This is the first of 10 Steps to Building and Selling Your Courses Online .
Perhaps you already know that there are people who would love the ability to learn your material remotely. However, you aren’t sure what steps to take, or who to work with, in order to get your courses online and make them available to the masses. Are you spending so much time teaching live courses, that you no longer have time for the operations of your business or organization? (Or time to create new courses?)
Maybe you would like to test out a new course or educational program online first, to see if there is an audience for this type of course.
Whatever the case, you know that the need is there, but you’re just not sure where to start. For many, the task of creating online courses (or “eLearning”) can be quite daunting.
You’re Not Alone…
A few years ago, we were in the same boat as you. We wanted to help people make their courses available online, but an easy, effective, affordable way to do this just didn’t exist. So, we decided to create a way to do it. We needed to create something that would be:
- Easy enough for any business or organization to use
- A way to quickly and efficiently allow you to sell courses online
- An educational experience as similar as possible to a live classroom
- Affordable for the average business or organization
So, DigitalChalk was born. With this technology, you are able to easily and affordably make your courses available online.
Picture this…
Students can individually register for your courses online, anytime of the day or night. They can progress through the course at their own pace, and may stop and start as often as they like during each lesson. (This is not always the case with many online courses.) You can choose a stricter, more structured “delivery method” in which they cannot move onto the next lesson until the previous lesson is completed and a quiz is passed. Or, you can opt for a more loosely structured course, in which they can go through the material as they please.
Once students have completed the course (based on your requirements) they can simply print off their certificate and they are done! You can be available for your students to correspond with directly through email. But, aside from that, they will have all they need through the online course. Imagine you, or your instructors, with your time freed up to focus on your business or develop more courses!
In a Nutshell
If you’re considering making your courses available online, here is what you need to know:
Know what you’re searching for.
What you are actually looking for is “eLearning software”. This is basically a vehicle to take your courses from a physical classroom, and make them available in a “virtual classroom” online.
Find the perfect “eLearning software partner”.
Find a partner who will make eLearning become a reality for your business. Each business is unique, and the partner helping you with your eLearning should understand the needs of your business. Also, research any specific industries that your eLearning software partner may specialize in. (For example, if you are a real estate school, DigitalChalk has very specific tools available for your online courses that are unique to the real estate industry.)
Make sure they’re using the latest technology.
In addition to the platform technology itself, make sure your courses are compatible with the latest technology. For example, DigitalChalk has compatibility with iPad and Tablet devices, so there are unlimited ways that students can take your courses!
The Next Step…
So, now you have a basic understanding of how to make eLearning available to your students. But, maybe you would like some more in-depth information before moving forward. If this is the case, you can download our free eBook, “10 Steps to Building and Selling Your Courses Online” which will be available soon.