If you are new in the business of creating online courses or planning to start one, it might be very tempting to go and search the internet for similar courses and copy their structure or strategy. Without formal training on how to start a business involving the e-learning platform, there is a danger in drawing inspiration from existing online courses. For one, you might be duplicating their mistakes. In this article, we are going to discuss the three most common mistakes observed in online courses so you won’t have to make them.
Very Long Videos
Just as you wouldn’t want to be reading lengthy content whether it be on printed materials or online, the same goes for online learners and lengthy videos. The ideal video duration is about six minutes. Anything longer than that might just be dragging or too informative for your audience. It is important to make sure that your modules have just the right amount of information, not too much.
Keep your videos concise and dynamic so that each part of the course keeps the audience interested without the cognitive overload. You might want to test and see if your videos are able to effectively capture the interest of your target audience by showing them to individuals who have the same characteristics as your target niche and ask for their feedback.
Absence of Variety
One of the reasons people choose to learn via online courses is the presence of engaging media. An online course is not merely a source of information but a source for learning. You would want to ensure that the materials you include on your e-learning platform keeps your learners interested and engaged so they do not passively read about the subject but are able to absorb the learnings through various media, such as videos, infographics, interactive animation, forums, and webinars. Not all of these may apply to the course you are offering, so take a good look at the options you have and see which ones will add value to your online course.
Forgetting About Mobile
If you want to be able to effectively teach online, you would have to consider how your target learners behave. Nowadays, people are no longer confined to their desks. So, that means more and more people are accessing information as they move about. When you create online courses, you need to make sure that these are also mobile friendly, so your learners can also access the courses on their mobile gadgets, such as their smartphones and tablets.
Test your online courses on desktop computers, laptops, smartphones, and tablets before launching them so as to make sure that anyone can easily navigate through the modules and tabs regardless of what gadget they are using.
There you have it – three of the most common mistakes to avoid when creating an online course. Though we are not giving an extensive list of what to do when building an online course, you now know what things not to do, and this makes you a step closer to creating a more effective e-learning course compared to the numerous other online courses out there.
Michelle Gonzalez has been writing for SMEs across the United States, Canada, Australia and the UK for the last five years. She is a highly-experienced blogger and SEO copywriter, writing business blogs for various industries such as marketing, law, health and wellness, beauty, and education, particularly on e-learning platforms such as www.teachable.com.