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Edtech is a sphere worth your investment. Today, you will find out how to create an online educational course that will pay you back.
Starting an online business is a perfect way to earn money and users’ recognition. This is why so many people are looking for ways to launch a successful online startup. Some are working on new social networks. Others are wondering how to build and promote employee training software. Yet, it doesn’t matter what sphere of online business you focus on. In any case, you should have a plan on hand. I am here to help you with the plan for creating an online course. But why should you opt for an online course? Let’s answer all your questions.
Is Investing in Online Courses Worth It?
The situation in the world has changed our view of self-development. We’ve learned how to educate ourselves without leaving home. People have got used to online education. Youtube lectures, e-learning platforms, online courses… All these educational tools and resources have become a part of our daily life.
The figures speak for themselves. In 2018 when people preferred offline education, a massive open online course market did not grow that fast. It was valued at nearly USD 4 billion. When the pandemic and safety restrictions came into our life, this number grew rapidly. Now, the massive open online course market is expected to reach the point of USD 25 billion by 2025. Sounds impressive, right?
You may ask: “Why do people invest in a temporary trend?” You might think that online education is dependent on what is happening in the world. When the pandemic comes to an end, people will go back to schools, universities, colleges. There will be no need for online education software. Edtech industry will begin to fade… Do you have thoughts like that in your head?
If you do, read the following. Suppose that there is a student who studies Marketing. They want to expand their knowledge and learn more about Design. One of the ways is to enter the Faculty of Design. But studying there will take them a few years, a lot of money, and a ton of time. More than that, the educational program used by universities is frequently outdated. Another way to dive into Design is to enroll in an online course. The course usually lasts for a couple of months. The price for attending a course is a hundred times smaller than entering a university faculty.
Moreover, the information in online courses is regularly updated. Enrolling in an online course, the student can learn about the latest trends and news in his target field. They can self-educate without leaving his bedroom. They do not have to commute or pay for a room at the student residence. The student saves time and effort. They have less stress and more motivation to study.
So, the advantages of online courses include:
Online courses give learners flexibility and personalization. Students track their own progress and performance, set the appropriate deadlines, learn to take responsibility for their learning. Online courses give them real-world experience and teach them relevant skills. E-learning is more practice-oriented. After all, employers do not care about the university a student graduated from. They pay more attention to their personality traits and professional skills. Considering the benefits of online courses, how could people forget about them at one point and move back to traditional education? This is the answer to your question asked above.
How to Create an Online Course?
Now you know why edtech is such a progressive field. It’s high time to move to the main part of our discussion — our tips on online course creation. Below, there is a step-by-step plan for you to make a really effective e-learning solution. You should combine rational analytics, tech expertise, and marketing efforts. By doing so, you will create a course that will conquer the market and stand out from the competition.
Research Your User Needs
You should know what kind of knowledge you want to deliver. What sphere do you focus on? Are you planning to create a course in English for beginners, or will you build a course in Statistics for senior students? After you choose the field of study, move to the next part of Step 1 — researching your target audience.
One of the ways to conduct research about your clients is to gather their feedback using a survey method. Here are the examples of questions to include in your questionnaire:
- What do your users expect from online courses?
- What pains do they want to resolve with e-learning?
- What makes online learning different for them, as compared to the traditional learning methods?
- What do your audience value the most in online education?
Another way is to study the existing statistics and use logical thinking. Create a portrait of your target persona. What are their needs and interests? Are they successful businesspeople, or dedicated parents? Studying your client will help you set the right business focus. Keep in mind that interpreting data about your target audience may take time. Don’t hurry up — making blind decisions can cost you money. David Ogilvy, a well-known British advertising tycoon, once said:
Don’t just create content to get credit for being clever — create content that will be helpful, insightful, or interesting for your target audience.
Do Educational Planning
You now know a lot about your target audience. You’ve chosen the subject that will be the focus of your course. If you are a teacher of that subject, move to developing the learning program. Subdivide your course into modules. Each module should include several lessons. In each module, there should be a quiz or a test that will check students’ understanding of the learned material. Add both theoretical and practical information into your course content. Make it interactive and aesthetically appealing. Do not overload lessons with information. Combine different methods of content delivery: use presentations, images, tables and graphs, record videos. Integrate games, leave links to useful resources, use multimedia channels. All for your learners to be involved in the process.
