There are several step-by-step instructions, checklists and strategies that have evolved over the years, until we reach the age of AI, which certainly facilitates several aspects of developing a course.

But, if we’ve learned one thing after so long in this field, it’s that the base, the first steps of creating a course, don’t change and to have a good final result the base has to be well built.

So, if you are joining this incredible market now, keep reading, because this post is to get you started.

Create online courses: start by overcoming procrastination

Creating online courses can be the beginning of the life change you want and plan.

Here, in Coursify.me, we’ve seen professionals start with just one class and a few students and in a short time achieve high monthly revenue.

– 10 profitable niches for online courses

What they all have in common is the commitment to continue improving their courses, delivering excellent content to their audience.

The task of creating an online course seems immense and we won’t deny that it is quite laborious, more or less depending on the depth you intend to give to the subject covered.

Therefore, we recommend that you do not think about the project as a whole, just focus on the first step you need to take. Build it brick by brick and before you know it, the wall will be ready.

This is the first step to overcoming the famous procrastination which, in figurative language, means “Why do today what can be done tomorrow?”.

Procrastination happens when you have a big and important project to do, but spend time doing other activities that are not that important. 

This is very common and happens to practically everyone because, as science explains, our brain is addicted to dopamine, the happiness hormone. 

When a task gives us satisfaction, dopamine is produced naturally, immediately. In more laborious activities, which take more time, dopamine is present in smaller quantities and the reward is delayed.

It goes without saying that our brain prefers immediate rewards. However, not all is lost. 

Researches point out a phenomenon called “principle of progress”. It explains that of all the things that can boost emotions and perceptions during a workday, the most important is moving forward on a meaningful project. 

“Progress lies in small achievements, when people feel like they are learning, discovering solutions and overcoming obstacles,” says Teresa Amabile, one of the study’s authors, a postgraduate psychologist at Stanford and professor at Harvard Business School. 

For this reason, breaking a large task into small steps is a great productivity trick and the best way to overcome procrastination.

5 steps to create online courses

Now that you know that the best way to create online courses is by taking one small step at a time, it’s time to get started.

Let’s begin with planning, which should always be the basis of any project you want to be successful.

So before you start recording lessons, plan your goals well and what results you want to achieve. 

– How to make a sales forecast for your online business

1. Structure your plan

Define your main goal and write an action plan to achieve it.

The more specific you can be at the beginning, the better, but for those just starting their first online business, knowing what to put in the planning can be quite challenging.

Here’s a simple model you can use if you’re in doubt:

Goal

• Make profit by selling online courses. 

Method

• Create the course.
• Launch it to my contact list, receive feedback and make necessary improvements.
• Promote and acquire new customers through email campaigns, webinars, participation in podcasts, social media posts and sponsored posts.

Setting a financial goal at the beginning is more complicated, because it involves knowing how much you will charge for the course before you even create it.

We suggest you start as simply as possible and leave it to make adjustments later.

To make $10,000 by creating an online course, for example, you can sell it for $10 to 1,000 students or for $100 to 100 students.

Our tip is: charge more.

Students tend to view courses they paid more for as being more valuable and therefore they are more likely to complete them. 

Unsurprisingly, people often associate “cheap” with “low quality” and are less inclined to buy based on this perceived value.

– How to price online courses

2. Find a profitable idea

You may already have an idea of ​​what you would like to teach in your course and that’s great, but we recommend that you do market research to know your true profit potential.

When it comes to finding the right niche to create online courses, you should ask yourself three main questions:

• What do you know: Write down the topics you are passionate about and consider the skills and experience you have.
• How your course will provide value: Study your target audience and validate your idea with them.
• What is the best niche: See what already exists and refine your business idea.

Before thinking about prices, think about the value your course will deliver to your target audience. 

Being very clear about what results your students should achieve with your course is important both to define your next steps and to convince them to enroll.

– Step by step to choose a topic for your online course

3. Create course content

There are many steps within this step so we suggest you take a deep breath and remember: one step at a time.

Create the curse curriculum 

The best way to plan your course is to define each step that students must take, in chronological order, to obtain the desired result. Each step becomes a lesson in your course.

Create classes

With the course curriculum structured, it’s time to start developing the content for each lesson.

We suggest, whenever possible, that you record video lessons, be it a tutorial or an explanatory class.

Video is one of the best ways to engage students and with current technology it is relatively easy to record a good video with just a smartphone and a microphone.

Set aside at least 30 minutes a few days a week to develop a 10-minute class, we don’t recommend much more than that. When it is broken down into smaller tasks, it seems easier to accomplish.

Remember, the same rule for escaping procrastination applies to your students.

– How to set up a studio at home to record videos

Use what you already have

Not everything needs to be created from scratch. 

You probably already have materials related to the subject you chose to cover, so there’s nothing better than “saving” work by using what you’ve already done.

Gather texts in handouts or presentations, make videos and audios from podcasts, webinars or other events you have already participated in and use all of this to enhance your course.

Delegate tasks you cannot complete

To create online courses requires some knowledge that you may not master, but that’s okay, ask for help.

Focus on what you do well and outsource what you don’t.

Even if your budget is small, there is always someone you know who understands video editing, for example, to help you with small adjustments.

We also cannot forget that we are living in the age of AI and there is excellent software available online to speed up any process of creating and editing videos and images, producing scripts and much more. 

– Best AI Tools to Create Online Courses

Ask for feedback

When you have already created some classes, stop, evaluate and ask for feedback from people you trust.

See if the results are positive and if there is a good chance of reaching your final goal, or if you need to make small changes and review any steps that went wrong.

The objective is to monitor progress and see if adjustments are necessary.

This assessment allows you to notice errors without despair and correct them in time to reach your goal within the given period.

5. Choose a hosting platform 

To launch a course on the internet you need a platform to host it.

These platforms are called Learning Management Systems (LMS), like Coursify.me.

Developed with a focus on distance teaching and learning, they are designed so that you can create online courses within them, hosting your video classes, PDF materials, PowerPoint, and much more.

There, your students can access lessons, take tests, leave comments, receive a certificate of completion and make payments online.

– How to create a certificate for online courses

The great advantage of these platforms that operate in the SaaS model, is that they provide all the infrastructure and technology you need and only charge a monthly usage fee, which can be canceled at any time.

Complete hosting platform for online courses, Coursify.me is the ideal solution for anyone who wants to create, sell and promote courses on the internet.

Serving companies and professionals in more than 60 countries, Coursify.me is a dynamic and customizable Learning Management System.

– Whats is a Learning Management System

Course ready and online, the next step is to start advertising to your contact list.

Take advantage of our integration with social networks to boost advertising and your results.

Our goal is to see your course succeed and we do everything in our power to ensure you and your students have the best online teaching experience.

To find out more, visit our website, test the platform and understand why we are the best option for you to create online courses.

The post Create online courses: back to basics done right appeared first on Blog Coursify.me.

To help, in this post we are going to talk about 5 free programs to record videos straight from your computer screen.

Find out which are the best free apps to record videos

There are several methods for you to record videos and produce quality material for your online classes.

You can use DSLR cameras, video cameras, your cell phone camera or even hiring help from a professional video maker.

But for those who are starting and prefer to go simple, there is the option of recording videos straight from your computer screen, a method widely used to create tutorials and online courses in general.

– Record tutorial videos: tips to get the best result

For that, you just need a good screen capture program. Check out five options of free apps that can help you in this mission.

1. Ezvid

Ezvid is a screen recording program that comes with a built-in video editor, with which you can split recordings and add texts between two clips.

This application has been on the market for a long time and is considered by many to be the best free software screen capture, video editing and slideshow maker for Windows. 

Among its features, we can highlight:

• Screen recording: allows you to easily record your computer screen, including microphone and system audio.

• Video editing: includes some basic video editing tools, such as trimming clips, adding text and images, and adjusting playback speed.

• Integration with YouTube: makes it easy to export the video to YouTube and offers some options to adjust video settings before uploading.

• Background music: comes with a free background music library that you can use when recording videos.

