Visual content makes all the difference in a site’s appearance. It’s like the cherry on the cake. Images, videos, infographics and other media-related material are amongst the most important elements your site should include. The best way to ‘decorate’ and customize the way your online academy looks, is through stock photography. But what exactly is stock photography? Let’s find out… Stock photos are generic photos of people, places and things that are licensed for commercial…
What Exactly IS a Podcast Anyway? Perhaps you are already immersed in the wonderful world of podcasts, listening as you drive to work or putter around the house. But if not, it can be a little challenging to grasp the concept. A podcast is basically an audio file (sometimes video) that can be downloaded from various sources and listened to at your leisure. The most common directory of podcasts is iTunes, but there are currently…
This is a very important post. While we all love to teach so much we’d probably do it for free, there are bills to be paid and ov course money to be set aside for our own education and training. So, unless you are teaching strictly a s a hobby, let’s talk up front about how to structure your course offerings so that they make money for you. This is called “monetization.” Here are some…
Most online courses these days include video. It’s the preferred way to learn for most people, and usually form the core of your course content. Whether you are creating screencasts, live videos of yourself or an automated slideshow you will need a place to host your videos. One thing about videos though, video files are huge, and for people to watch them without buffering, stuttering, or stalling, you have to store them in a place that…
What is an LMS? Learning Management System is a fancy name for online course software. WordPress LMS plugins are specialized software add-ons to your WordPress website that create classes (course content), enroll students, set up tests, handle subscriptions, quizzes, accepting payments, etc. In general, the tools allow you to create classes, share coursework, enroll students, and evaluate the students with quizzes. WordPress is the most commonly used Content Management System (CMS) on the internet today. What…
You may be wondering if you are cut out to be a successful teacher through online courses. Even if you are already an experienced educator, the potential for freedom and exposure online courses give may seem out of reach. While we all could use a pep talk when it comes to what good things we deserve to have in our lives, there are a few specific traits that successful web course creators share. Take a…
There is so much free information available on the internet, you might wonder why are people buying online courses, rather than just doing their own research. There are three primary factors motivating people to enroll in an online course: A course brings information from diverse together into an easy-to-follow format they can follow step-by-step A course has a clear outcome or result that they would like to achieve – Find a pain, problem or desire;…
Yes, you can make video with your iPhone that people will watch, even without these absolute essentials, but not for long and not on a continuing basis. So, for example, you can film your cute kittens playing for a few minutes and post it on your Facebook profile and it might go viral. However, if you are charging a reasonable amount of money for people to take your course and learn from it, the idea…
The surest way to a successful online course has two very basic steps: Teach something people want to learn. Tell them about it. The first step is course creation; the second step is called marketing. Although there are many tools and processes to use along the way, the ultimate success of your course is right there in those two steps.
What’s an Evergreen Course? Just like the name says, evergreen courses are open for enrollment all the time, with students beginning the course any time they want. We could contrast that model with a “deciduous” course, that you launch once (until the time), close once it’s launched, and everyone starts at the same time. Which one is right for you? On the surface, evergreen seems more profitable. Why turn people away from taking your course…