E-learning has become a new normal after the pandemic, and learners prefer online courses as they are the most effective and efficient way for to gain a skill or knowledge in a field.
EduTech has been and will always be a constantly evolving industry that entrepreneurs and venture capitalists will need to quickly adapt their business models towards, and requires months of planning and strategies that change their platforms and user experiences, which may not always work out as intended. However, someone that is looking to share particular skills and knowledge that they’ve gained in the form of an online course, they have the power to create and design a program however they want.
This article aims to give you a checklist and will work as a guide as you turn your skills and know-how into a proficient experience through learning online with the help of digital credentials.
Create an online course that offers recognized certification.
While there aren’t any particular rules or guidelines that you must follow to build an online course, there is one main requirement: passion. You should love what you do and should also love teaching it. Without being interested in your course material, you can’t produce quality content for learners, and hence, those that are interested in your subject will have a difficult time being motivated to follow through. After all, a great student is a sign of a great teacher.
With that requirement out of the way, do some market research and look up the demand for the skills that you want to teach, similar courses that currently exist and are offered online, and what is the most effective way to translate your knowledge into something that resonates with learners.
An online course can cost anywhere from nothing to hundreds of dollars, and it depends on the material created as well as the marketing strategy you plan. This is an important factor to keep in mind as well, as it will determine the price point of the program you create and the timeframe before the program starts to make profits.
Marketing is often the hardest part of any industry, especially online learning. There are thousands of free videos available on YouTube so your program must provide a compelling reason for a learner to want to pay for it.
The answer lies in providing a validatable digital certification.
Once you have the proper outline of the logistics behind your course, you need to structure the course. Your knowledge of a particular subject matter may be vast but without conveying it in a sequential and organized manner, learners will feel overwhelmed, and the likelihood of tapping out is very high. Breaking down a course into small segments that can be engaged with by learners, and even provided with digital badges on completion is the most effective method to teach your skills.
The next step is finding a platform for your online course and creating content for it.
Course creators should opt for dedicated platforms for building their course, mainly Learning Management Software platforms. If you’re feeling a bit brave or just prefer to be in control of your course, you can host your learning platforms using website-building platforms such as Shopify, WordPress, or Squarespace, all of which offer payment gateways to monetize your program.
By now you should know your target audience and must have a decent idea of what format your learners will engage in and benefit from the most. Here are the most popular forms of content that learners will be able to consume
Video
Visual lessons are the most engaging form of learning online. However, they are also the most complex and time-consuming to create. Research needs to be put into making a script, which must be spoken out and recorded the right way. Supporting images need to be designed, and the video needs to be put edited and together in a way that is both interesting and informative. But the most successful online programs see the pros first and dismiss the cons.
Webinars
A webinar is an online lecture that delves into a particular topic and is backed by presentations, PDFs, and a host or a speaker that is well-versed in the subject matter. They can be pre-recorded, or done in real-time and differ from video content in only one aspect – they don’t have to be scripted and planned. As long as there is a clear path of learning that both you, or the speaker, and your learners can follow, you are set.
Interactive Lessons
Some learning management software allows you to create interactive materials for your lessons and depending on your demographic, can range from games, quizzes, and leaderboards as well as live interactive sessions that give both you and your audience a chance to connect.
Story-telling and content creation go hand in hand. Content must be created with a clear path from one topic to another as mentioned above. The level of complexity must increase slowly, and if the content is made up of disjointed facts without any sensible explanation. Each lesson must have an objective and each module must make sure that the learner is closer to the end goal of the course rather than just dumping them with knowledge.
Rewards upon completion
Learners love recognition and want to be praised for their performance. As with regular learning, e-learning platforms and course creators must be aware of this basic human tendency and act upon it to maintain a good relationship with current learners which will eventually lead to more enrollments in your course.
If you’re looking to tap into a niche with e-learning, why not take an extra step and integrate your platform with digital credentials powered by Hyperstack?
Hyperstack’s Credential Cloud allows you to provide digital credentials that can be integrated with your program and offered to students upon completing modules and tests. You could go the extra step and provide them with rewards for achieving the highest score on a test, or completing your course above a certain percentile. Digital Credentials are a contemporary way to acknowledge someone’s abilities and skills and are easy to share and post to popular social media networks.
Join Hyperstack and create your first credential in as little as 15 minutes, and start your digital journey today!
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