• Screenshot in games: Ezvid is one of the few free screen capture software options that supports full screen game recording without losing its quality.

As a negative point, Ezvid doesn’t offer as many features as other screen capture software options, and some functionality, such as advanced audio and video editing, is not available.

– 14 Strategies to get views on YouTube

2. FlashBack Express Recorder

Quite popular, the FlashBack Express it’s a software often used to create video tutorials, software demos, training videos, online courses, presentations and more.

Its ‘capture driver’ technology puts it ahead of other free screen recorders and is capable to record videos with high quality without affecting PC performance (exclusive to Windows), even on less powerful computers.

In terms of features, it offers several options:

• Screen recording: allows you to capture screenshots of full screen, selected areas and more.

• Video editing: you can add texts, arrows, shapes, highlights, audio and soundtracks.

• Webcam: allows you to record your webcam to add a personal layer to your videos.

• Zoom and Pan: allows you to zoom and pan your screenshots to highlight specific areas.

• Easy sharing: makes it simple to share your screenshots and videos on social media sites, YouTube, Vimeo and other services.

Overall, FlashBack Express is a solid option for anyone looking for free, easy-to-use screen recording software.

However, if you need advanced video editing features, then you will have to look for a more robust option.

– 5 Tips to Make Editing Your Video Easier

3. Apowersoft Free Online Screen Recorder

The great beauty of Apowersoft Free Online Screen Recorder is that it is a web application that allows you to record videos straight from your computer screen without having to download the software.

To make it clearer, it is possible to download the app, but if this is a one-time project or you are in a hurry, just hit record and start.

Practical and easy to use, some of its main features are:

• Screen recording: allows you to record your computer’s full screen or just a specific part.

• Audio recording: allows you to record sound from your browser, applications or microphone.

• Webcam: enables recording your webcam while recording your computer screen.

• Output formats: supports multiple formats including MP4, WMV, AVI, FLV, MPEG, VOB and ASF.

• Video editing: you can add texts, arrows and other shapes, as well as cut unnecessary parts.

• Sharing: allows you to share your recording directly on platforms such as YouTube, Vimeo and Google Drive.

• No time limit: the app does not impose a time limit on recording.

It is important to remember that, being a free web application, it may have some limitations compared to paid software.

However, for those who are starting to record videos and have little experience, this is certainly an excellent option to develop their skills and achieve faster results.

4. DVDVideoSoft Free Screen Recorder

One more app that is quite simple to use, Free Screen Recorder it presents nine icons.

The first four are for capturing the screen, the next four are for organizing your screen and the last icon brings the main settings.

The program provides four types of capture to record videos and features a built-in editor for you to make some adjustments to the image before saving it.

Look some of its features:

• Screen recording: allows you to capture the entire screen or just a selected part.

• Video formats: allows you to record your screen in different video formats, including AVI, MP4, MKV, FLV and others.

• Advanced settings: allows you to configure many advanced recording options, such as frame rate, video quality, screen resolution, and more.

• Editing tools: includes basic editing features like adding texts, images and lines.

• Webcam recording: is it possible to record the webcam simultaneously with the screen.

• Scheduling of recordings: enables scheduling the start and end of a recording at specific times.

• Easy sharing: allows you to easily share the recorded videos on social media sites and other services.

Another positive point of this app is that it enables you to include in the file name the specific date and time the video was recorded. This feature facilitates the organization of material.

Overall, DVDVideoSoft Free Screen Video Recorder is a good option for anyone who needs basic screen capture and video recording features, but doesn’t offer as much functionality as other similar programs.

– 9 tips for recording professional-looking videos

5. Krut Computer Recorder

Open source screen recorder easy to use, Krut was developed in Java and it has a very simple interface.

The software presents the “Follow Mouse” option that causes only a small area around the mouse to be recorded, making the rest of the desktop not appear.

It’s possible to export files in MOV format, an excellent choice for presentations, demonstrations and other materials with educational purposes.

Here are some of the features offered by Krut Computer Recorder:

• Screen recording: allows you to capture the entire screen or a selected area, including audio and video.

• Video edition: does not include built-in video editing features, but allows you to export the recorded videos in different file formats so that they can be edited later in other programs.

• Audio recording: allows you to record system or microphone audio for adding narration to your videos.

• Advanced settings: the software allows you to configure various recording options such as frame rate, video quality and screen resolution.

• Video formats: enables you to record videos in different formats, including MOV, OGG and AVI.

• Zoom and Pan: you can zoom and pan your screenshots to highlight specific areas.

• Easy sharing: you can easily share the screenshots and videos on social media sites and other services.

In short, Krut Computer Recorder is a free and complete option to record videos, with several configuration options.

Record videos and start selling online courses 

These five programs, in addition to being free, are quite simple to use, excellent for those who are starting to record videos and have no experience in the matter.

If you are looking for more robust and complete options, Movavi Screen Recorder and Camtasia are good choices. Both software are paid but offer a free trial period.

Our advice is that you study a little more about their interfaces and test at least two softwares to find out which best suits your needs.

Once your recording is done, just upload the video to our elearning platform and that’s it, your students will have immediately access to the material.

Platform for hosting online courses (LMS), Coursify.me has all the features you need to import content from your computer and from sites like Vimeo and YouTube.

– Whats is a Learning Management System

Instructors can embed their videos hosted on any of these channels on their page on Coursify.me, making their classes even better and more complete.

Visit our site, take a test and enjoy all the features of our platform to create and sell quality online courses. If you have any doubts, just get in touch!

The post 5 free apps to record videos straight from your computer screen appeared first on Blog Coursify.me.

How to use digital marketing to sell more

A great advantage that the internet and digital marketing have brought to beginning entrepreneurs, is being able to compete on a better level of equality with large companies.

The online release of a brand, product or service costs much less than the dissemination via traditional media, and with the right strategy, you can achieve excellent results and reach a large number of people.

At the present time, increasing sales with digital marketing is the best choice. To a lesser or greater degree, your persona is probably online. Although there is no exact manual on how to do this, there is a list of actions and strategies that are fundamental. Check out!

– How to create buyer personas for my business

1. Transform likes into sales with Instagram Shopping 

Instagram Shopping is a feature that allows brands to create a virtual showcase within the social network, where followers can explore and even buy products without leaving the channel.

After setting up a business profile on Instagram and uploading a product catalog on Facebook (Instagram’s parent company), you are eligible to tag your products in your feed and stories. Thus, users who view your content and are interested, no longer need to browse to your website if they want to make a purchase; instead, they can simply click on the product to be directed to the sales page corresponding.

Basically, what makes social selling such a strong digital marketing tactic is the elimination of friction. By allowing your followers to make effortless purchases, Instagram effectively brought the power of search to social media.

– 6 ways to sell on social networks

2. Optimize your website based on SEO

A website has to be attractive and informative, since these are basic requirements to involve the user. However, to generate traffic, it is necessary to work on optimization based on SEO standards. 

This work aims to make adjustments that make a website more suited to what search engine algorithms – such as Google – require. As a result, you will get a better ranking, with your website appearing at the top of the SERPs.

Everyone knows that when doing a search on Google, it is natural that we are more likely to visit sites that appear on the first page, especially those at the top. In general, 75% of users do not access the second page of results.

An optimized website has a better ranking, appears on this first page and is more visible to the eyes of those who did the research. The chances of receiving clicks are greater, generating more traffic and conversion.

– 12 practical SEO tips for beginners

3. Start a content marketing strategy

Developing a Content Marketing strategy  is an excellent way to increase sales with digital marketing.

Blog posts have a great ability to generate traffic to a website, increase consumer interest and engage. But in order to achieve this, you need to produce high quality content that is relevant to your target audience.

– How to use your Blog as a marketing tool

Users are interested in educational posts, but not too generalist. Many of these people also want to know more about a particular product or service. Therefore, a content strategy must provide posts for all levels of the sales funnel.

