Online courses represent some of the most accessible and potentially comprehensive learning available. Whether they come in the form of free online courses or classes from a university, online learning is extremely popular. However, online classes are meant to be more than assignments and reading without interaction; they need to be personal. Taking these steps can greatly enhance your e-Learning solutions and lead to a better online course.

1. Engagement Is Key

It is all too easy for an online course to become a chore for students. This means that many students will procrastinate on the assignments they receive in these courses. Because of this, it is important for the class to be engaging for the students. The goal should be to create a course they look forward to working on.

2. Recycling Isn’t Always Good

Recycling is beneficial to the environment, but this is not always true in a learning environment. An online course should change and evolve as time goes on. Whether it be the reading list, the assignments or the instructional design, it is important to avoid growing stagnant.

3. Maintain Updates

Keep your course updated as much as you possibly can. These updates can take the form of changing material as new topics arise or face-lifts to the visual design. When you do make changes to the curriculum, always update your students to keep them in the loop.

4. Stand Out

Going back to engagement being key, it is important for both you and your course to stand out. Give students a reason to come back by making lectures as interesting as possible for students. In the end, it’s important to create something more than just another class students don’t want to participate in.

5. Promote Student Success

Many students will shirk their duties in online courses. This is often due to lack of engagement or just general distaste for how impersonal the platform can be. Because of this, it is important for you to promote student success. Email students about their progress, offer help, and set the course up to be as inclusive as possible.

6. Find Opportunities to Improve

It is important to ask yourself how you can take steps toward better online course development. Nothing is perfect, but with enough improvement, even the most unwilling pupils can come to enjoy your online course. Perhaps students need more interactive tools. Maybe the material isn’t what they expected. If this is the case, consider changing the curriculum.

7. Offer Resources

This is more than just a reading list. Many students can benefit from having additional resources to look over when they don’t understand the material. Try offering your own notes on the required reading or even offering third-party resources. Strategies like these can mean the difference between a student being lost and a student who is caught up.

8. Be Available

Many online courses become nothing but a reading list with a voice recording occasionally posted to the class page. This is all well and good, but none of these can replace the presence of a helpful instructor. Being available to your students for additional help is one of the marks of being a great online instructor.

9. Know When to Be Flexible

Not every lesson plan can come completely to fruition; this is one of the principles of being an instructor. Because of this, it is important to know when to compromise the overall plan for the good of the students.

10. Enjoy Your Time

Finally, enjoy your time teaching your online course. Contentedness and peace of mind will go a long way in improving the class climate and student retention.