formats will most engage them? What action do you want them to take after the learning experience? These questions will help shape your main learning objectives.
2. Gather subject matter experts and and practitioners to assist in developing the content. Outline your lessons.
3. Mold your high level outline and develop a prototype of your content, blending plenty of visuals and interactive elements. Course content should be injected every so often with a knowledge check, such as a matching quiz, clickable/rollover buttons with additional content, or multiple choice questions.
4. ‘Bake’ your course on a platform that includes social learning elements, such as discussions, chatrooms or wikis. These social components will help solidify the course material for participants to retain over time.
5. Finish with a survey to help track not only the participant’s understanding of the course but also whether they liked the content, format, timing and delivery. This feedback will help you improve the recipe for this audience’s unique tastes over time.

Do you have any secret ingredients or techniques for your online training courses? Share in the comments below!