– Understand How the Sales Funnel Works

In addition to blog posts, you can use periodic communication through newsletter and social networks. And don’t forget the videos! Launching video content via the YouTube channel, posting stories and making live streams are an excellent way to engage audiences today.

Optimized for SEO, these posts can attract the right leads, educate them and generate the knowledge needed to make a purchase decision.

4. Bet on customer reviews

You started using Instagram Shopping, made sponsored ads on Google and Facebook, invested in content and things are going well, in the sense that they are driving a substantial amount of traffic to your site, but they’re also doing poorly, in the sense that views aren’t converting at a high rate. 

This is the time to bet on social proof, or, in other words, on comments made by customers.

Online consumers tend to be more cautious before closing a purchase, as they are not seeing the product / service and have no proof that it really works. Therefore, the opinion of others is so important that it ends up becoming an important digital marketing action.

Putting reviews and comments on your sales pages is a simple and proven way to turn more visitors into customers.

– Tips to get more Reviews for your course

5. Use the referral marketing

Referral marketing can turn the enthusiasm of your most loyal customers in a steady stream of new business.

The idea is to identify satisfied and loyal customers to your brand and, through some type of reward, encourage them to recommend your business to their own network of relationships.

The triumph of this strategy is that your potential customers are much more likely to trust referrals from friends and family than ads. 

This digital marketing tactic is very similar to using customer testimonials; the main difference is that it is more direct, since it is the famous mouth-to-mouth marketing.  

6. Automate and track your email marketing campaigns 

Email marketing is one of the most effective digital marketing methods, and also one of the simplest. Email messages result in 66% of consumers making a purchase.

These emails should contain information about products, discounts, content offers, discount coupons, among other things. The idea is to bring your brand closer to the customer and create a lasting relationship with them.

Automation is the feature that allows you to send emails to a wide base of contacts, standardizing messages and increasing your chances of reaching them. It also makes it possible to track the reception and how the leads were engaged.

From this strategy, it is possible to feed these leads and take them to the most advanced stages of the sales funnel. In this way, the results are, in addition to engagement, the increase in conversions.

An important fact to note is that email marketing is not used for the primary purpose of generating new leads. Your real mission is to nurture leads that have already shown some interest in your brand. 

– How to create an email marketing campaign

7. Join an affiliate program

One of the great advantages of digital marketing is the possibility of scaling sales in a way that was previously unimaginable. And it is in this aspect that an Affiliate Program is unique.

Affiliate marketing is the process by which an affiliate earns a commission to advertise products of another person or company. To do this, the affiliate simply looks for a product / service he likes, makes it known, and gets a share of the profit from each sale he makes or leads won. Sales are tracked through affiliate links from one website to another.

This is an excellent tool to boost the sale of online courses, since hundreds of people start to publicize your course without you having to set aside a budget to pay for it and, as in referral marketing, a product recommended by someone else has a greater chance of conversion.

Working in partnership with affiliates, making your product attractive, with good commissions and awards to provide to your Top Affiliate base, your chances of increasing sales are much greater, because, in addition to applying all sales strategies to your product, you will also have other experts doing the same.

– How to use Affiliate Marketing

8. Increase your sales game with pop-ups

Another way to boost your digital marketing strategy is with pop-ups: the windows that temporarily occupy the screens of websites to present offers or news.

You can use pop-ups to attract a potential buyer with a discount offer, launch notice or to indicate a product complementary to what he is buying.

Pop-ups do not have the best reputation in the world, but there is a reason they are still in use today: they work! Especially when used to present legitimately relevant offers to people, such as a limited time discount, a pre-sale with unmissable conditions, etc.

Use them correctly and they can generate a ton of additional revenue for your business.

– Tips for organizing the pre-sale of your online course

Sell ​​more online courses using digital marketing

No online business can succeed in a scenario in which the competition is increasingly fierce without innovative ideas for marketing and a well-designed and implemented dissemination strategy. 

Digital marketing is the marketing of the present and the future. In addition to all the benefits it brings to your business, you can track the results of your efforts with incredible precision, which means that it is easy to see which strategies are producing profitable results and which need revision.

Tools like Google Analytics allow you to check these results in detail. In addition, many marketing automation software can also help you.

– How to use Google Analytics

For those who create online courses, this is an excellent way to attract and retain students.

Complete eLearning platform, Coursify.me is the ideal solution for those who want to create, sell and advertise courses on the internet.

With perfect integration with the main social networks and content platforms, with Coursify.me you are already halfway through the job of positioning yourself well in search engines and attracting customers.

Serving businesses and professionals in more than 60 countries, Coursify.me is a dynamic and customizable Learning Management System (LMS).

– Learning Management System: What is it?

To know more, visit our website, test the platform and see how easy it is to profit by doing what you love.

The post 8 digital marketing tips to sell more on the internet appeared first on Blog Coursify.me.

Benefits of applying a satisfaction survey in online courses 

The satisfaction survey is an excellent tool for anyone who creates and sells online courses. 

– Learn how to sell courses online

By discovering what your students think and expect from your courses, you can develop more focused teaching material, correct errors and make adjustments based on concrete data.

A good online course meets your students’ expectations, which is good. But, an excellent online course exceeds students’ expectations, and that’s great. 

After all, when something offers an above average result, people tend to comment about it and this is the most economical and effective form of advertising that exists.

A well-qualified course is also an excellent business opportunity. 

If your material pleased, you can take the opportunity to offer complementary courses to the same students who have already had a good experience with your brand and will certainly feel more secure and interested in purchasing another product of yours.

– Benefits of Recurring Payment for Online Courses

Then the question arises: how to identify the level of satisfaction of my students? Very simple: ask them! 

Conducting a satisfaction survey is relatively simple, as long as it is applied correctly, with well-defined purposes and committed to improving services, aiming at the real satisfaction of your customers.

For a satisfaction survey to bring results, it does not need to start from a complex, full of elaborate and time-consuming analyzes. Even because it needs to be easy to understand.

Keep in mind that no one will want to take a few minutes to complete your survey if it is long and, moreover, complex.

If you’re asking someone for something, do your best to make that person’s life easier.

Ways to apply a satisfaction survey

The next question that often arises is: how to apply a satisfaction survey?

Where to find people interesting for your business and willing to respond? Well, we can say that the Internet makes this task a little simpler today, considering that a few years ago it was necessary to go to the streets to approach people.

The social networks, for example, facilitate the meeting between consumers and businesses.

– 6 ways to sell on social networks

It is also quite simple to send questionnaires by email, WhatsApp, SMS, websites, forums, chats and other online media, so that your students can respond when they can, stressing that the purpose of the research is to improve the quality of the course.

Net Promoter Score

A very efficient methodology used as a student satisfaction survey is the Net Promoter Score (NPS). 

– NPS as a marketing strategy for online courses

This methodology is based on a simple question: 

“On a scale of 0 to 10, how much would you recommend this course to a friend?”

This single question allows you to quickly measure the customer’s feeling towards the company, after all, there is no greater indication of satisfaction for a company than being indicated.

Since the customer shows a high possibility of referencing your business, he certainly trusts the structure offered by your company and the way it delivers the product or service.

For the calculation of the NPS, passive assessments are disregarded (score 7 or 8). Then take the percentage of promoting customers (score 9 or 10) and subtract the percentage of detrimental customers (score 0 to 6).

The formula for calculation is as follows:

% PROMOTING CLIENTS – % DETRACTING CLIENTS = NPS

The result is a number that ranges from -100 to 100. For example, if you get 20 responses, 12 promoters (60% of the response, or 0.6) 4 liabilities and 4 detractors (20% of the answer, or 0.2), for the account we have:

0.6 – 0.2 = 0.4 (40%)

If your score is low, it means that you have many detrimental clients / liabilities, indicating that improvements are needed in your course. 

Among the various benefits of NPS, the following stand out:

• Simplicity
• Agility in analysis
• Planning tool
• Long-term measurement
• Increase in the number of students

The success of any business depends on the satisfaction of its customers. Offer your students the best possible course and stay tuned to what they have to say. 

Use feedback positive and negative in favor of your business, always improving.

