As more people transition to e-learning platforms and home-based businesses, creating online courses is becoming an increasingly popular way to earn money by offering educational content in digital format. However, if you’re considering creating your course, it’s important to know that many mistakes could prove costly, both monetarily and creatively. To help you avoid making such mistakes, it is important to consult with comprehensive resources available for e-learning creators, such as EdWize. By doing so, you can ensure that your course is comprehensive and up to date-with current instructional design trends. With comprehensive material support and research, you’ll have the tools in place to create successful online courses that not only provide your learners with an engaging experience but also ensure long-term retention for their benefit.
In this blog post, we’ll explore the most common pitfalls novices tend to stumble into when constructing their first course and offer insight on how to best avoid them. Read on for tips from experienced instructors who have successfully navigated these waters so you can ensure success with your endeavors!
Not Starting From a Foundation
The very first mistake that you should avoid on this list when creating online courses is not starting from a foundation or building the course from a foundation. Of course, this relates partially to jumping straight into the meat of the course by assuming the students already know the basics, which you should avoid.
However, this relates more to jumping in and creating the course without any of the necessary information. For example, you first need to know who your audience is, what they want, why they are learning, what level they are at, and more. Setting up a foundation before creating a course is key to creating a great online course.
Cramming the Course with Information
The next mistake on this list that you should avoid at all costs is cramming the course, and worse, each lesson, with as much information as you possibly can. This is quite a common mistake that many people who are new to course creation make, since you are very eager to share your knowledge and passion about the topic.
However, this is a very quick way to turn students away. Firstly, you have to remember that students have a certain threshold for new information. If you cram the lessons with too much information, not all of it will be retained, and worse, your students will get bored or find it far too challenging. You should instead take the path of micro-learning, which is basically feeding your students with bite-sized lessons at a time and progressively building on each.
Not Proofreading
Of all the mistakes that you are going to want to avoid when creating courses in 2023, not proofreading your lessons when you are done is probably one of the biggest. While it is understandable that you are very excited to get your lessons out there, teach students, and make money, silly spelling mistakes can be costly.
Firstly, it might signal to the student that you aren’t a professional, which is something you want to avoid. Secondly, it might give the impression that you are hasty and just want to pump out lessons to make money, which is also something to avoid.
Creating Massive Courses
Much like trying to stuff as much information into lessons and courses as you possibly can, creating massive courses or thinking that bigger is better is another mistake that you should avoid making. One of the more common reasons this mistake is made is because course creators assume that the size of a course is a selling point.
While some students might appreciate getting quantity for their money, it can pose a few problems. For example, a student might not end up finishing your course because it is too long, and they might not take another one. Secondly, you are limiting the number of courses you can create if you are cramming all of the information you have into a single, massive course. Rather, create smaller, more effective, and more amazing courses that students will want to purchase more of.
Not Challenging the Students
Finally, the last mistake on this list that you should avoid when creating courses would be not challenging students enough. While you might be thinking that making the courses easy will make them fun, and fun courses sell, this isn’t always true.
There’s a certain level of challenge that a student needs to face in order to feel engaged. If the course is too easy, the student will get bored rather quickly. On the other hand, if the course is too challenging, the students will give up and not finish it. Try to find a good middle ground to really keep students hooked.
