Online learning makes it easy for students to learn what they need to move ahead in their training, courses, or careers. Whether you’re designing your original content in Word, PowerPoint, or Excel, when you add it to a Learning Content Management System (LCMS), the way you organize your content can help students learn the material successfully. The learning modules you design will be effective for students if you create a logical structure, reinforce key concepts, and add exercises at just the right points to help students evaluate their own learning.
1: Outline your session
Perhaps the most important element in an effective online learning module is the way in which it is organized. Your students need to know what the major tasks in the lesson will be. This will help them recognize and remember the most important elements in the process. Use your outline to identify the key steps you are teaching. Aim for five to eight sections per module, including the introduction and summary sections.
2: Create sections for major steps in the process
Design your learning module so that each major task is its own section. If you’re developing a course on using mail merge, for example, your main sections might be (1) Introduction; (2) Starting the Mail Merge Document; (3) Adding a Data List; (4) Creating Content and Inserting Fields; (5) Previewing and Finishing the Merge; and (6) Summary.
3: Make your introductions clear
The introduction of your learning model sets the stage for everything that follows. In the introduction, establish the context for your students. Explain why this material is relevant to their learning and clearly state the objectives of the module so they’ll know what they’ll be learning in the course. You may also want to include a brief introduction to your company or program or add a personal bio with related resources.
4: Reinforce the learning in each section with exercises
One of the great advantages to working in a self-directed, online learning environment is that students can complete exercises during the course to assess their own learning and determine what they need to review. To reinforce the concepts presented in each major section, add exercises that help students evaluate different scenarios and apply what they’ve learned. You can also create multiple-choice, sorting, or interactive activities to help evaluate student learning.
Make sure your activities directly reflect the content covered in the section and use key phrases word for word to help students recognize and remember the phrasing. For best results, have someone new to the material test it for you before you begin offering it to students, just to make sure the section content and activities are clearly linked.
5: Wrap it up nice and neat with a summary
After you cover the necessary content in your sections and activities, end the learning module with a summary that touches on the main points you covered. Be sure to include each of the objectives you included in the Introduction. When you complete the module in this way, students will remember the major tasks presented and feel a sense of completion as they finish the unit. If you want to capitalize on that sense of accomplishment, you can add a link to a survey or invite feedback before the student exits. You can use the comments and suggestions to improve the course for next time.