4 Tips to prepare a satisfaction survey for online courses

A satisfaction survey is a direct and efficient channel of communication with your audience. 

This tool offers an opportunity for the student to leave his opinion, express his dissatisfaction with something that did not meet his expectations and also praise what exceeded.

Some of the information that a satisfaction survey for online courses can offer are:

• Understanding the audience’s perception of the classes;
• Collect suggestions for improvements, comments and opinions;
• Assess the quality of the material / content.

Important tool for the instructor to improve his courses more and more, and in this way to retain students, check out some tips for developing an effective satisfaction survey:

– Strategies for retaining students

General evaluation

Brief and effective method of evaluation, request a general note for your course. Remember that no one likes to spend a lot of time answering questions, so to make it easier, use a numerical scale for the guest to determine the overall score. For example, from 1 to 5, with 5 being the maximum score.

Evaluation of the main aspects of the course

Determine the main aspects of your online course and ask questions for the participants to evaluate each one of them separately. It is important to maintain the same scoring mode, so if you have already used the numerical scale method, continue with it. In addition to making it easier for the interviewee, it is easier to compare the items and understand what they liked more and less.

Open questions

Always leave a space for the interviewee to write whatever they want. Compliments, suggestions or complaints, all of these explanations are important and can help you obtain relevant information to improve your online course.

Indication

Here we return to the Net Promoter Score method. An excellent way to measure satisfaction with the course is to ask if the person would refer you to others and if they would do a next module, for example. These are recurring questions in satisfaction surveys and will also indicate whether customers were satisfied with your course or not.

Analysis of results

To assess the result of your satisfaction survey, analyze the overall score and the number of people who said they would refer you and return to the next module. 

If most of the answers are negative, it is necessary to review the evaluation of each item individually and find out what is not pleasing. 

However, if the vast majority of responses are positive, it means that your online course has had good results and you are on the right track.

The analysis of the results of each question can be done by adding the positive results and the negative results. Questions that have a greater number of negative responses need more attention.

Finally, prepare a report with all the results obtained to guide you during the planning of the next classes, ensuring that your quality is even higher.

Use the right platform to improve your students’ satisfaction

There are many different resources you can use to make your online courses a sales success.

But, for that, you need to host your content on a platform that provides all the tools necessary for virtual learning.

Elearning platform, Coursify.me has integration with content platforms such as YouTube and Vimeo. In addition, the user can upload videos, texts, images, audios and any other material that is hosted on Dropbox or on his own computer.

Soon, Coursify.me will launch a new feature, which will allow the creation of questionnaires, quizzes and tests. 

– New features of Coursify.me

This new resource will help in the development of even better and more complete online courses, and may even contribute to the application of a satisfaction survey.

Attending schools, companies and professionals in more than 60 countries, Coursify.me is a dynamic Learning Management System, ready to serve you. 

– Whats is a Learning Management System

To learn more, visit our website, test the platform and start now to create and sell online courses.

The post How to make a satisfaction survey for online courses appeared first on Blog Coursify.me.

But, if you want to get a slice of this pie, you need to find a niche that people are looking for. In other words, it is necessary to find out if there is a market for your course.

What you need to define before start creating online courses

You have an excellent idea for creating online courses, you’re ready to start developing the content, but the question arises: is there a market for this product?

How do you know if your idea will be a huge success or a big failure?

The answer is simple: do market research.

Researching whether there is an audience interested in your online course before creating it is very important.

Unfortunately, most people find this part too complicated and end up “going blind”, which tends to go wrong. Write it down: planning is the first step to success.

– Simple guide to create and sell online courses

The good news is that it is quite simple to validate your idea for ​​an online course. There are several online tools that facilitate market research.

But first of all, start by answering the following questions:

1. Is there a demand for your course topic?

Naturally, you want to invest your money, time and effort in something that is in high demand. Otherwise, creating online courses and building a distance education business will be a complete waste of time.

To find out if a topic is in demand, here are some tips:

Ask people 

Ask friends, family and people who fit your target audience, that is, have a relationship with the area and theme you intend to teach. Find out what their difficulties are and what they would like to learn. 

You can use social media, email, join groups and discussion forums, among other channels, to get as many responses as possible.

Check the competition

This survey can give you an idea if the topic you intend to address has a demand and if enough people are already trying to solve it. Search Google, Amazon, popular podcasts and other online education-related platforms. Take the opportunity to use your competitors as inspiration to create successful online courses.

But be aware, if there is little or no competition, this is a bad sign. It probably means that there is little or no demand for your idea.

Do a keyword research 

Google is a powerful tool that you can use to analyze the demand of their course. Use the keyword planner to find out what people are searching for and what topics are most searched for. 

Another great keyword tool is Answer The Public. Just select keywords related to the course topic and see how many questions arise. The more questions there are, the greater the interest in the subject.

– How to define and search for keywords

2. Do you have a specific target audience?

Many people who start creating online courses make the mistake of assuming that their course is perfect for everyone. However, those who do not focus on a specific group, end up reaching anyone.

It may seem counterintuitive to restrict your course audience, but it is proven that courses have sold best when created with a specific target audience in mind.

To define who your client is, answer the following questions:

• Do you know someone who would be interested in taking your course? If so, what do you know about this or these people?
• What is the age group of your target audience? Genre? Economic status? Profession? You must have specific demographics in mind.
• What are the problems of this audience?
• What do they want to achieve? What would be the ideal outcome that your course could offer?
• How much are they willing to pay to get the desired result? 

The answers to these questions will help you define your buyer persona, that is, your ideal customer.

– How to create a buyer persona

Keeping that persona in mind is essential to learn how to create online courses that meet the expectations of the audience you intend to reach.

3. Do you have a powerful goal?

Of course, one of your goals when creating online courses is to make money, but that should not be your only reason to dive into this endeavor. In addition to increasing your income, you need to have a greater motivation when it comes to teaching.

Without a real passion for your topic, you will not be as enthusiastic as your competitors, and your potential students are sure to notice, which will result in less sales. 

Many professionals create a course just for the purpose of winning and forget that the most important thing is to serve your audience.

The result? Low sales rate.

So, be sincere and answer yourself what your goal is. What is your motivation to teach on this topic?

Perhaps you have had an experience that has taught you some valuable lesson, and now you are inspired to share what you have learned.

Perhaps you love your profession or some other subject with all your heart, and the idea of ​​passing on your knowledge is wonderful.

Or maybe a friend or loved one has inspired you to share something you know, that has made all the difference in his life.

Doing an internal search is just as important as external search. If you have no motivation other than money, you may need to rethink your idea of ​​creating online courses.

3 ways to validate your idea before creating online courses

Thanks to technology, you have several simple and free tools online to validate your course idea.

Conducting a survey is important to assess whether there is a market for your course and to give you more security before you start.

There are different channels for making this query and Coursify.me has listed three that you can test before creating online courses.

Google

Go to Google and start with the obvious, do a search for keywords and phrases related to the topic of your course.

Think about how your potential audience could search for that topic on the internet and don’t necessarily include the word “online course”. Pay attention to these results:

• How relevant is your idea of ​​an online course to searchers? In what position does it appear?
• Videos appear on the first page?
• Are there any paid ads related to the topic?
• Are courses on the same topic already available?

If these items appear in your search, contrary to what may look, this is a good sign. It means that there are other professionals or companies that agree that it is possible to profit from this idea.

When creating online courses, you want to address a niche where people are spending money.

– 10 profitable niches for online courses

If no competition appears, you need to think about why no one is investing in it.

BuzzSumo

BuzzSumo is a powerful SEO tool that evaluates shares on social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Pinterest and Instagram.

Just type a topic or keyword in the search field and the program will show you which sites are gaining the most likes, shares and links related to the subject.

These results provide a good sense of how popular a topic is and on which channel it attracted the most attention.

This not only helps to validate your idea before you start creating online courses, but it also shows you where it’s most interesting to start promoting it.

It is also possible to know what engagement it has and how your competition is doing.

