Distance learning is on the rise now. And if you are planning to launch your own distance learning program this year, you are moving in the right direction.
Before you start designing your program, you should learn more about your target audience, the students who will come to your platform to gain knowledge. You should try to understand what specific information they want to get from you and in what form.
Once you make it clear, you will find a way to boost the effectiveness of your distance learning program.
Needs tips to get started? Here is how you can create an outstanding learning project.
Use visuals
Two-thirds of people understand information better when it’s presented visually. So when it comes to distance learning, visuals play an extremely important role. High-quality pictures, videos, charts, infographics, and other visual content help in explaining sophisticated topics and keeping the audience engaged.
Do you struggle to make your courses more effective for learners? Create visual content using the following tools:
- Video editors: iMovie, Clipchamp, Blender, Movavi
- Image editors: Lightroom, Fotor, Pixlr, icons8 background remover
- Meme and GIF makers: Giphy, Imgflip, Adobe Spark
- Infographic makers: Piktochart, Canva, Venngage
Explain everything in simple language
Students enroll in your course to learn a new subject. So don’t expect them to know industry-specific terms and professional jargon.
Can you guess what will happen if you overuse professional jargon? You will scare away the students. Learners will feel like they are not smart enough to understand the course materials – your sophisticated manner of speech and writing will make them quit the course.
If you want students to understand what you are talking about, keep your language plain and simple, and present new terms one at a time. Try to explain new topics in the way that even the 8th-grade student can understand it.
You can create interactive content using tools like Apester and Genially. Or, you can hire freelance experts who will design games and quizzes for you. It’s up to you. Irene Mitchelle is an educational freelance writer, who is experienced in writing for students, parents. Also passionate about writing and sharing her knowledge through blogging on My Custom Essay.
Battle short attention span
Modern students have a short attention span, that’s a fact.
Therefore, if you want students to benefit from your learning program, you should break down a large amount of complex information into smaller pieces. Each learning session should last under 20-25 minutes. Short and long breaks are a must.
Oliver Black, an education expert and writer at GrabMyEssay, says: “The vast majority of students can’t study at home and not get distracted. For this reason, it’s really important to adjust the educational program to a short attention span. The easier it will be for students to consume the information, the more successful the program will be.”
Use your sense of humor
If you want to make distance learning effective, you should find a way to escape boredom in your virtual classroom.
You can tell jokes, show fun memes relatable to the topic, do magic tricks, or do other things to entertain your target audience.
Don’t get it wrong. You don’t need to change your teaching style completely. And you shouldn’t behave like a stand-up comedian.
You just need to add “a pinch of humor” to your speech. If you tell one funny joke every 30 minutes, it will help you to grab and hold the learners’ attention.
Create interactive content
Modern students, both kids and adults, want to learn in a fun way. Keep that in mind, when designing a distance learning course. Consider using quizzes, interactive games, maps, infographics, and other content that boosts engagement.
You can create interactive video content using tools like Apester and Genially. Or, you can hire freelance experts who will design games and quizzes for you. It’s up to you.
Interactive content is a magic wand that helps to reset the attention clock. Instead of passively watching videos, students click through quizzes and polls to check their understanding of topics studied. In other words, interactive content helps to immerse students in the learning process.
Keep content of the course up to date
You can’t teach the same course again and again without making any changes. Whether you work in IT, medicine, finance, law, marketing, or any other field, you should watch new trends and update the content of your course regularly.
Why it’s so important? By making the course more relevant, you will add more value to your students. As a consequence, students will become enthusiastic and motivated learners.
You can create interactive content using tools like Apester and Genially. Or, you can hire freelance experts who will design games and quizzes for you. It’s up to you. Irene Mitchelle is an educational freelance writer, who is experienced in writing for students, parents. Also passionate about writing and sharing her knowledge through blogging on My Custom Essay.
If you don’t have time to rewrite the course content, don’t hesitate to get professional help. Visit writing websites like SupremeDissertations and TrustMyPaper, and find experts who will edit and update your texts.
Take advantage of scheduling software
The vast majority of students choose learning a language online over traditional learning because of flexibility. Therefore, as an educator, you should provide students with an opportunity to adjust their schedules to their needs.
Bookafy is an appointment scheduling software that you can use to meet students’ preferences with ease.
Bookafy allows learners to schedule meetings with tutors in a 24/7 mode. With the help of this software, your tutors can set their availability, and your students can choose a suitable date and time for the online video meetings.
Modern students prefer to make appointments online without making calls and writing emails. So you can be sure that scheduling software will be a great investment for you.
Wrapping up
Distance learning can be more effective than traditional learning. That’s true. However, the distance learning program is more challenging to create.
If you have a goal to design a program, be ready to invest your time in target audience research. Try to learn more about your students, their preferences, habits, and expectations.
To make distance learning effective, you should always put the learners first. You should use each and every opportunity to add more value to your target audience.
Are you ready to start? Use the tips given in this article to make your distance learning program a success.