And what if you are not a teacher and have no background in education? Then you have to invite teachers and educators to collaborate. But how to make sure that the people you are working with are skilled enough? Contact a software development company that will help you complete this step and provide you with educators’ assistance. The Keenethics company, for example, can help you choose qualified teachers to participate in your course. Together, we will check whether the teachers have enough expertise in online learning and whether they have up-to-date knowledge of their subject. Also, we will make sure that the content of your course and the tools used for course production correspond to the educational standards for software development.
Find the Necessary Tools
Why do you need high-quality course-building software? The answer is: to make your online course interactive and entertaining. Your students should get a bug-free and error-free educational solution. Their main task is to focus on the learning process. They should not be distracted from learning by the mistakes in course presentation or errors while opening videos. Enrolling in your online course, your learners should feel the same as if they studied in a physical classroom. Aim for high engagement and make sure that your learners feel the connection with teachers/educators.
To choose the right online course software, hire a software development company. Developers have access to authoring online course development tools. Choosing a random option of course software is not a good way to create online educational content. You don’t have to compromise on quality. For example, excluding video from your course can adversely affect student engagement. Having no quizzes at the end of each module may negatively impact students’ performance. You should keep in mind that every detail matters. By hiring a software development team, you make sure that the core of your course works well. Moreover, the team will suggest ways of making your course even more powerful. Thus, pay a lot of attention to choosing the right partners and the right software for creating online courses.
If you have an idea for an online course but cannot choose course creation software, get in touch with our team. We will provide you with support, guidance, and assistance to help your startup grow into a big business.
Place Your Course on a Platform
Your course is ready for release. But where should you place it? One of the options is to put your course content into the downloadable format. That is, your potential learners will have the opportunity to download it, open it on their devices, and start learning. The downloadable package can be spread on various platforms. If you already have a loyal audience interested in educational services, prepare a presentation of your online course and post it on your website or social media. The benefit of such a method is that your online course will not be dependent on any platform or e-learning system.
Another way to bring your course to the world is to place it on some educational website. It might be more expensive but bring you more benefits in the end. So what way to choose? To make the right decision, consider the type of content you include in your course. If you have a lot of multimedia content, the chances are that your learners will face problems with opening data. Some PCs may not support the formats used in online courses. In this case, integrating your course into a learning management system, virtual classroom space, or e-learning platform will be a better option.
Launch Marketing Efforts
Nowadays, having a quality product is not enough for your business to grow. Nearly a decade ago, the released product did not need to be promoted. The chances were that people will learn about it via the word of mouth. Today, people are spoilt for choice. They have so many options and get so many offers. They live in an informational overload. And it is nearly impossible for a modern business to grow without marketing efforts. Your task is to convince your audience that your product satisfies their needs. The first way to promote your online course is to use targeted advertising.
Using targeted advertising, you base your marketing efforts on personalized information about your customers. You will be sure that your online course is promoted to the audience that’s interested in online courses. Another way is to use social media for marketing. Collaborate with influencers or develop a powerful SMM strategy. Dive deeper into the psychology of marketing and choose the approaches that work best for your case. And last but not least, prioritize quality over quantity. By delivering a quality product, you earn the respect of your audience.
To Sum Up
So, to create an online course, you have to apply a complex approach. First of all, you should clearly understand your target audience and their needs. Secondly, you have to create a powerful and up-to-date educational program. If you have no teaching background, find qualified educators who will help. The latter will develop a program for you. They will make sure that your course corresponds to modern education demands. Then look for online course creation tools. Creating a course and placing it somewhere are the most responsible tasks. This is why finding reliable tech experts is a necessity. Keenethics specializes in e-learning and online course development. We provide our clients not only with development services. We ensure full-cycle cooperation, which means that we take your project from the stage of idea to the stage of a final product.
Our company has profound experience in educational software development. We are here to help you create a powerful solution. With our assistance, your online course will please your users and bring your money. Also, we can provide you with the support of education experts. Just contact us and tell us more about your idea!
