Creating an Attractive Online Classroom: Organizing and Optimizing Your Courses

As school districts and institutions determine whether to conduct their learning partially back in the classroom or in a fully remote environment, instructors may be worried about their ability to build an engaging and effective online classroom. We all know that course content and learner assessment are some of the most important aspects of digital learning. But, in order to create a solution that encourages positive learning experiences and streamlines collaboration among learners, there are a few considerations you must factor into your course creation in order to build an attractive online classroom.

Streamlining and Organizing Your Courses

When designing their online classrooms, designers should determine upfront how they’ll organize their course materials for their learners. In other words, they must create the blueprint for their online classroom. Unfortunately, there is no one magical course structure or style that works for everyone. However, an online classroom creates opportunities for more dynamic and engaging approaches to learning that can be tailored to specific institutional or organizational needs.

Instructors need to consider whether standardized course content or more personalized experiences work best for them and their learners. Course expectations and navigation should be clearly defined, streamlined, and intuitive. Furthermore, learning content including assignments, assessments, resources, and other course materials should be easy for learners to find and, whenever possible, accessible across all devices including mobile in order to help learners stay on track wherever they are.

For example, an instructor could format their online classroom into four main sections: an outline of learning objectives for the session, details of the assessment, homework, and session resources. This is then used throughout the entire course to provide continuity to the learners. The learners then know where to find their work as well as additional resources if they need extra practice or remediation.

READ A RELATED CASE STUDY | ‘How Casper College Streamlines Student Learning Experiences With a Branded Mobile App Powered by Open LMS’

Including Visuals, Additional Tools, and Media

The use of visuals and more interactive media types can help assist with moving information from learners’ short-term memory and into their long-term memory. As beneficial as these media types are, instructors sometimes lack the bandwidth or expertise to diversify their learning content. Without additional LMS support, it can be difficult for them to find the most useful visuals or tools to incorporate. If you find yourself in this situation, the following four considerations can help you modernize your courses and bring them to life more effectively.

Tip #1 – Choose the Most Relevant Tools and Visuals for Your Course Content

Even though visuals can grab the attention of our learners, it’s important to select visuals that add value to your content. Consider adding PowerPoint presentations during virtual seminars or web conferencing. Use video or audio content in conjunction with written text when it’s most helpful.

Tip #2 – Be Mindful of Copyright Laws

Googling to find a visual or learning supplement to use in your course isn’t recommended nor a best practice. Use a site such as Creative Commons or Pixabay to find royalty-free images for your online classroom. Images derived from these sites will ensure that you will avoid any issues with copyright laws. Connect with an expert eLearning partner to select high-quality, relevant additional course content.

DISCOVER MORE | ‘How to Meet Modern Online Course Accessibility Needs’

Tip #3 – Always Keep Accessibility at the Forefront of Your Mind

When revamping your online classroom, be mindful of your learners with unique accessibility needs. If you’re including visuals in your online classroom, you must include a text alternative when you upload the image. This is also a great opportunity where additional media such as audio and voice recordings can be particularly helpful. This will ensure that learners with various disabilities will be able to fully participate in your online classroom. If you’re unsure about how to make your visuals accessible, you can read more here.

Tip #4 – Diversify Even Further With More Innovative Learning Options

Learning tools and practices continue to evolve and revolutionize the learning process in today’s fast-changing world. Tools and methods such as gamification, augmented reality, and microlearning can help you create more dynamic and engaging learning experiences that learners can enjoy, and there are always new tools making their way onto the eLearning market.

Staying Ahead of Edtech Trends

It’s important to remain aware of the latest trends, tools, and technologies that can help you enhance the learning experience. It’s also critical to ensure your learning platform is capable of incorporating new activity types. We recommend future-proofing your learning ecosystem by choosing an open-source learning platform. There are many different ways to create an attractive online classroom that’s streamlined, organized, and engaging for your users.