Have you or someone you know recently been considering creating an online course, and you are looking for some good ways to help get everything set up in the most efficient way possible? Maybe you have been running an online course for a while now, and you want to find some new ways to help things run more smoothly? Perhaps you are currently in the process of creating your online course, and you have a few specific things you are trying to figure out? If any of this sounds like your situation, then keep on reading in order to learn some helpful info. This article will talk about some of the most useful tips and tricks for creating an online course that will stand out from the competition. Stopping trying to make the same old things work and get with the times!
Backwards Design
A great way to make sure that your online course is designed with solid pedagogical techniques is to employ backward design into your curriculum and assignments. Backward design refers to the method of creating a course curriculum or unit based on the final assignment that students will have to present or submit. This type of course or assignment structuring allows students to learn the course material in a context that will help them to be more successful at applying the knowledge they have learned in real-life situations. And if you are creating multiple online courses for your students to take, the backward design will help you make sure that each course builds upon the others and that there are no gaps in learning between them. The backward design also gives students a chance to be successful at all the separate components of an assignment before they have to combine everything for the final submission. This can help to give students and teachers a chance to discuss any issues or problems and get things set up properly for the final.
Platform
One of the most important parts of delivering your online course successfully is the actual platform that you will be using. There are lots of different online course platforms available, and each one has some different benefits or downsides. The type of course that you are running can also help to determine the kind of platform that will be the best fit for your students. In order to find the best platform for your online course, it is recommended that you browse online course platforms to see which options are available and which will work best for your course. Some platforms will allow you to do a trial run of their service in order to see if you like the different features offered.
Multiple Perspectives
An important part of any course, whether it is online or in-person, should be the prominent feature of multiple perspectives. Having multiple perspectives represented in your course will allow all of your students to feel represented and included in classroom dialogues. Multiple perspectives could include things like using names from all different cultures in examples and questions and allowing students to share their own lived experiences in the classroom. If you make an effort to have multiple perspectives respected and recognized in your classroom, then you will find that students are more open and comfortable when discussing things and participating in class.
Assignment Submission
A huge hurdle for many students when it comes to succeeding in school is the way that assignments are submitted. Sometimes it can be difficult to send off a Microsoft Word file to your teacher as requested if you do not have the actual software at home. Allowing your students to submit their assignments online through whichever file type or medium is most convenient will help to ensure that all students are set up to succeed in your course.
Course Outline
Another way to make sure that your online course is successful is to make sure that you give students a complete course outline before they ever participate in the class. This will allow them to get a rough idea of the different things that will be covered throughout the year and set them up to succeed and enjoy the material.
After reading through some of the different strategies included above, the hope is that you have found some useful tips and tricks that will aid in the process of creating an online course for any subject. With the coronavirus pandemic limiting student’s ability to go to in-person classes, online learning has quickly become a huge part of schooling. There is a huge need for teachers and online course providers to figure out a more efficient way of delivering high-quality educational experiences to students through the internet. By using some of the ideas and resources provided above, you should be able to find a combination of technologies and course structuring that will greatly improve your online courses.