6 Steps To Easily Create eLearning Courses

6 Steps To Easily Create eLearning Courses
Summary: To create an eLearning course doesn't have to be a next-to-impossible feat, even if you don't have much prior experience within the eLearning Industry. In this article, I'll present you the steps that can help you to conveniently and easily create eLearning courses that will help your learners achieve their learning goals and objectives.

How To Easily Create eLearning Courses

Who says that eLearning course creation has to be stressful and time consuming? Contrary to common belief, there are some simple tips and tricks that can take the headache out of eLearning course design, so that you can create powerful and effective eLearning experiences for your audience.

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  1. Choose an authoring tool that is right for you.
    In many respects, the eLearning authoring tool(s) you use have the power to make or break your eLearning course. This is why it's so essential to choose the best eLearning authoring tool that offer you the features and functions you want, as well as the usability you need. Assess the skills and abilities of your eLearning team in order to find the best options. Ideally, you'll want eLearning authoring tool(s) that offer you the perfect blend of flexibility and ease of use. If you know that your team has limited experience with programming and graphic design, then opt for an authoring tool that may be more basic and features pre-made templates or a graphics library. On the other hand, if you have a team of eLearning professionals who boast a wide range of skills and talents, then choose an eLearning authoring tool that gives you the advanced features and functions you need to design dynamic and immersive eLearning scenarios and simulations from the ground up.
  2. Research your eLearning audience and subject matter beforehand.
    One of the most significant mistakes that an eLearning professional can make when developing an eLearning course is not to effectively assess and analyze the audience or the subject matter beforehand. If at all possible, enlist the aid of a subject matter expert to get an idea of what content needs to be included and what can be omitted. As for the audience, you'll want to gain invaluable feedback via surveys, interviews, and focus groups, so that you have an in depth understanding of what they hope to achieve by taking the eLearning course and what are their expectations, in general.
  3. Create an eLearning template or use an existing one.
    There are a number of eLearning tools and sites that give you access to page layout templates you can use in your eLearning course design. Rather than having to create the entire layout from scratch, you can take advantage of these eLearning templates and significantly reduce your eLearning course development time. Some of the eLearning templates can even be customized to include branding. This gives less experienced eLearning professionals the ability to produce their own eLearning courses without any programming or design knowledge. On the other hand, eLearning veterans can use eLearning templates to quickly design an eLearning course if they don't have the resources or time frame to create their own eLearning templates.
  4. Choose a cloud-based learning management system.
    One of the most amazing things about being an eLearning professional in today's tech-centric world is that you have access to a wealth of tools and resources. You can even design an entire eLearning course from beginning to end with a cloud-based learning management system. Even if you have no prior instructional design knowledge, you can just sign up with one of these amazing platforms, such as TalentLMS, Docebo, and Litmos, and integrate your custom content, and drag and drop a variety of graphics and multimedia elements into your eLearning course. Such cloud-based LMSs even give you the ability to integrate quizzes right into your eLearning deliverable, and create an educational calendar that highlights important assignment deadlines and learning events for your learners. Research some of the options that are available to find the cloud-based LMS that best suits your needs and, most importantly, the needs of your audience. Also, keep in mind that many of cloud-based LMSs do charge a monthly fee. As such, you'll need to figure out how much you can allocate from your budget and determine if the costs involved are really worth the features and functions.
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  5. Use links to add multimedia and resources.
    If you don't have the tools or skills you need to create multimedia elements on your own, you can simply embed links to videos, presentations, and any other online resources directly into your eLearning course. This provides your learners with the opportunity to access information quickly, without having to scour the web for multimedia that relates to the content. Also, it makes your eLearning course look more polished and professional, as many videos and online presentations, such as those on YouTube, can be played directly within the eLearning course.
  6. Keep video, audio, and graphic elements simple and straightforward.
    It might be tempting to go overboard when you're integrating multimedia into your eLearning course. You may feel the urge to incorporate as many graphics as possible or to deluge your learners with an abundance of videos or podcasts. Resist this urge. Instead, just keep things simple and straightforward. If you know how to create and implement advanced eLearning scenarios and simulations, then feel free to include those. However, don't feel as though you're obligated to do so. By keeping video, audio, and graphic elements to a minimum, you not only make the design and development process less stressful, but you keep the focus of the eLearning course on what's truly important, which is no other than the subject matter. Concentrate on the content itself and insure that every element you do include serves the primary learning goals and objectives. Avoid lengthy blocks of text and break them down into bullet points or bolded subheadings to avoid cognitive overload.

Keep all of these steps on how to easily create eLearning courses in mind. Despite the fact that they take a vast majority of the frustration and cost out of designing an eLearning course, all of these techniques still have the power to produce meaningful and memorable eLearning experiences.

As mentioned above, researching your audience is a top priority when creating your eLearning deliverables. Especially when you design eLearning deliverables for adult learners, there are certain things you need to pay attention to. Read the articles 11 Tips to Engage and Inspire Adult Learners and 8 Important Characteristics Of Adult Learners to get invaluable insight of adult learners’ needs and expectations.

Originally published on January 13, 2015