Amazon

You may be wondering what Amazon has to do with creating online courses, and the answer is: nothing. But don’t forget that the focus here is market research.

Website where we can find everything today, let’s remember that this is only possible thanks to a powerful search engine.

The Amazon Kindle Store area is particularly valuable for course creators. It contains a large number of eBooks on various subjects.

Through Amazon’s search engine you can find out if there are books on the topic you want to address and if they sell well.

Enter your search terms in the search bar and select “Kindle Store” from the side menu.

If you see several results related to your course topic, and if any of them are on Amazon’s Best Sellers list, this is a good indication that you are on the right track.

As simple as it may be, this market research is very effective in helping to validate your idea before finally starting to create your course.

Create and sell online courses with Coursify.me

Determining whether there is a market for your course is as important as creating and selling it. 

Remember that you don’t have to have tons of experience or qualifications to teach on your chosen topic.

What you need is a passion for the subject, a willingness to teach and a determination to create well-made and effective online courses that stand out from the competition.

And, most importantly, you must strive to create a course that meets the needs of your target audience. Do this and the money will follow.

In addition, all you need is a Learning Management System (LMS) where you can host your courses and that is easy and interesting for your students to access.

– Whats is a Learning Management System

Elearning platform, Coursify.me has integration with other content platforms, such as YouTube and Vimeo. In addition, the user can upload videos, texts, images, audios and any other material that is hosted on Dropbox or on his own computer.

Attending schools, companies and professionals in more than 60 countries, Coursify.me is a dynamic Learning Management System, ready to serve you. 

To learn more, visit our website, test the platform and start creating online courses right now.

The post Creating online courses: how to validate my course idea appeared first on Blog Coursify.me.

The rise of distance learning has not gone unnoticed by classroom teachers and, especially now, with the crisis of the new coronavirus, having the content of classes in digital format has become fundamental.

Tips for creating online classes from traditional classes

Many professionals believe that passing the material used in the classroom, such as handouts, PowerPoint presentations, questionnaires, assessments, among others, to the digital format, is enough to create online classes.

The truth is that it’s necessary to be more careful about the instructional design and the treatment of the content to ensure the quality and effectiveness of the material.

Making this migration requires good planning and adaptations to obtain the best result. 

Check out some tips to convert your classroom classes into distance learning courses successfully.

– 7 tips for setting up a Successful Online Class

Define the format of the online course

There are three formats of distance learning courses to which you can convert your face-to-face class:

• Asynchronous Learning: the student interacts directly with the content, and the interaction with the instructor occurs with delay, through emails, forums, feedback, etc. The advantage of the asynchronous format is that it allows the student greater flexibility in terms of time, place, and pace of learning.
• Synchronous Learning: the class takes place in real time, transmitted online through audio, video conference, chat, among others. This model brings together instructors and students in the same time interval and allows everyone to communicate with each other. The advantage of this model is to break the student’s isolation, allowing him to solve his doubts on the spot, participate and share knowledge.
• Hybrid Learning: combines characteristics of asynchronous and synchronous learning. A very complete form of teaching, it allows the student to establish his own learning pace, studying the content alone, but he also has moments of interaction in real time with the instructor and colleagues.

– Blended learning: how your school can combine online and face-to-face teaching

All three formats have their characteristics and advantages and you must decide which is the best for your business model. 

When in doubt, think about which model best meets the needs of your target audience.

With this question defined, it will be possible to have a clearer idea of ​​the adaptations that must be made in your material to transform it into online classes.

Apply principles of Instructional Design

No matter how successful your content is in the classroom and how good it looks the way it is, it will still need to undergo a redesign with a focus on instructional design.

The visual part of your online course is very important to attract and delight new customers, but it is also essential in the learning process.

The way the content is presented and the information is passed on can help or hinder the student’s assimilation.

–  Learn how to record videos at home

Beautiful images, videos and fonts are not enough to make teaching material more effective, it is necessary to understand a little about how the human brain usually processes information.

An area widely studied by psychology, there are five multimedia principles that, when used in the creation of online classes, help to avoid the cognitive discomfort caused by the wrong combination of texts, audios, photos, drawings, graphics, videos, animations and other learning objects.

Multimedia Principles

• Coherence: any and all content or learning objects that are not related to the topic to be taught should be excluded.
• Signaling: important elements of the online class should be highlighted by visual or vocal resources to direct the student’s attention.
• Redundancy: it is better to use audio and graphics (as one complements the other) than, for example, audio and text, which causes cognitive overload in the student.
• Spatial contiguity: the descriptive information of graphics and images must be close to the content to which they relate.
• Temporal contiguity: visual and auditory information should not be presented successively, but simultaneously, to facilitate the connection of the contents.

Design Principles 

The principles of design aim to develop projects and products with a harmonious, efficient visual identity, easy to assimilate and memorize.

• Alignment: linear grouping of similar items to create a visual connection.
• Balance: grouping of items at strategic points to balance the look.
• Consistency: standardization of some elements of the layout to create a harmonious visual identity, easy to assimilate and recognize.
• Contrast: grouping of different items to direct the look and attention.
• Proximity: bringing similar items together helps to create a link between the related elements.

These are some principles and techniques that help in building an online course with more elaborate and efficient design, but it is certainly possible to go further. 

Like any other product, a distance learning course allows its developer to dare and experiment in creating his design, testing the best ways to involve his student and make the learning process easier.

– Design and video editing tips

Bet on interaction

Another subject related to the development of distance learning courses are the three main means of interaction to be considered in planning online classes:

• Between student-student: held between students participating in the same course, with or without the presence of the instructor. This type of interaction can be carried out through chats, discussion forums or other digital environments and provides the collaborative construction of knowledge.
• Between student-instructor: in this type of interaction, the teacher stops being just a source of information and becomes a guide, a facilitator, a support, acting in a more active way. It can be done through live classes, online chat, email exchange, phone, etc.
• Between student-content: occurs when students obtain information directly from teaching materials. It allows the students to set their own pace during the course, with support material that they can study, pause, reread and repeat this process until they master the subject.

Again, see which model is best suited to the needs of your students and format your course according to that definition.

– Tips for using eLearning in school education

What to expect from an eLearning Platform

After converting your face-to-face courses into online classes, you will need to host them on an eLearning platform, that is, a Learning Management System.

– Whats is a Learning Management System

Many teachers used only to classroom classes, still have doubts and suspicions about online teaching, so we have gathered here some frequently asked questions on the subject.

1. Are online classes easier than classrooms?

The main difference between classroom and distance courses is the pedagogical resources, the type of activity and the technologies used in the teaching-learning process. 

When it comes to undergraduate courses, both in classroom and distance learning, the subject program respects the same curricular guidelines and deals with the same themes, so at the level of complexity, the two formats are equivalent.

2. Do online courses have assessments?

It depends on the course. When we speak of graduation courses, to obtain this recognition, higher education courses need to describe how the student evaluation process will be. 

In addition, distance courses can employ different methods of student assessment, whether in individual or group activities. In free courses, it will depend on the instructor and the teaching method used by him.

3. In eLearning, does the student study alone?

No. Despite allowing students to choose their own time to attend online classes, study the material and carry out past activities, distance learning courses have several resources that allow interaction between the student, teacher and colleagues. 

This can be done through chats, video conferences or even face-to-face meetings provided for in the course program.

– What is an e-Learning platform

4. How do online courses assess student attendance?

There are several tools that fulfill this function. Unlike what many people think, despite the availability of the course for the student to access at the time they prefer, the activities and classes of a distance course have their accesses controlled. 

With a LMS such as Coursify.me it is possible to know when and for how long each student accessed the content, which pages they went through, the exercises they completed, whether or not they participated in a class and whether they finished the module.

5. Do I need to know about computers to take an online course?

No. The level of knowledge required is “user” level. Basic knowledge of how to access the internet, type, use the mouse and work with simple text editing programs is necessary. Depending on the course, the instructor can create a tutorial to teach the student how to access the system and navigate the virtual environment of the course. 

