Course Preparation Guidelines and Rules

 

1- Determining your Intended learners

The following descriptions will be publicly visible on your Course Landing Page and will have a direct impact on your course
performance. These descriptions will help learners decide if your course is
right for them.

What will students learn in your course?

You must write at least 4 learning objectives or
outcomes that
learners can expect to achieve after completing your course.

What are the requirements or prerequisites for taking your course?

List the required skills, experience, tools, or equipment learners should have prior to taking your course.
If there are no requirements, use this space as an opportunity to lower the barrier for beginners.

Who is this course for?

Write a clear description of the intended learners for your course who will find your course
content valuable.
This will help you attract the right learners to your course.

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2- There’s a course in you. Plan it out.

Planning your course carefully
will create a clear learning path for students and help you once you film.
Think down to the details of each lecture including the skill you’ll teach,
estimated video length, practical activities to include, and how you’ll create
introductions and summaries.

Tips

Start with your goals.

Setting goals for what learners will accomplish in your course
(also known as learning
objectives) at the beginning will help you determine what
content to include in your course and how you will teach the content to help
your learners achieve the goals.

Create an outline.

Decide what skills you’ll teach and how you’ll teach them. Group related lectures into sections. Each section should have at least 3 lectures and include at least one assignment or practical activity. 

Introduce yourself and create
momentum.

People online want to start learning quickly. Make an introduction section that gives learners something to be excited about in the first 10 minutes.

Sections have a clear learning objective.

Introduce each section by describing the section’s goal and why it’s important. Give lectures and sections titles that reflect their content and have a logical flow.

Lectures cover one concept.

A good lecture length is 2-7 minutes to keep students interested
and help them study in short bursts. Cover a single topic in each lecture so
learners can easily find and re-watch them later.

Mix and match your lecture types.

Alternate between filming yourself, your screen, and slides or
other visuals. Showing yourself can help learners feel connected.

Practice activities create
hands-on learning.

Help learners apply your
lessons to their real-world with projects, assignments,
coding exercises, or worksheets.

Requirements

·        
See the tips above and the complete list of course
quality requirements

·        
Your course must have at least
five lectures

·        
All lectures must add up to at
least 30+ minutes of total video

·        
Your course is composed of
valuable educational content and free of promotional or distracting materials

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3- Setup & test video

Arrange your ideal studio and get early
feedback

It’s important to get your audio
and video set up correctly now because it’s much more difficult to fix your
videos after you’ve recorded them. There are many creative ways to use what you have
to create professional-looking videos.

Tips

Equipment can be easy.

You don’t need to buy fancy equipment. Most smartphone cameras can
capture video in HD, and you can record audio on another phone or an external
microphone.

Students need to hear you.

A good microphone is the most important piece of equipment you will
choose. There are lot of affordable options.. Make sure it’s correctly plugged
in and 6-12 inches (15-30 cm) from you.

Make a studio.

Clean up your background and arrange props. Almost any small space
can be transformed with a backdrop made of colored paper or an ironed bed
sheet.

Light the scene and your face.

Turn off overhead lights. Experiment with three-point lighting by
placing two lamps in front of you and one behind aimed at the background.

Reduce noise and echo.

Turn off fans or air vents, and record at a time when it’s quiet.
Place acoustic foam or blankets on the walls, and bring in rugs or furniture to
dampen echo.

Be creative.

Students won’t see behind the scenes. No one will know if you’re
surrounded by pillows for soundproofing…unless you tell other instructors in
the community!

Requirements

·        
Film and export in HD to create
videos of at least 720p, or 1080p if possible

·        
Audio should come out of both the
left and right channels and be synced to your video

·        
Audio should be free of echo and
background noise so as not to be distracting to students

4- Film & edit

You’re ready to share your knowledge.

This is your moment! If you’ve structured
your course and used our guides, you’re well prepared for the actual shoot.
Pace yourself, take time to make it just right and fine-tune when you edit.

Tips

Take breaks and review frequently.

Check often for any changes such as new noises. Be aware of your
own energy levels–filming can tire you out and that translates to the screen.

Build rapport.

Students want to know who’s teaching them. Even for a course that
is mostly screencasts, film yourself for your introduction. Or go
the extra mile and film yourself introducing each section!

Being on camera takes practice.

Make eye contact with the camera and speak clearly. Do as many
retakes as you need to get it right.

Set yourself up for editing
success.

You can edit out long pauses, mistakes, and ums or ahs. Film a few
extra activities or images that you can add in later to cover those cuts.

Create audio marks.

Clap when you start each take to easily locate the audio spike
during editing. Use our guides to manage your recording day efficiently.

For screencasts, clean up.

Move unrelated files and folders off your desktop and open any tabs
in advance. Make on-screen text at least 24pt and use zooming to highlight.

Requirements

·        
Film and export in HD to create
videos of at least 720p, or 1080p if possible

·        
Audio should come out of both the
left and right channels and be synced to your video

·        
Audio should be free of echo and
background noise so as not to be distracting to students