Everything is Awesome - Creating WOW Online Courses

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Synergy, Innovation and Creativity
The importance of effective and efficient custom
course development cannot be overstated
especially in creating awesome online courses.
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Synergy, Innovation and Creativity
For online learning to be cost-efficient and
results-effective, it must be learner-responsive.
The online learners should enjoy the course and
its individual subjects, master their contents,
and exit the program armed with the appropriate
knowledge and skills.
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Synergy, Innovation and Creativity
The following tips in custom course development
are valuable for this purpose. Keep in mind,
nonetheless, that these are general
recommendations that require customisation to
suit your unique case.
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Synergy, Innovation and Creativity
START WITH PEDAGOGIC PRINCIPLES
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Synergy, Innovation and Creativity
Just as with creating non-online courses (i.e.,
classroom-based programs), the creation of
effective and efficient online courses starts
with the following steps
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Synergy, Innovation and Creativity

• Set out the goals and objectives for the course.
• Set out the skills-related goals for the program,
  such as the development of quantitative skills or
  the improvement of writing skills among students.
• Choose the content that will achieve these goals.
• Develop the course plan.

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Synergy, Innovation and Creativity
Setting the pedagogic principles is the best
foundation for effective custom course
development since these principles will underline
the practices.
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Synergy, Innovation and Creativity
DIVIDE THE COURSE INTO THREE PARTS
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Synergy, Innovation and Creativity
The best online courses are measured partly by
how well these are patronised by the target
market (i.e., student enrolment rates), thus,
emphasising the importance of saleability.
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Synergy, Innovation and Creativity
The most popular online courses are typically
divided into three main parts, thus, allowing
interested individuals to determine their merits
before enrolment. The custom course development
process should consider these three main parts
and their desirable characteristics.
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Synergy, Innovation and Creativity
INTRODUCTION
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Synergy, Innovation and Creativity
Be sure to make a good first impression for your
online course through a persuasive introduction,
both in text and graphics on your websites
homepage. Get your welcoming words right. Get
your audience engaged from the first word. Get
your readers to enrol in the course.
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Synergy, Innovation and Creativity
INSTRUCTION
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Synergy, Innovation and Creativity
Your skills in effective custom course
development will be tested during the development
of the instruction part.
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Synergy, Innovation and Creativity
This is the part that can make or break the
interested individuals decision to enrol in the
course, especially where the acquisition of the
relevant knowledge, skills and certification are
concerned.
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Synergy, Innovation and Creativity

• The instruction part should ideally have the
  following sub-parts
• Course outline is the summary
• Faculty information provides the details about
  the instructors qualifications
• Required resources that summarise the required
  technical support, plugs ins, and texts, among
  others
• Academic requirements and grades
• Time commitment
• Community involvement including help section,
  discussion forums (e.g., chats, messages boards)
• Policies from enrolment to exit

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Synergy, Innovation and Creativity
CONCLUSION
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Synergy, Innovation and Creativity
For custom course development to be effective,
the conclusion must provide for clear outcomes
achievements, credentials, and certifications
that the students can acquire, for example. Be
truthful about these matters as too much hype can
result in an appearance of a scam.
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Synergy, Innovation and Creativity
CAREFULLY GO OVER THE CONTENTS FROM START TO
FINISH
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Synergy, Innovation and Creativity
You should always be vigilant about the contents
of your online course, a useful tip applicable to
custom course development for classroom-based
programs, too. Always remember that your
prospective students will judge the merit of the
online course based on its contents - truly, yet
another proof that content is king in the digital
world.
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Synergy, Innovation and Creativity

• Here are useful tips in polishing your online
  courses contents.
• Stick your text to just a few talking points.
  Avoid cramming lengthy discussions about your
  course content because your readers will soon
  become bored. Use easy-to-read words instead of
  filling the pages with technical jargon.

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Synergy, Innovation and Creativity

• Use multimedia presentations. The Internet is an
  excellent medium for providing readers with
  multimedia presentations for greater mental
  stimulation. Combine images (e.g., graphics and
  photos) with text as well as videos and
  interactive materials (e.g., games and quizzes).

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Synergy, Innovation and Creativity

• Make the content relevant and entertaining to
  your audience. Avoid bombarding them with facts
  from all sides since these can quickly become
  boring.

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Synergy, Innovation and Creativity

• Ensure that your content has no grammatical,
  spelling and sentence structure errors, among
  others. Your readers will have an easier time
  believing that you are an authority on the
  subject matter.

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Synergy, Innovation and Creativity

• Work toward creating an online community during
  the custom course development phase. Incorporate
  blogs, message boards, and online chat facilities
  for students to become part of a digital campus.

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Synergy, Innovation and Creativity
Ultimately, the best thing that you can do during
the custom course development phase is to put
yourself in the shoes of your target audience.
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Synergy, Innovation and Creativity
YOU SHOULD ALSO READ

• Qualities an Instructional Designer should
  Possess
• How Do You Engage Your Online Learners
• 4 Questions to ask about your eLearning Course
  Target Audience
• How to create an interesting online learning
  course - Infographic
• How to Add Innovation to your Course Development
  by reducing Bullet Points
• How to Convince Your Staff That Online Courses
  Can Be Beneficial For Their Continuous Growth
• Examples of Good Learning Outcomes in Online
  Course Development
• eLearning Development Checklist - Infographic
• Use Images Wisely to Match Emotions in Custom
  Course Development
• Busting 7 Myths about Online Learning
• Secrets of a Successful Instructional Designer -
  Infographic
• History of Learning Management System (LMS) -
  Infographic

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