Online learning, also known as distance learning or e-learning, refers to a type of education in which students learn remotely using electronic devices such as computers, laptops, and smartphones.
Online learning can be used to deliver a variety of educational materials, including lectures, readings, assignments, quizzes, and exams.
But, how to create an online course on any online learning platform. Let’s begin!
The move towards online training was set in motion in the 1990s when CALCampus first introduced the course idea of online schooling using various online course creation software. Then as technology kept advancing, so did the facility of remote education.
However, it was still considered the lesser of the two learning models. For conventionally minded people, e-learning remained a foreign idea for a while.
Then comes the pandemic, wreaking havoc worldwide and caging approximately 1.2 billion students at home, educational institutions had no other option than to switch to e-learning completely.
This has changed the way we learn forever.
Many individuals are gravitating towards setting up their online education programs on different digital platforms, such as Udemy, Coursera, and Silkshare, apart from many others, to educate interested learners.
Thanks to the ever-evolving internet and virtual tools, trainers now have an exceptional assortment of options to reach students digitally.
Top Online Course Creation Tools
- LearnDash
- Podia
- Build your website
- Sell your course
- Grow your community and brand
- Teachable
- Build and Sell Online Courses
- Use your skills and knowledge to create a profitable course today
- Powerful yet simple platform
- Thinkific
- Create, market & sell your own online courses.
- Custom courses for your own brand!
- Coursera Plus
- Unlimited Access to 7,000+ Courses
- Learn from 275+ leading universities
- Flexible work/life balance learning
Looking for a learning management system for WordPress?
Look no further.
"Create and host my own course with LearDash LMS on WordPress"
“Sales page, emails and course all in one place, amazing!”
"Easy and intuitive to use"
Moreover, these already remarkable, technologically advanced e-teaching platforms are continuing to evolve, thereby providing more and more improved experiences to trainers and trainees alike each day.
While all online platforms are beneficial for e-learning, some serve better than others based on the needs of the parties involved.
For instance, if a course is to educate a younger lot of students, it will have a higher retention rate if the chosen online channel offers finer provisions for engaging learners.
That is, younger children tend to lose attention and get distracted much more quickly than older students, which is why a direct, robotic learning style on a dull and unimaginative channel will not yield the desired results that a more creative and engaging platform will.
Therefore, every trainer and teacher needs to carefully choose the medium to publish their course outline.
And that’s just one aspect to consider when selecting an online system to access digital classes; there are many other factors at play as well that you need to weigh in to pick the right platform to sell online courses.
How To Decide On Where To Publish Your Course?
Choosing a virtual portal to launch your course may seem relatively straightforward, but it’s not, especially for beginners. Online forums for publishing education courses are learning management systems that allow trainers to reach students.
Although LMS and own online course platforms are often used interchangeably, they are a little different in who they give access to.
That is, LMSs are generally closed-group online platforms used in educational settings and corporate environments to train members in an organization. But general online platforms can be used by anyone.
When picking out a successful online course platform, the first thing to consider is your top priority or goal; what do you want to achieve? Of course, you want to make money, but how do you wish to do that? Do you want an established classroom, or are you okay with gradually building one for yourself?
For the former, you’ll have to pay a higher price than the latter.
In a systematic manner, here are all the considerations you need to make to pick the right platform for your online course.
What Is Your Top Goal?
If all you want is to earn heaps of money, then choosing a platform that has a well-established student base will serve you best.
But if you wish to engage students and make an impact (since some people like to teach as a side hobby to attain satisfaction), you will have to look into other aspects.
How Important Is Branding For You?
Do you want to make a distinguishable name for yourself, or do you wish to be just another player in the online course marketplaces?
If your goal is to build your brand, publishing on platforms such as Udemy or LinkedIn Learning might not be ideal for you because, on these systems, all the courses in a particular category are displayed alongside each other.
That means your class might not stand out as you’d like. For first-timers in the first online course, such forums can be helpful as you get access to an already established consumer base. However, experienced professionals who have enough followers prefer to publish profitable course content on their sites.
How Much Control Do You Want?
Are you one of those fastidious people who love to do everything themselves?
If so, then you’d want to sign up on platforms that offer sufficient room for customization. WordPress is an example of such a site. On the other hand, Rainmaker doesn’t give users much control over how their product is delivered to the target audience.
Consider Affiliate Programs
Affiliate programs are incredible for those who can partner up with already thriving trainers.
Front runners of the industry share your course and get a commission for every conversation, which works as an excellent incentive that ultimately benefits both parties.
How Much Technical Support You’ll Need?
If you’re not technologically savvy, chances are you’ll need some help with the publishing process.
Therefore you should look into a forum that offers hands-on support at all times. You don’t want to work with a site that doesn’t tend to your concerns, which might lead to learners turning away from your course because of technical glitches.
Does The Portal Have An Analytical System To Gauge Effectiveness?
If you’d like to know how well your course is doing and whether or not it’s helping learners, then you need to choose a channel for your class that has a decent evaluation system so that you can measure the efficacy of your methods and modify them accordingly.