Creating an effective online learning course doesn’t have to be a difficult task. Whether you are new to teaching or looking for ways to improve your existing knowledge, having a proven system makes the process much easier.
In this blog post, we will discuss some of the hottest trends in online learning today and provide examples of successful courses that use each trend. This post will explain how best to design and build an effective course and suggest content that can offer real value for your learners. You won’t just learn about current trends – you’ll garner insights into what works and learn about practical tools for better instructional experiences in 2023!
Take Note from Top Platforms
First, if you want to create a great, effective online learning course in 2023, the first step is to note the industry’s top platforms. Unless you are incredibly experienced and have a wealth of research behind you, there is no need to try and reinvent the wheel. Instead, look at how some top-performing courses on top platforms perform.
Reviews at EdWize, for example, provide invaluable insight into what makes certain course delivery systems stand out from the rest. Take note of how they are structured, how long they are, how many modules there are, how much they cost, and more. A lot of information can be gained by doing this; at the very least, you will get some idea of how to proceed with your own course.
Understand Your Audience
The next tip to create an effective online learning course in 2023 is to understand the audience for which you are creating the course. Creating an online course is like online marketing; the more information you have about your audience, the more you can tailor the course to their specific needs.
For example, every age group has different concentration spans on average, which will influence how long each lesson in your course should be. Some of your audience might be looking for more in-depth information about a topic, whereas others might need the basics; this is important since it deals with the actual content of the course.
Make the Course Interactive
One of the most important things you must do when creating an online course is to make it as interactive as possible. A solely text-based lesson is definitely going to bore at least 99% of learners, and bored learners don’t learn anything. More importantly, your course will get a bad rating.
You should include video clips, text, images, GIFs if necessary, and, most importantly, assessments. Assessments are interactive and allow learners to see how much of the course they are grasping and what areas they still need to work on.
Cater to Different Learning Styles
Much like making your course interactive, one thing you need to do is cater to the various learning styles. At the end of the day, everyone is different, and not all of your learners will have the same learning styles. For example, some people learn better whilst reading, whereas others learn better when listening to the information.
There are also learners that prefer practical lessons and learn much better when applying the knowledge they are receiving. To make a great course, you must structure your lessons in a way that caters to all learning styles as much as possible.
Embrace Micro-Learning
Finally, the last tip on this list that will make the difference between a bad course and a good one is whether or not you embrace microlearning. The traditional learning style is a teacher talking for a certain duration, trying to get as much information as possible.
Unfortunately, this style of learning is outdated, and it turns out that microlearning is far more effective. This is essentially breaking a large, complicated concept up and teaching it in bite-sized portions. You will need to structure your lessons in this manner if you want them to be as effective as possible.