In addition, the student can ask questions directly for the teacher and person responsible for the course. At Coursify.me, for example, the website interface is already designed to allow intuitive navigation, facilitating access for everyone.

Attending schools, businesses and professionals in more than 60 countries, the platform is a dynamic Learning Management System, ready to serve you.

This means that you do not need to invest in building your own website. The Coursify.me is ready for you enter your course and create a fully customized page for your business.

We have three plan options for you to decide which one best suits your needs and the good news is that the Beginner Plan is free!

Visit our website, test the platform and start making your classes available online right now.

The post Learn how to transform your face-to-face classes into online classes appeared first on Blog Coursify.me.

Now, this learning method has already established itself as one of the most important trends for 21st century education.

Blended Learning: what it is and what its importance for education

Blended learning, also known as b-Learning, is a combination of offline and online instruction where students interact with the instructor, the material, and other students through both a physical classroom and an online platform.

Also known as semi-presential education, this is understood as a type of fusion between traditional education and modern methodology that uses technology.

Defining exactly what Blended Learning is can be quite complicated, as it is a comprehensive term. Currently, one of the most accepted definitions by scholars is the following:

“A teaching method to which you integrate technological as well as virtual activities in conjunction with traditional teaching, using planned activities that have a pedagogical value.” 

It is important to highlight its hybrid concept, that is, a methodology that adequately aggregates teaching by technological means, without replacing, but integrating with the traditional format.  

Blended Learning uses technology not only to supplement, but to transform and improve the learning process.

Since Internet access increased and Distance Education emerged and began to consolidate, educators and school administrators realized the importance of seeking more innovative teaching models.

The goal is to meet the needs of new generations of students for a more efficient, interesting, personalized education and connected with this reality in which technology is part of everyday life.

The great advantage of blended learning is that it offers “the best of both worlds” – that is, the advantages of online education combined with all the benefits of the traditional classroom.

– 8 things you need to know about online education 

A specialist who has helped in the dissemination of these practices, Michael Horn says he considers that blended learning is the only way to promote the transformation in education networks.

“Blended Learning opens up space for teamwork and the development of critical thinking like never before,” he said.

He further stresses that this approach is able to offer students both knowledge and opportunity to develop the skills you will need to be successful in life.

Online Courses and Blended Learning

Blended learning presents itself as a solution that mixes two possibilities of education and allows the teacher to experiment and increase his results.

At Coursify.me we have courses in this format that have been quite successful.

We observe professionals who mix online modules with face-to-face classes, or create an online course as support material for the classroom teaching, such as the example below:

https://farazs-web-development-school.coursify.me/

This combination of methodologies also contributes to another change in education that has been debated in recent years: the flipped learning.

Flipped learning: evolution in education

Flipped learning is a teaching methodology that makes the student protagonist in his own learning, promoting an active, investigative and collaborative learning.

In this model, the student studies a certain topic at home, with the help of technology, and goes to the classroom prepared to debate, discuss his doubts, contribute with ideas and thus exercise an active role in the classroom, being a transmitter of knowledge, not just a receiver.

Scholars have long advocated the positioning of the student as the protagonist of the class, learning more autonomously, with the support of technology, to optimize the effectiveness of education.

Disseminated in recent years by professors Jon Bergmann and Aaron Sams, the flipped class methodology has achieved positive results, having been tested and approved by universities like Duke, Stanford and Harvard.

Despite the concept being considered an innovation, big names in education already talked about the importance of this form of active learning before.

We must remember, for example, that Paulo Freire was adept at having the teacher transform the class into an interactive environment, using resources such as videos and television. 

“We don’t have to end school,”he said in a dialogue with Papert in 1996, “but rather to change it completely until a new being as current as technology is born.”

Unfortunately, the change is slow, but some schools and universities are already doing this and, soon, we may see surprising results.

Meanwhile, blended learning and distance education continue to escalate, proving their benefits for a future reality that, we all hope, will bring concrete and positive changes to education.

Advantages of Blended Learning for schools and students 

Many debates have been made around the advantages and disadvantages of this method, and whether it is better or not than classroom teaching. 

As with e-Learning, the best conclusion reached was that it is not necessary to define whether one is superior to the other, both have their positive points and can be used together.

– E-Learning Market Growth

It should always be remembered that not all students learn in the same way, some are more visual and auditory, while others are more practical, needing to interact and perform activities to be able to assimilate the content.

Mixing online and offline teaching, it is possible to take advantage of both methodologies, among which the following stand out:

• Greater time flexibility;
• Decreases the need for mobility;
• Decreases costs;
• It promotes integration among participants, with a consequent exchange of experiences;
• Enables the development of collective dynamics;
• Facilitates student assessment;
• Enables field work and visits to places of interest;
• Better learning results through the use of more diverse means of information.

Teachers who want to start exploring the potential of online teaching can choose as a starting point mixed course, using online classes to reinforce the content taught in the classroom.

Blended Learning in Brazil

In Brazil, blended learning is widely used in higher education with subjects taught through distance learning.

In 2016, Positivo University (UP) launched its first three undergraduate courses in the hybrid mode: Physical Education, Pedagogy and Gastronomy.

“We need to meet the needs of society, the work market and these students, who learn in a very different way than we learned ten years ago. Today, we already have a group of professors at the university who work with active methodologies and who increasingly integrate the technologies with the classroom. The objective of the hybrid courses is to train professionals capable of developing leadership skills, problem solving and technologically connected with a changing world ”, says the academic dean of UP and director of the Brazilian Association for Distance Learning (Abed), Carlos Longo.

According to Longo, the acquisition of information can happen through a dynamic Learning Management System (LMS), with e-book, games and video lessons.

– Whats is a Learning Management System

In addition, tuition fees are up to 30% lower, and may even serve residents of other cities and contribute to reducing the number of 15 million adults between 25 and 30 years of age who do not yet have a college degree in Brazil.

Distance Learning in the face of the COVID-19 crisis

Since the pandemic caused by COVID-19 spread around the world, dozens of schools have been using eLearning as a way to maintain classes, since all face-to-face activities have been banned.

In this scenario, institutions that were already familiar with some concepts of blended learning and mixed teaching in the classroom with technological activities, took the lead.

– Tips for using eLearning in school education

With no deadline to end, social isolation as a way of flattening the virus contagion curve continues, forcing schools to quickly adapt to online education.

The demand for eLearning learning platforms for hosting online classes has grown all over the world.

– What is an e-Learning platform

There are already several elementary and high schools offering access to classes within online platforms, in an attempt to continue education and prevent the school year from being lost.

However, aware that many students and their families still do not have access to computers and a stable internet, blended learning is the best solution to guarantee the right to education for all.

What many schools have tried to do is use online means to pass practical activities, which students can develop at home, within their routine.

Thus, long theoretical classes, which would be unfeasible for elementary school children, whose attention is very difficult to maintain for a longer period of time, are avoided, giving preference to activities based on experimentation.

While education officials debate what to do if isolation recommendations continue, each school looks for a solution and runs to adapt its classes to the digital format.

– Step by Step to Create Online Courses

Digital School at Coursify.me 

A complete and ready-to-use Learning Management System, Coursify.me has been hosting several elementary and high schools.

A good example is the Chapeuzinho Vermelho school, which created its digital school and managed to take its classes to each student’s home:

https://chapeuzinhovermelhodigital.coursify.me/

With all the necessary resources to enable and facilitate online learning, the platform has a friendly and fully customizable interface, allowing each school to maintain its visual identity, facilitating student recognition.

The Coursify.me features integration with other content platforms such as YouTube and Vimeo, which is ideal for teachers who want to provide lessons in videos.

–  Learn how to record videos at home

In addition, users can upload videos, texts, images, audios and any other material that is hosted on Dropbox or on their own computer.

There is no limit on the number of students allowed, and the school has full control over who has access to the classes, being able to monitor each student, to find out who registered, attended the classes and fulfilled the activities sent.

Attending schools, businesses and professionals in more than 60 countries, the platform is a dynamic Learning Management System, ready to serve you.

