How to create an online course: from syllabus to recording
Online courses boomed like never before in 2020, for obvious reasons, and many people have turned to them as a way to earn passive income and even to educate their customer base, since customers are now more open to online learning. But do you know how to create an online course? We've already covered how to become an online teacher, with initial tips on you as a teacher and digital influencer, up to the first draft of your syllabus: a list of the topics you'll cover, almost like your lessons. Now I'll cover how to create an online course all the way to recording it. I won't go into much instructional design theory, to keep it direct. This is a step-by-step guide.
Choose your platform
First of all, you have to think about the format of your course. Do you want more video, more presentations, more playful activities? Do you want a forum? Does the course need a guide? All of this affects how you start producing the content itself. Another factor that weighs heavily: what's your goal for the course? Positioning? Lead generation? Sharing knowledge? So if you haven't yet decided which tool to use, I recommend you first read how to choose an LMS platform. An LMS is a learning management system. There are countless options on the market, and they directly affect what you can do. There's no point planning a course that relies heavily on student participation if the platform you chose doesn't allow it, right?
Plan your lessons after the syllabus
The second step is planning your activities. Once you've listed each lesson, activity planning means listing what will be learned in each one and which materials you'll need, so you can start producing slides, PDFs, ebooks and anything else. You'll define the materials that support your lessons. In the end, you'll have a table like this:
| a) Instructional events: | b) Learning objectives: | c) Activity: | d) Desired media: |
|---|---|---|---|
| Read more about how to plan media for your lessons. |
To script or not to script
Great, now you have your lesson structure and topic planning. You need to decide how far you want to go with scripting. A scripted lesson is one where you follow previously written content word for word. For teachers used to the classroom, recording an online course feels very different because there's no audience to interact with. So even if you get great reviews for your in-person classes, your energy may not translate (we speak from experience). For first-time teachers who aren't used to the camera, reading a script can come across as nervous, lifeless and robotic, so many turn to improvising. However, that leads to lessons that take two to three times longer and end up shallow when you compare content to duration. Scripted courses tend to be much more direct, without detours or verbal tics. That said, scripting takes more dedication (so, more time) and more materials. For example, how will you read the script while recording? Or will you narrate and edit the material on top? These are all factors to consider. In theory, scripting is the better option, and many other instructional design authors agree, provided you meet all the "prerequisites". In practice, we know other things get in the way. You can even outsource script writing. Table 01:
| Why script your lessons? | Why improvise? |
|---|---|
| Your content tends to be richer and denser. You avoid filler words and speech mannerisms like "hmm", "uhh" and "umm...". You focus on the lesson objective and don't distract. You get the chance to check your content. The editing process is much more organized. You can reuse the content in other ways. You can outsource it. | It's easier for beginners. Your content tends to have a more conversational tone. It takes less time to produce a script, so course production can be faster. If you've taught this course before, the quality can be very similar to scripted content. |
| A middle ground is to skip robust scripts and use guide lines for each lesson instead. For each lesson you record, list 3 to 5 topics you want to cover. That way you don't get too lost, you have a reminder of what to focus on next, but you don't spend that much time producing a script. |
Creating your first script in 6 steps
If you're going to create a script you'll read word for word, we recommend splitting the process into 6 steps:
- Initial topic planning: Write an initial structure of what should be covered, an outline. Which three to five topics will you cover?
- Planning the instructional activities: Draw up a table like table 01 in the post How to plan media for your lessons.
- First draft: Now it's time to sit down and write. Don't worry too much about the writing itself. It's only your first draft. Your goal is to get your knowledge down on paper.
- First read-through and narration: Great, now that you're done, take a breath (if possible, rest a day or two) and reread what you wrote out loud. Pretend someone is watching you (or even do it for someone). Don't rewrite anything yet, just take notes, either as comments in the document or on paper.
- Review and adjustment: Rewrite following your notes, seeing what's wrong and adapting the content to your activity plan, as in step 2.
- Second read-through: Read it again, rewrite what's good and voilà! Your first script is ready! Of course, there are many other tips for improving the writing itself and teaching formats. But this is a first step toward a script that's ready to record.
Develop your materials
Okay, you've created the script for each lesson. If you haven't, I strongly recommend at least listing the topics, especially if it's your first online course. Your next step is to develop the supporting materials for your lessons: the presentation, flowcharts, images, and so on. Gather the videos that will go with your scripts. You'll follow the initial media plan, but it's very common for new ideas to appear as the content develops. Don't let the plan limit you. Use it to boost your teaching technique and your (future) students' learning. You'll need to set aside time for these tasks, and that should be part of your planning.
How to record your first lesson
Great, now that you have everything in hand (planning, topic structure or script, and materials), you're ready to record. For our clients, we always do a first recording right after the first script as a test, so the teacher gets a feel for teaching the lesson and can see how to write a better script, creating a feedback loop from script to recording. Every recording has its own particularities. You can record straight to camera and add content and animations later. A very common practice is to record only the computer screen, or screen plus webcam. Another way to create an online course is to do everything through animations, which adds another level of editing (and cost). On recording day, you should consider three things: framing, light and audio. Some basic framing tips:
| ![][image1] | ![][image2] |
|---|---|
| Too close. The forehead is cut off and the teacher takes up almost the whole screen. Leave a bit of "breathing room" around you. This also allows some movement of your arms, shoulders and head. | Not centered. This can be used if it's intentional, for example if a graphic appears next to the teacher. However, if the teacher appears off-center most of the time, it can be distracting. |
| On image quality: | |
| ![][image3] | ![][image4] |
| :---- | :---- |
| Too dark. Too much brightness is also bad. The key point here is that you should be able to see the features of the person, like chin, eyes, mouth and expressions. | Out of focus. This can be a camera quality problem or a dirty lens. The principle is the same as with brightness: you should be able to see the person's features. |
| ![][image5] | |
| Perfect! There's breathing room around the teacher, she can move without her arms being cut off, she's centered, and the quality and lighting are perfect. | |
| The exception is when you record Picture in Picture, meaning your face appears while you capture your screen. Since most teachers don't have advanced equipment, my golden rule is to take up as little screen space as possible, while still letting viewers see your mouth moving and your facial expressions. In that case, you can opt for a tighter zoom on your face, with no room for arms. Just make sure your shoulders still show, otherwise it looks odd to see only your head on screen. |
After recording, you need to edit
Here, if you're not an expert, look at a few factors: lighting, audio and language. Most editing software already has basic lighting, saturation and audio tools, and there are countless tutorials online. You'll also want to cut the silences when switching slides, at the start of the lesson, and long pauses between paragraphs or even between sentences. You can cut some recording mistakes, such as repetitions, verbal tics, throat clearing or coughs. When repeated, all of this takes away a bit of professionalism and polish from your lesson.
Creating an online course is a learning process for the person teaching
Done! You repeated this over and over until you planned, wrote, recorded and edited all your lessons. Now you have your first online course. You're ready to upload it to your chosen platform, adjust the descriptions, and upload the materials and planned activities. There's no minimum time for this process. It depends on many, many factors. One important tip is to write down how long it takes you and notice where the process can improve. There's no magic formula or framework that every course fits into, but these general tips can certainly help you take the first steps. Over time, you'll develop your own formula, especially from the feedback of real students, and you'll move toward becoming an educational influencer. What matters is to start. [image1]: </assets/img/inline-cde77aff24.png> [image2]: </assets/img/inline-5825087cf3.png> [image3]: </assets/img/inline-f59d665e18.png> [image4]: </assets/img/inline-8c8225502f.png> [image5]: </assets/img/inline-b977186860.png>
