How to Refresh and Adapt Online Courses for Effective Delivery

How Can Companies Update Courses the Right Way?

In edtech, keeping up with the latest trends in course development is often a race to stay ahead of the competition. But before you dive into whatever is trending, it’s essential to ask the right questions. You need to ensure that every update aligns with your course goals and meets your learners’ needs. With a thoughtful, structured approach, you can keep your content targeted and your learners engaged, making every refresh a step toward a better learning experience.

1. A Fresh Perspective Can Uncover Content Gaps

While it may still have technical accuracy, a digital curriculum that hasn’t been updated in a few years may be missing recent developments in its subject matter or diversity in representation. Getting a fresh (and diverse) perspective can help you spot gaps that might have gone unnoticed. Partnering with an agency that specializes in inclusive educational content and technology could be an ideal way to get a detailed analysis of what’s missing. Before you choose, look for evidence of their past successes to gauge their expertise. Do they understand your learners’ demographics and needs? Are they able to analyze not only what is being said in your course, but to offer suggestions on what is missing? Incorporating an organization like this with your subject matter experts (SMEs) and instructional designers (IDs) can significantly enhance your content.

2. Onboard SMEs and IDs

Once your content plan is set, assemble your team and set them up for success. As they say, nature abhors a vacuum, and so do content teams. SMEs cannot successfully revise their content without a complete understanding of the “big picture” plan. Provide SMEs with all relevant information:

• A clear outline of the course goals
• Details about the target audience
• Data and analytics on the course’s current performance
• Findings from gap analysis or inclusivity review
• The current plan for revision
• The expected outcomes and schedule

Once you’ve presented the information to your team, encourage them to ask questions and challenge assumptions. In some cases, the goals may be dictated by schedule or budgetary constraints, but in some cases, your SMEs and IDs may open your eyes to further enhancements you hadn’t considered but could easily implement.

3. Determine the Right Content Delivery Format

For a course on developing practical skills, we recommend that you integrate interactive elements and hands-on activities to engage learners. If your goal is to impart theoretical knowledge, detailed readings, and structured lectures may be more appropriate. Whatever your goal, it’s key that you align the content modality—whether it’s an interactive simulation, a detailed textual explanation, or a video lecture with both the learning objectives and learner preferences.

4. Consider Platform Compatibility

A good testing strategy is non-negotiable. Skipping thorough testing is like setting a trap for yourself—issues like sluggish performance on older tablets can sneak up and ruin the user’s experience at the worst possible moment. Be sure to include checks for device diversity, OS compatibility, and browser functionality. Keep an eye on performance metrics like loading times and responsiveness to ensure your software runs smoothly across desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones. Remember that thorough testing now saves a lot of headaches later.

5. Ensure Content Accessibility

Accessibility begins with defining the desired outcomes, understanding learners’ needs, and then identifying how those outcomes can be achieved without barriers. And let’s clear something up: accessible content doesn’t have to be dull. You can still have all the fun, interactive elements; just make sure they’re designed so everyone can enjoy them. This requires auditing your content and your learning platform for accessibility standards.

6. Conduct Regular Reviews and Quality Assurance Checks

Is the content easy to understand and aligned with educational goals? Will users be able to navigate the content and benefit from it? Quality assurance helps answer these questions. Quality assurance professionals can streamline this process, offering the expertise to refine the content for an exceptional learning experience. Incorporate review and feedback to make final revisions for optimal performance.

7. Assess the Course’s Effectiveness

If completion rates drop after a content update, this might indicate a need for further refinements. Under such circumstances, how can you continuously gather insights on course performance? Begin by tracking key performance indicators. such as learner engagement, course completion rates, and satisfaction scores. Ask whether these metrics reflect the success of your updates. This data-driven approach helps you make necessary improvements and maintain the course’s effectiveness.

Innovative Approaches to Refreshing Courses

The current edtech landscape has many examples of how companies are using innovative approaches to refresh their content. For instance, consider microlearning modules, which present complex content in smaller, more targeted segments. They offer concise information, making learning more accessible and impactful. Similarly, interactive and immersive learning like simulations and gamified activities create a dynamic and engaging learning environment.

Embedding diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) principles into course design ensures that the content reflects a broad range of perspectives and is accessible to all learners.

But here’s the thing: Adaptability needs to be foundational to your course strategies long before the yearly updates. A proactive approach to course design helps build continuous adaptation and resilience for long-term success.