People sign up for online courses because they have a need and want to satisfy it. However, there are others who are interested in providing training, but do not know how to do so. If this is your case, stop and think for a moment, you will find different needs that could be satisfied through an online course.
If you don’t know enough about what you want to teach, learn.
At Neurok we have a pedagogical advice service, which helps and advises all those willing to teach an online course, to facilitate its development through collaborative work. You don’t need to be an expert, if you don’t know enough about what you want to teach, learn.
The first step is to make contact, we will exchange information and analyze the potential, the problem and the availability on both sides. We will then determine the subject matter of the course, one for which there is a real training need to be covered or one for which a different approach to the existing offer is clear. It is important that the subject matter is something that you master, alternatively you will do a previous learning task, the fundamental thing is your motivation.
Learning objectives are key to the approach of a course
We will set learning goals which help students know what is expected of them and what they are going to learn. This is a very important step, it provides the student with information that will make it easier for them to choose their course over others available on the market.
We will then divide the course into blocks or what we at NeuroK call Units, going from the easiest to the most complex. Timing your course well will help the student to understand the subject and to be motivated as they advance and pass through the stages. It is not necessary to create resources, the content is on the Internet, you just have to select the most relevant resources to overcome the objectives of the Units. Keep in mind that the courses should not be too extensive in order to facilitate its monitoring. Within each Unit we will build Learning Activities, simple challenges that allow students to measure their degree of progress, thus increasing their motivation.
We will focus on what the student will be able to do and/or demonstrate this by the end of the course. To do this, it is essential to verify the achievements, both expected and unexpected, making a process of continuous evaluation throughout the training in order to build confidence and strengthen the ability to improve.
Betting on organisation
From Neurok we strongly believe that organization is key in carrying out a successful course. Good programming of the course will allow the reduction of the time and effort that the trainer dedicates. Therefore, all the above will be gathered in a document that integrates the necessary information to put the course into operation, It serves as a guide during its implementation and as a reference to implement the changes necessary for its improvement.
Online learning is characterized by a student-centered process. Because of this, to create effective online courses you must always keep in mind that the main objective is for the student to get involved and be an active part of their learning, to feel the true protagonist of the process.
An article by Rocío Espina, Pedagogical Advisor at NeuroK
