With the growth of the distance education market and the public interested in learning virtually about the most diverse subjects, those who have specific and relevant knowledge can take advantage of this advantage to start working with online classes.
However, for the content to be well received by the public and stand out in the market, it is necessary to define the objective of the course and structure it properly.
In today’s post we are going to show you how to put together a complete course plan that will greatly facilitate the process of creating your classes!
To make it even easier, we offer you a step by step to create your course plan or course planning in 3 main areas, which are:
How to define the content of your course?
The first step that those who want to take must carry out the content planning.
To define the topics you will address, it is important to pay close attention to some details.
1. Define your skills
Before you start, it is important that you are aware of your main skills and how you can use them to create your course.
If you are already a teacher in any school subject, like Spanish, history or math, for example, you can use your experience and knowledge to .
However, it is not necessary to have training or to have acted as a teacher to enter the digital market.
You can also use your artistic skills, creative skills, or detailed knowledge on any subject to set up your course, as long as your content is useful to other people.
Think of that activity that you like to do overtime, as a hobby, and that you know you do well.
See if you would be able to teach other people to do what you do. If the answer is positive, you already have the idea of your online course in your hands.
Also think about other skills that can help you perform well or stand out from your competitors in your online classes, such as:
2. Study the market
If you want to achieve good results with your online classes, it is essential to know everything about the market in which you intend to act.
Keep an eye on trends to find out exactly what people want to learn and what are the most researched topics.
It is a great tool to identify which are the most searched topics at the moment and to know the volume of searches for that term in the last 12 months.
Studying the market will help you get to know your competitors well and what you need to offer users to differentiate yourself and attract more students.
(Do not miss the step by step on the in our full post on this topic).
3. Look for curiosities
After defining the topic that you will teach, look for the main curiosities related to it and that are little addressed in other courses on the same topic.
The more information you have, the easier it will be to put together a rich, interesting and attractive course plan for your students.
Knowing some curiosities is a way to energize your classes, draw the attention of the students and show that you really understand everything you are teaching.
How to structure your course plan?
If you already know the content that you are going to teach, it is time to put together your course plan and organize all the steps that need to be taken and put your course on the online market.
1. Define the value proposition of the course
One of the biggest difficulties faced by most entrepreneurs is the pricing of their product or service.
For people to be interested and willing to pay for what you are offering them, it is essential that they identify the ideal solution for their needs in your business.
For both you and your student, you must make it clear what the buyer will learn from this content. That is, what are the solutions that you offer.
This is why it is important to know your market well.
After identifying exactly what the problems and pains of your audience are, you are able to create valuable and attractive content at a fair price.
Want more tips on how to sell virtual classes? In this case, do not miss these tips:
2. Establish a logical learning sequence
The content planning of your courses must consider a logical sequence of learning, so that the students are oriented and notice a certain evolution throughout the course.
If you are creating a cooking course for beginners, for example, it is interesting that your first classes are introductory, with advice on cutting food, basic kitchen utensils, condiments or general knowledge that every cook should have.
If you start the course by teaching recipes, you can run the risk of having students who cannot follow you because they have not acquired a previous base.
3. Divide classes into modules
Creating modules within your course plan and dividing your classes around common themes conveys a clear idea of progression, which is useful for keeping your students engaged with the content of upcoming classes.
With well-defined modules, students are also able to identify the stage of the course they are in and what will be taught in those classes.
By closing one module and launching the next, users can better assimilate the streamed content and know exactly where to find it, if it needs to be accessed in the future, which counts points for usability.
4. Record the classes chronologically
By recording the classes chronologically, you manage to keep a train of thought, you do not forget any important information and you guarantee that the students understand the evolutionary sequence of your classes.
And that doesn’t necessarily interfere with the way students participate in classes.
Users will be free to access the modules in the order they think is best. In that case, your role will only be to guide them about which classes complement each other.
5. Choose a platform to host your content
The time has come to choose so you can put your classes on the Internet.
There are several virtual environments and each of them has advantages and disadvantages for the teacher-entrepreneur. Therefore, the ideal is to carefully evaluate the available options and choose the one that best suits your needs.
You will find paid, free options and with various features for customization.
Pay close attention to your user experience, to ensure that their navigation is intuitive and that they can view your classes from any device.
How to improve the student experience with your content?
All these tips will help you develop the programmatic content of your online course, but there are some details that can further improve your classes and enrich the experience of your students.
We are going to cite some of these elements so that you can decide if they are well suited to the specifics of your course.
1. Make connections between classes
This is one of the strategies you can adopt to make your course more interesting.
Try to give continuity to topics covered in previous classes, use examples that connect, mention content that has already been covered, etc.
By making these connections, you reinforce important information and facilitate the appropriation of that knowledge.
In addition, you show your students that your classes complement each other, which justifies the engagement in all the modules of the course plan.
2. Offer complementary materials
We know that it is not always possible, or even recommended, to talk in detail about all the issues covered during the course.
Returning to the example of the cooking course, you may mention low-carb eating in some of your classes. To avoid having to explain it in detail and lose the focus of your class, you can quickly quote the term and define it.
By providing , you allow interested students to access more details about the topic and contribute to a broader learning experience.
3. Recommended reading
In your online classes, you can recommend texts, articles and books that deal with the information presented and help expand the knowledge of your students.
By indicating bibliographic references, you encourage people to continue searching for knowledge on the topic and with that they further engage with the content you share.
In addition to being able to indicate the materials you used as a basis for that specific class, you can suggest that students read certain content before seeing the next class, so that they can better understand it and even propose discussions.
4. Arrange class content in other formats
The has been the increasingly preferred format by people seeking knowledge, for being accessible, practical, dynamic and easily consumed.
However, if what we are looking for is practicality, having the content of your class in other formats can also be a good strategy.
By creating or podcasting, you offer your students another chance to learn and expand the reach of your content. Thus, users can opt for the format they think is best.
5. Send class reminders by email
It seems outdated, but email is still one of the most used virtual communication channels.
Knowing that people have had a hard time organizing themselves in the midst of so many commitments and tasks, sending reminders of your classes is a way of showing that you value that student and that you care.
With these reminders, you can ensure student engagement in your classes.
But be careful that these messages are not inconvenient for the recipient. Favor objectivity in your content and follow the best .
6. Delivery certificates
Regardless of the topic you chose to address in your course, you can be sure that there will be people interested in checking it out.
Whether to put on the curriculum or for some educational or work requirement, certificates are highly valued and can be the differential to attract the attention of your audience.
By offering certificates for those who complete the course, you reinforce the importance of the content you share and add value to students by offering them the opportunity to open doors in the job market.
It is important that these certificates can be viewed on social networks such as LinkedIn. Therefore, make sure that the chosen one has this integration option.
7. Promote live classes
A good way to engage the audience is to promote . This format allows a greater interaction of the students with the teacher and makes the transmission of content more dynamic and light.
During the live class, you can answer questions and doubts from the students, showing your knowledge, transmitting confidence and credibility to people.
Let’s do it
Like any business model, teaching online requires planning so that you can offer a complete experience to your clients.
Therefore, before thinking about the promotion and sales stage, it is important to dedicate yourself to creating a product that meets all the needs of your target audience.
But don’t worry, because the perfect model just…
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