Visit our website, test the platform and invest in blended and distance learning to continue educating your students in the best possible way. 

The post Blended Learning: How your school can combine online and offline teaching  appeared first on Blog Coursify.me.

So we’ve put together some tips in this handy guide that will help you record quality videos at home.

How to record videos at home with professional quality 

Learning how to record videos at home is a good start for those who are starting in the e-Learning market. 

Online courses that include videos are preferred by the public and therefore are more valued and sell easier.

– How to create videos for online courses

For those who never went far beyond recording videos on their cell phones to post on social networks, the production of videos with professional presentation can seem complicated. But with today’s technology, we can say that this is not true. 

If a few years ago it was necessary to invest in expensive cameras to have a good result, nowadays most smartphones have built-in cameras capable of recording in high quality and resolution.

In addition, there are several free software on the internet that assist in editing the material and inserting additional resources to make the result even better.

You can produce videos in which you appear explaining the content, which is great to help you create a connection with the student, as well as tutorial videos, using programs that allow you to record your computer screen.

– Record video tutorials: tips for getting the best result

All of this helps to make your online course interesting and effective with minimal investment.

Following some basic tips, it is possible to record videos at home with equipment you already own, such as a computer and smartphone. 

– Meet the best free screen recorders

10 practical tips to record videos at home 

Check out 10 tips to achieve a good result saving and without having to leave the house.

1. Film with your computer / smartphone

Most people have a cell phone and a computer, or at least have a friend who has one of these devices to borrow. 

If you choose your smartphone, remember that the rear camera has better quality, has a higher resolution and offers more features in the app. 

2. Film with your phone horizontally or laptop vertically

When recording videos at home with equipment positioned in this way, you will create a widescreen video, so no one will even notice that you shot with your own equipment in the comfort of your home.

If using a laptop, make sure you are shooting with the camera at a 90° angle. If it is tilted it can distort the image a little.

3. Use a tripod or elevate your computer

You will want the camera lens to be well stabilized and at the height of your face, as this creates a better angle and favors your image. 

If using a smartphone, buy a small tripod. If it’s a computer, improvise and place it on a pile of books and whatever else is needed to reach the ideal height.

4. Never record with zoom

When you want to get a close view of something, it is tempting to press the zoom button on your camera. But, most devices only offer digital zoom, which can degrade the quality of your image.

So, to get a greater focus on your face or other element you want to present, instead of zooming, get closer to the camera. 

5. Film at 24 frames per second

Using this setting to record videos at home ensures smooth image flow.

A lower definition can leave the image with a slightly lower quality and, even if few people realize it, there is no reason to compromise the quality of your material for a simple matter of configuration.

6. Use one device to record video and another to record audio

This makes things a little more complicated than using the microphone on the device you are already using, but it makes a big difference in the audio quality of your video. 

Place a cell phone / computer in front of you to record the image and position another smartphone (if you have a microphone, better) closer to your face to capture a clearer sound. Later, in the editing process, you will be able to combine audio and image.

– Tips for speaking well on video

7. Clap your hands to mark the beginning of a new scene

What? Why? To replace the famous clapperboard? That’s right! Hit your hands hard before starting a new scene. This will create a noise that will appear as a peak volume when editing. 

The loud sound generated will act as a reference for you to be able to synchronize the images from one camera with the audio captured by the other, when editing the material.

8. Use a sheet in the background

To record professional looking home videos, creating a backdrop with a neutral background is a good idea in most cases.

Just lay out a white or black sheet so that it covers the entire background of the scene that appears in the video. Tip: black works better than white, especially if you use bright lights.

9. Use soft objects to avoid the echo

Noise that can compromise the quality of your video, the echo is generated when recording the sound in large rooms, empty spaces or even because you removed furniture to create a studio. 

A simple solution is to use pillows, rugs, and anything else that absorbs this unwanted noise. 

10. Enjoy natural light

The best solution to record videos at home without spending on lighting equipment? Shoot near a window and enjoy natural light. 

If you think you need more light, use light fixtures and whatever else you have at home that can provide support. The important thing is to ensure that your face is well lit and without shadows.

Now, related to the recording location, there are some more tips that can contribute to the quality of your video.

Record videos at home: how to set up a home recording studio

Having your own studio to record videos at home offers two main advantages:

• Low cost and high return
• Semi-permanence

For those who create online courses, recording videos is a path of no return and, even if you only start with equipment you already own, don’t be surprised if you decide to invest in a tripod, microphone and so on in a short time.

Once you start buying more professional equipment, you can consider using part of your work area or some space in your home as a permanent studio or one easy to put together when you need it.

That’s the beauty of these DIY studios. You have the option of leaving everything installed or simply taking it apart until you want to use it again.

Interested in the idea? We have organized a list of the main equipment for recording videos at home that will make a difference in the quality of your video and, consequently, can bring greater return on your investment.

Microphone

It is true that hanging a smartphone from the ceiling using a fishing line is a good way to improvise a microphone. But even better is to use a real microphone and take your video quality to the next level. 

There are several brands of microphones and voice recorders that you can use. Features and values ​​vary from model to model, so we recommend that you do a good research of what best suits your needs before purchasing one. 

– 4 Great Voice Recorders for your Business

Clip-on Lamp

To make the studio lighting, we keep our tip that using natural light is always the best choice. However, if you live in a place that gets low light, a lamp is a great option. 

It is possible to find lamps to buy anywhere for a very affordable price, but give preference to those that have a clip system and can be attached to table corners and other types of support.

Remember that you will need the light to be positioned at a 45 ° angle to the object / person being filmed.

To complement and improve the result, place another light source in the background to get rid of the shadows.

TIP: If you bought lamps especially for lighting your studio, it is not necessary to open the windows. Rather than helping, in this case natural light can hinder the effect you have created with the strategically placed lamps. 

Camera

Buying a camera is the obvious next step to record videos at home with the best possible quality.

As well as microphones, there are many camera options that you can purchase, such as those from Canon or Nikon. 

Do your research and find the one with the best cost benefit for your goals. When you buy the camera, don’t miss the chance to buy the corresponding tripod.

These are the main equipment to raise the level of your video production and create quality content for your online course.

If you decide that you want to invest in even better equipment, the next items we recommend are the following:

• Professional background: the famous green screen opens up a new world of possibilities for you to record videos at home.
• Sound panels: to ensure greater clarity of the sound, buying and installing some sound panels to muffle noise is a good option.
• Even better cameras: the most expensive investment, but the one with the highest return.

Video editing

Serious editing requires knowledge and practice, but a little basic editing can help make your videos more professional.

With the help of some free editing softwares, you can remove unwanted parts from your video clips. In addition, these tools allow you to merge multiple clips and photos, add soundtrack, video filters and create mini-movies that are worth sharing.

Stopping the beginning and end of a clip generally enhances the result, as well as share a longer clip into several shorters.This is especially true for something you want to share online.

– Basic Video Editing Techniques

Host video lessons on Coursify.me

You now know what you need to create videos compelling, professional-looking.

Ready-made material, get feedback from some friends, make the necessary improvements and when everything is perfect, upload it to video platforms or go straight to your online school at Coursify.me.

– How to Choose the Right Video Hosting Platform

ELearning platform (LMS), Coursify.me has all the necessary features for you to integrate and import content from video hosting platforms such as Vimeo and YouTube.

– Whats is a Learning Management System (LMS)

Instructors can embed their hosted videos in any of these channels on their page on Coursify.me, leaving their lessons even better and more complete.

Visit our website and take advantage of all the features of our platform to make tutorial videos and create quality online courses.

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Why is effective communication necessary in online classes?

The goal of online communication is the same as that of face-to-face communication: building links; share information; be heard and be understood.

When and how you communicate with your students helps foster a sense of community in your online classes, which helps them feel connected to you and their colleagues.

As an instructor, finding the best methods to communicate with your students should be your number one priority.

– How to Set Up a Successful Online Course

The conversation in an online environment requires a little more thought and planning than the one that occurs in the classroom, due mainly to the absence of body language.

