We've put together five tips for creating online IT training courses that actually work! 1- 1 Start with the basics, 2 - Use a variety of resources, 3- Use real-world examples, 4 -Encourage engagement and 5- Measure your results
Any of the 680 million users of online learning platforms worldwide in 2022 who have tried to learn IT will know that it can be a bit of a challenge. The internet is filled with tutorials, articles, and videos on how to do everything from setting up a small business phone service to coding an iPhone app. It can be overwhelming trying to figure out which resources are worth your time and which ones will actually help you learn something new.
This poses a challenge for online IT training course creators, who now have to not only create great content, but also figure out how to make that content digestible and effective for students. To help them out, we’ve put together five tips for creating online IT training courses that actually work!
If you’re teaching something like web development or coding, it’s important to start with the basics. That means covering topics like HTML and CSS before moving on to more complex topics like JavaScript or PHP.
This is where many mistakes happen, mainly because people underestimate how difficult it is to learn IT online. They try to cram too much information into one course and end up overwhelming their students. It’s important to remember that most people who are taking your course will be starting from scratch, so don’t skip over the basics!
If you’re an experienced professional, covering basics like how to boost school Wi-Fi connectivity might be tedious for you. However, it’s essential if you want your course to be effective, and your IT training to deliver what students are hoping for.
As people, we love interactivity. To the point that many of us would rather watch a video than read text, or listen to an audio clip, when learning something new.
Your trainees too. That’s why you should consider using an online learning platform and packing your course with a variety of resources like videos, articles, audio clips, and even infographics. This will help keep your students engaged and ensure that they’re actually learning something from your course.
Not to mention, using different types of resources will also help appeal to different types of learners. Some people learn best by listening, others by reading, and others by watching. By using a variety of resources, you’ll ensure that everyone who takes your course will be able to learn in the way that best suits them.
One common mistake people make is relying too heavily on one type of content. That’s wrong! Incorporating different types of content, like videos, articles, tutorials, and even interactive exercises, might seem to be a difficult task – but it’s definitely worth it in the end.
Not only will this make your course more effective, but it will also make it more enjoyable for your students. And that’s a major key to success when creating online courses!
Everyone is super tired of reading theory. No one wants to read another corporate training manual that’s full of dry, boring content.
When creating your course, try to use as many real-world examples as possible. This will help bring the material to life and make it more relatable for your students. After all, most of us learn best by doing, not by listening to someone talk about doing.
If you’re teaching web development, for example, create a few simple websites as examples. If you’re teaching coding, write a few small programs that your students can follow along with. These real-world examples will help illustrate the concepts you’re trying to teach and make them easier to understand.
Theory is important, but it’s not enough on its own. You need to supplement it with real-world examples if you want your students actually to learn something from your IT training. You can, of course, use other people’s examples – but try to create your own as well!
Your students will definitely appreciate the effort, and it’ll make your course that much more effective.
This point is so underestimated that it’s not even funny.
You should aim to create a course that’s interactive and engaging, and not just a series of lectures that they can listen to while doing something else. Unfortunately, many people think that all they need to do is upload a few videos and their job is done. That’s not the case!
Your students need to be engaged if you want them to learn something from your course. With such an advancement in technology, there are now many ways to encourage engagement. You can use interactive exercises, video conferencing, forums, or even Facebook and other platforms (on which you can post with social media management tools) to help your students learn.
Whatever methods you choose, make sure that you’re encouraging two-way communication. This means that it’s not enough for you to talk at your students – you need to give them a chance to talk back!
If your students are engaged, you gain more than only their attention. You also gain their trust, and that’s essential if you want your training to be successful.
Your audience will appreciate the effort, and you’ll be able to create a more effective course as a result – as, naturally, engaged students learn better.
This is the most important tip on this list!
You can have the best course in the world, but it won’t matter if you don’t measure your results. You need to track how well your students are doing and see if they’re actually learning anything from your course. Only then will you be able to improve it and make it more effective.
Remember, though – it’s important to track not only how much your students know but also how well they can apply that knowledge in the real world. If they complete your online IT training, but won’t incorporate the learnings in their work, then – we’re sorry to break it to you – it wasn’t effective.
A natural way to measure your performance is to give your students tests and quizzes. These can be either written or oral, depending on your course’s subject matter. They should cover both the theoretical and practical aspects of what you’re teaching.
You can also ask your students to complete projects that require them to apply the knowledge they’ve learned. These can be either individual or group projects, depending on your preference. Either way, they’ll give you a good idea of how well your students have grasped the material.
Get feedback from your students too after they’ve received the course certificate! Ask them what they thought of the course, what they liked and didn’t like, and what they would change if they could. This feedback will be invaluable in helping you improve your online IT training.
It’s crucial to understand that online IT training is not a one-size-fits-all solution. You need to tailor your course to the needs of your audience if you want it to be effective. And since your students evolve along with generation changes and technological advances, you need to be adaptable too.
With that, we hope that our tips will give you a good starting point in creating an effective online IT training course!
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