How to Create a Clear and engaging Content Outline for Your Online Course -
Creating an online course is more of an art form than an art or science. There's not a set of rules to be successful, but there are certain factors that successful courses have in the common. One of those elements is an outline for the course.
A clear, engaging outline for content can benefit the learners and yourself as you start mapping out your new courses. An outline will also help ensure your course content aligns with your goals for learners.
Are you unsure of how to begin compiling your outline? In this blog, we'll walk you through every step to build the perfect outline for your course.
What's the course outline?
The outline of your course describes the subject matter of your course. It will help you plan your game as you begin mapping the lessons, sections as well as quizzes and other materials you intend to add to the course.
It's tempting to skip the outline and get right to creating the content of your course, but do not give into that desire. A course outline will help make sure you've got a well-constructed curriculum before getting too deep in the process.
A step-by-step course outline guide
Getting started is the hardest phase of starting any new project. The good news is that you do not have to think about the outline of your course. The simple actions will help you go from the concept of your course to the course outline within a matter of minutes.
1. Determine your learner's needs and goals.
Start out by centering on your goal and then identifying your intended users, the students who will attend your class.
Some questions to consider:
- Who are your learners?
- What do they want to achieve?
- What is it that they are struggling with?
- What will you teach them to help students in achieving the goals they have set?
The simple act of asking these questions can help you focus your mind and keep you on course as you design an outline specifically for your intended audience.
2. Create a map to get to your desired result.
Now that you've pinpointed your students and their motivations and goals, you're now able to design an outline of how they can be able to achieve their goals. Perhaps they want to know a few conversational expressions in Italian at the end of the course or perhaps the aim is to obtain a professional certification.
Think of the roadmap as a basic draft of your outline. It simply plots out your route from beginning to the final destination of your journey.
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Your starting point must be an easy introduction. Whatever your topic each course must begin by introducing important ideas. Be aware that your students may not all start with the same idea. Some students may need a quick overview before diving into course content.
Make use of methods of scaffolding when you are identifying the next sections of the course map. When you are completing your course, you must be aware of your course's progression. Your sections should serve as elements that begin with a simple idea and move toward more complex concepts. Don't introduce a complicated topic or idea at a too early point in your course and work up to the most important lessons.
3. Reinforce the process of learning.
At the end of each stage on your content roadmap, you'll want to feature an element that helps ensure that learning sticks for your students.
What does this mean? It could mean designating a review at the end of each chapter with links for additional reading material, videos, or resources. You could even ask students following each lesson to assess their comprehension. It is also possible to conclude each chapter with an essay question in which students are able to put their knowledge in practice.
4. Begin to put the pieces together.
Once you've sketched out the outline of your course, it's time to complete the outline of your course with specific parts and titles for your lessons.
For each section of your course, consider these aspects:
- What's the format? Will the section be presented via text, video, or as a mixture of media?
- What are your talking points during each lesson? What is the information you'll need to convey?
- How can this section build upon the previous sections? What is the way it connects to the section that follows?
- How does this section tie back to the learners' goals?
You'll now have a detailed content guidelines of your course. All that's left is the next part: creating your course.