Developing timely, relevant and useful communication for your students is not always a simple task.

Here are some basic guidelines to help you achieve good results:

• Remember, Less is More: Try to use as few words as possible. Online students are bombarded with information that consists mostly of text, so the last thing they want is to read yet another long message.
• Be clear: Your message should be concise and clear, leaving no room for varying interpretations. If you want your students to know that the deadline for a test has been extended, for example, your message should speak only about that.
• Be polite: Reread your text to make sure it sounds the way you want it to sound. Check the tone of the communication and check for clarity and completeness in the text. You want your messages to be professional and enjoyable, and for your students to know that you receive their questions well.
• Provide feedback: As your students are learning from a distance, it is important that they receive consistent feedback on their progress in online classes. If a student asks a question about a task, it is interesting that you first offer a personal answer to that question, and then if you feel the question is important to the rest of the class, introduce it to everyone.
• Ask for Opinion: Ask your students what they think adds another personal touch to your communication, which helps them to create a bond. People like to give their personal opinion, make them feel important and part of something, at the same time, this feedback is of great value to help improve the content of your course in the future.

Another detail to think about: Do your students need to have the information now? If the answer is yes, you should ensure that the method used to send this message is one that reaches everyone immediately, such as a text message via SMS or WhatsApp.

You should also post an ad in your online classes to serve as a permanent record of what specific information has been given.

Also, to get attention, use capital letters in bold and include “IMPORTANT” in the subject line or title of the notification.

To communicate effectively with your students online you need to think outside the text box.

Not all people like to interact using the same methods, so you have to be prepared to use different types of channels to communicate.

A Learning Management System  (LMS) has integrated tools to aid communication during your online classes, but there are also many other technological tools available to help bridge the gap between you and your students.

– Whats is a Learning Management System

Ways to communicate with the student in online classes

The ways that instructors communicate in their online classes should reflect the diversity of their students.

There are many tools available to help increase the effectiveness of your communication and connection with students.

You can start by using the communication tools included in your LMS to quickly get in touch with students, but it’s no secret that your online classes become more engaging with more innovative communication methods.

Technologies such as email, social networks, chats, and video chat applications like Skype and Google Hangout have made communication between instructor and students more timely, efficient, productive, and satisfying for both parties.

Some of the methods you can explore are:

• VoiceThread – The Voice Thread is a web-based platform that allows teachers and students to upload images, videos, or documents; record audio, video, or text comments, and invite others to record comments as well. You can use VoiceThread with your students in a variety of ways, such as a live project presentation, peer reviews, or to create a presentation using images, video, and audio.
• Google HangoutsGoogle –  Google’s messaging, video, and voice app. With the messaging feature, you can have a private conversation with one of your students, a small group or with everyone at the same time. Using the video feature, you can turn your conversation into a video chat.
• GoToMeeting – Video conferencing software that allows users to collaborate in real time. You can use GoToMeeting to host study sessions, for example. You can use the whiteboard to share your screen or illustrate learning concepts. Students can use computer audio or their phones to connect to the meeting. GoToMeeting also allows you to save the session for later viewing.
• Podcasting applications like www.spreaker.com – Podcasting is nothing more than recording a series of audio files. This material can be distributed regularly to summarize the learning content and serve as a study guide.

There are many other tools you can use in your online classes.

When making your communication plan, be creative and think outside the box to find at least three different ways to communicate with the student.

– Choosing the Right Video Hosting Platform

Have a Communication Plan in Advance

Planning in advance how, when and why you will communicate with your students is a great way to ensure the effectiveness of this interaction in your online classes.

It is intended that your communication plan includes:

How you will communicate

Determine by what means you will communicate with your students, such as email, text messages, podcasts, video messages, video conferencing, or even phone calls.

It is important that you decide how you will contact your students so that when the time comes, it is easy to choose the right method for contacting them.

It is also equally important that you tell your students what methods you plan to use to contact them, so that they know where to look for your messages.

You can assign a space in the home of your course to leave general announcements.

Use email or text messages if you want to send a warning to a particular student and video or voice messages for notifications that are for everyone.

The good old notepad is also invaluable in providing students with timely feedback on their progress in the course.

When you will communicate

For routine notices, it is best to plan ahead for how often they will be passed on to the class.

Will it be bi-weekly, weekly or once a day? It’s up to you to define when you want to make relevant ads about your online classes.

You can choose, for example, to make weekly announcements, comment on activities related to last week’s classes, or to clarify a learning concept.

How your students should communicate

Do you prefer to be contacted by text, email or phone? Whatever your preferred method, be sure to communicate clearly so your students know how to get in touch with you.

It is also a good idea to go through more than one option in case one fails.  

One solution is to establish a media hierarchy, that is, a contact preference and target order, such as:

• • Messages: Whether through SMS, WhatsApp or by the LMS platform itself, the messages provide a permanent record of communications within the class and are ideal for short notices.
  • E-mail: Indicated for longer, both private and general information.
  • Telephone call: Best choice for urgent matters, which need to be resolved quickly. You can get a VoIP phone system to allow students to get in touch more easily.

Put all this information in a permanent place, like the course bio, and repeat periodically during the online classes.

E-Learning Platform for Facilitating Communication in Online Classes

Determining what communication methods you are going to use is important for your students to know how you will get in touch with them and how they can communicate with you.

Another tip is to create a space where students can connect and communicate with each other, such as a Facebook group, a Slack account, or any other platform of the kind.

If you are hosting your courses on Coursify.me, you can rely on the Student Area chat to promote interaction among your students and answer questions.

A support group is one of the most important things for effective learning. It gives your students the opportunity to ask questions, get feedback and share their big and small wins.

In these groups people will want to interact with you and this is a great way to show your knowledge, help, create a relationship, and build student loyalty.

– 5 tips to retain students

Complete e-Learning platform  the Coursify.me has all the features you need to create and sell online courses, such as the ability to upload content from channels like YouTube, Vimeo and Dropbox and integration with payment gateways such as PayPal.

– How to sell online courses

Serving businesses and professionals in more than 60 countries, Coursify.me is a dynamic and customizable LMS.

We have three choices of plans for you to decide which best suits your needs, and the good news is that the Beginner Plan is free!

Visit our website, test the platform and start creating your online classes now.

The post Online classes: Improving communication with students appeared first on Blog Coursify.me.

But in fact, there are different models of distance education courses that you should know about it.

Different types of content for online courses

If you are in doubt about what course to create or even do, it’s good to know a little more about the different types of content for online courses that exist.

There are several ways of transmitting knowledge and each case may have a format that best meets its needs and goals.

To learn what kind of distance education course is ideal for your target audience, understand more about the different models of online classes.

Simple learning

By “simple”, we refer to courses that use resources that are not interactive, such as handouts, PowerPoint presentations, videos or audio.

Easier to be produced, this type of content for online courses are majority, and combine with defined learning objectives designed in a structured way.

Even if they don’t provide interaction between instructor and student, they are quite effective and valuable for learning.

Interactive lessons

Interactive courses are quite common in corporate training.

This type of distance learning often combine interactive lessons and support materials.

Another way to make your course interactive is setting chats and video conferences to answer questions and discuss lessons.

Simulations

Another level of content for online courses, simulations are highly interactive forms of distance learning.

This type of education is normally used in the training of operators working in risks industries, such as medicine, aviation, military, among others.

The term basically means creating a learning environment that simulates the real world, allowing students to learn by doing.

Gamification

Gamification is the use of the mechanical and dynamic of games as means for the student learn and solve problems.

Quite in vogue, its main purpose is attract attention and increase user engagement by offering challenges and rewards.

The gamification is basically using ideas and game engines to encourage someone to do something.

As you can see, there are several types of content for online courses. Just define the one that fits in your goals.

Complete elearning platform, the Coursify.me offers resources for the creation, sale and distribution of distance learning courses and corporate training.

Visit our site, test the platform, see how easy it is to start and take the first step to owning your own business.

The post Content for online courses: know different types of courses appeared first on Blog Coursify.me.