When you are creating online courses, you start with an inspiration. Sure the content is there. But to be really ahead of the elearning industry, you have to keep on presenting new ideas and tricks that will capture the interest of online learners. Virtual students can be quite fickle-minded. They also have a short attention span. You need to be ready to address all of these issues so you can create elearning courses that are not only valuable but also interesting to modern day students.
According to recent studies, the elearning market is poised to go through a compound annual growth of up to 7.2% in the next decade. This means the demand for new online courses will continue to increase. As an elearning developer, it is part of your responsibility to sustain this growth by coming up, not just with new virtual learning materials, but also by making sure it is updated and timely.
That means you have to find the inspiration that will help you stay creative as you come up with ideas for new elearning courses. This industry needs to stay on top of the latest information and keep up with the latest technology. Fortunately, there are ways for you to get this inspiration. Here are some tips that will help you get new ideas.
Subscribe to elearning news
Look for elearning websites or the leading software developers. Set up news alerts or subscribe to them so you will be notified of new information and articles that they will release. Reading these news articles will keep you updated on any development or trends in the elearning industry. This way, you do not have to keep on looking at different websites. You simply have to open your email and browse through subscribed articles. You can let the information you need come to you. The great thing about these subscriptions is you can filter what you want to receive and opt out of any sites when they no longer provide the content you need.
Listen to your online learners
This should be easy. You need to know the audience after all. But more than studying them for the sake of creating new online courses, you should also study those who have taken the previous ones. Analyze their experiences and stay engaged with them even after the course. You want to get their opinion so you can improve the future courses that you will create. Listen to what they have to say. It will give you a lot of ideas about what you should do next.
Socialize beyond the virtual classroom
You should not just socialize with your target audience. It is also important to learn how to socialize with your peers. Join forums and community boards where elearning professionals gather to exchange ideas and thoughts. You can gain a lot of insight from reading various topics. For sure, some of them would have questions about current courses they are working on. You might get a hint of what they are doing and find out if it is something that can be applied to your future projects. You can also go beyond the digital world. If there are seminars or events, you may want to join. There are summits that you can be a part of. It is a great way to build networks and get a lot of ideas too.
Try an elearning course
What better way to get inspiration than by learning new things? Why not go and enroll in an elearning course so you can get new ideas about the future online courses you will work on? This will not only improve your knowledge and skills, it will also make you experience what it is like on the other side of learning.