Designing a structure for your online course can be a daunting and overwhelming task.
You may have a great idea or a helpful skill you're dying to teach - but moving from an idea to a full, enriching online course can feel like crossing an impossibly wide chasm. A course outline is one of the most crucial elements you can create for your online class.
Designing your course without an outline is like beginning a journey without a map.
In this post, we'll cover the basics of an online course structure, from the fundamentals of the outline to the essential steps of designing an unforgettable course. We'll even teach you how to set it up once it's ready for the public.
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What Is a Course OutlineWhy Create a Course Outline10 Tips for Structuring Great Online Courses (+ Bonus Tip)Ways to Set up Your Online Course
What Is a Course Outline?
A course outline is similar to a syllabus in your university classes: it lists the topics the class covers and the overarching course goals. While they have some common characteristics, an online course outline is somewhat different from a traditional university course syllabus. This is mostly because in-person classes rely on guidance from professors which allows for a more free-flowing structure.
An online course, on the other hand, lends itself to easy confusion on the students' part if not carefully structured.
Because of this, online course outlines need to be clear and give a complete birds-eye view of the course structure from the outset.
The key to creating an effective online course outline is to make itsimple, clear, and easy to understand.
Online courses generally follow one of a few format options, such as:
- Step-by-Step: This format is the most common because it follows a logical progression from beginning to end, where each lesson builds on the previous lesson. These types of courses are usually planned by working backward from the end goal of the course.
- Week-by-Week: Although similar to the step-by-step method, this format is built around a specific time frame. If your class is designed to last 8 or 12 weeks and your audience has two time slots available every week, you'll need to fit your lesson sequence and achieve your learning objectives in those blocks.
- Reference: Courses like these don't have a linear progression. Instead, they are a well-organized collection of material that the student can refer to as needed, at their own pace.
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Why Create a Course Outline?
A course outline is an essential tool both for the instructor and the student. When planning the class, you'll need to start with a comprehensive outline to refer back to; otherwise, you will find it difficult to have a functional grasp of your learning objectives, benchmarks, and topic schedule as the course progresses.
It enables you to group related topics, not to mention see the order in which topics need to be addressed.
Starting with an outline helps you create the course more efficiently.
As for the student population, having a clear syllabus is a roadmap, helping them understand the end goal and the skills they'll develop on the journey.
10 Tips for Structuring Great Online Courses (+ Bonus Tip)
Creating a great online course comes down to starting with a great plan, as we've mentioned. First, you'll need to sit down and map out all your ideas and goals. Then, turn those ideas and goals into a bulletproof outline.
The outline accounts for each step along the way to your goal, complete with material formats, lesson structures, and how you'll measure your students' success as they progress through the course.
Each step listed below covers the most important factors to keep in mind as you create your own online course structure.
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1. Design It Backward: Begin With the End in Mind
One of the best approaches to course design is to start with the desired outcome. While we tend to think of courses as being focused on covering content, what you should really start with are your students' learning objectives.
That is the way to ensure you're imparting something useful and long-lasting. Think of it as working backward from the end.
- What goal do you have for the course?
- Will your students learn a specific skill or develop an understanding of a broader topic?
Beginning with the end in mind and reverse-engineering your course outline makes sure your course has no unnecessary fluff-without skipping anything essential.
2. Choose the Best Way to Present Your Content
Once you've outlined your steps from beginning to end, decide on a format for presenting your course content. There are several options, each of which is best suited to a certain type of material.
- Combination of Text and Photos: Traditional text and photo format remains an effective teaching method for visual learners, ideal for complex content.
- Audio: Audio clips enhance retention, offering a personal touch when paired with text.
- Video: This format is favored for its personal touch, skill demonstration, and near-in-person class experience.
- Slides: Combine video with slides for complex topics to aid visual learners without losing personal engagement.
- Screencasting: Screen recording with narration suits tech skill courses, allowing real-time action demonstration for easy follow-along.
- Interactive Elements and Quizzes: Incorporate interactive elements like games and quizzes for dynamic learning and retention testing.
- Workbooks and Resource Materials: Provide supplemental PDFs or bonus materials as durable references to reinforce and extend learning beyond the course.
3. Group Similar Tips Into Modules
Designing an online course can be an overwhelming process, which is why it's helpful to divide it up into parts. Your students will also be able to follow your course more easily if it's broken down into a few digestible components.
These parts are called modules. Each module can be further broken down into individual lessons (which can be divided even further into topics, if needed).
Using the modular method helps you keep your course organized and consistent.
Try to structure each module roughly similarly.
For instance, if your first module includes an introductory course, the learning objectives, a few lessons, and a review quiz, you should structure the rest of your modules the same way. This helps give your students an idea of what to expect as they move through the course.
4. Order and Outline Your Lessons
While creating your online course structure, it's essential to go ahead and outline each lesson-even if it's only for your own benefit.
First, make sure each lesson is in the proper module and that they are ordered the way you want them. Then, decide on a flow that each lesson will follow.
For instance, you might choose the following template:
- Introduction
- Content
- Summary
- Learning resources or bonus materials
- Practice activities/quiz
Likely, the version of the syllabus you share with your students won't include lesson outlines. However, knowing the details of the information contained in each lesson will guide you when creating the content material for your course.
5. Create Specific Learning Outcomes
Having a clear understanding of your goal from the beginning will help you design an outline that matches your marketing, meaning your student performance will be met as they work through the course. Specific learning outcomes are also part of professional standards for university, corporate, and government course outlines.
When deciding on your learning objectives for the course, make sure to focus on quantifiable outcomes.
Use language that describes:
- What new knowledge the student will come away with, or
- What new skills the student will master.
When designing these outcomes, educators usually rely on Bloom's Taxonomy, which helps define what the students will be able to do in different learning stages with precision. Also, notice that the acceptable objective above focuses on the student's skills, not the instructor's actions.
Good learning objectives set benchmarks for students to meet.
6. Make Your Lectures Short
We live in a fast-paced digital world, and your students' attention spans are best suited to short lectures, whether they be video, audio, or blocks of text.
Not only are your full-time students likely busy individuals juggling your course lessons alongside full-time work or caring for their families, but science indicates that people understand and retain information better when it's divided into small chunks.
