Do You Need Your Own Course? How to Test the Effectiveness of an Educational Product

Contents:

• Are your goals: knowledge transfer or reputation building?
• Developing an educational process or developing educational content?
• Thinking about a career in teaching? Or do you have real professionals on your team?
• Have you identified the target audience for your educational product?
• Do you have the materials to create a training course?
• Checklist: How to Evaluate the Feasibility of Creating Your Own Course Before You Start

ICF-certified methodologist and coach, as well as an LXD partner in various companies. She is the co-founder of the Ripple Effect studio, which develops educational programs. Specializes in helping experts and organizations create training and educational materials.

LX designer, facilitator and co-founder of the Make It Easy Team project. Transitioned from corporate PR to adult learning, business facilitation, and team development.

When clients approach methodologists and instructional designers with a request to develop a course, the first step is to identify the true reasons for their request. We initiate a conversation during which the client sometimes realizes they don't actually need a course. Or rather, it's not the course itself that's important, but something else.

Before launching an educational project, it's essential to understand your true intentions: do you want to share knowledge with the audience, teach them something specific, or are you seeking to enhance your reputation as an expert or brand? Courses are often created with an emphasis on marketing or PR strategies. However, such approaches don't always justify the investment of resources compared to the results achieved.

Therefore, we have developed this guide for professionals and organizations planning to create their own online course or developing a series of educational programs. This resource will help you clearly define your goal and choose the most effective format for its implementation. It may save you a significant amount of time and money. This guide will also be useful for methodologists when interacting with clients.

Are your goals knowledge transfer or reputation building?

When we receive a request to launch a course, our first step is to define the goals and objectives. To do this, we ask the customer a number of questions:

• What are the reasons for developing the course?
• What problem are you trying to solve with this product?
• What is the main business goal of this project?

In answers to these questions, you can often hear wishes such as: "We want to be talked about" or "It is important for us to be listened to and perceived as experts."

But then why do we need a course? This is not the most effective method for quickly attracting audience interest. If your goal is to increase awareness, expand your customer base, or strengthen your brand image, you might want to consider creating media content. These products can include videos, podcasts, long-form articles, or entire publication series.

In one case, a company approached us with a proposal to create a video course on sustainable consumption, with the goal of "educating people about a new lifestyle." We asked, "If viewers only see one video, but it leaves a strong impression, will you be satisfied?" To which they responded, "Yes, it's important to us that everyone talks about how innovative and forward-thinking we are." So, instead of a full-fledged course with assignments, we decided to develop a series of educational videos to post on YouTube.

When considering developing a course, it's helpful to delve deeper into its objectives. To do this, ask yourself: if participants don't complete the course, what would you be more disappointed with—the fact that you weren't able to teach them or the low completion rates? If you're more concerned about the latter, then you're probably more concerned about reach, which can be achieved much more easily than through course creation.

Developing an educational process or developing educational content?

Training and education differ not only in their formats, but also in their approaches to engaging in motivation, attention, and a sense of responsibility among students.

Learning is a process of transforming thinking and, sometimes, behavior, requiring a certain amount of effort from the learner. Readiness for such effort consists of three key elements: attention, motivation, and a sense of responsibility. To support these components, it's necessary to support the learner—in the broadest sense—throughout the entire educational process. This includes carefully designing the learning environment and creating a comfortable space where the learner can experiment, make mistakes, and grow. The most important aspects of learning are structure, a well-designed student trajectory, feedback, and the ability to measure results.

After completing the training course, certain changes can be observed:

• in behavior - students begin to change their actions.
• in perception - students begin to think differently;
• in the process - students transform their habits.

If changes are not observed after completing the course, then the teaching approach should be reviewed. Moreover, if you don’t initially intend to evaluate student progress, then it’s not a full-fledged learning process.

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Developing educational programs focused on the final result: three key concepts, which methodologists should be aware.

Education is a process of transmitting information and serves as a kind of impetus for reflection. It has no right to be boring; the task is to immediately attract attention through the relevance of the topic under consideration, expressive visual design, intonation and a new approach. An effective educational project is able to overcome the barrier of inattention and convey to the audience a short and concise message that will remain in their memory for a long time. Education achieves its goal when a person, after watching a video or reading an article, begins to think and, perhaps, feels a desire to study the topic in greater depth.

A training course is based on the active efforts of students, while an educational product depends on the interest and curiosity of the audience.

As an example, we can cite the situation in one IT company that developed a cybersecurity program for its employees. However, this "course" does not contain either tests or practical assignments; instead, only video materials and newsletters are presented. In fact, this is not a full-fledged course, but rather an awareness-raising event, and the metrics used to evaluate it confirm this: it analyzes how many employees have read information about cyber threats (reach) and how often they opened emails (engagement).

If you are still not clear about what exactly you want to create, try asking yourself the following question: do you want to support the person in the process of change? For example, you may aim to consistently guide them in mastering a certain skill, organize a space for them to practice, and analyze how successfully they have developed this skill. Or your approach is simply to “shake” the person up, give them an opportunity to become familiar with a certain topic or problem, and then let them go to choose their own path forward.

Thinking about a career in teaching? Or do you have real professionals on your team?

Teaching is far more than just "I talk and you just listen." It's about interacting with the student, being able to recognize moments when they don't understand the material, and explaining it again and again without unnecessary emotion. It's also important to be able to answer unexpected questions and maintain interest in the dialogue without becoming tired of the conversation.

A person can become a remarkable specialist in their field. However, if he is not eager to share knowledge, avoids controversy, and is not prepared to gently guide others, then he probably should not be teaching.

What questions should I discuss with an expert?

• I am curious to observe how another person masters the ideas and concepts I present.
• I have no trouble retelling the same thing using different wording.
• I am interested in where and how people encounter difficulties in learning the material.

In practice, this situation often arises: an expert in their field expresses a desire to teach others, but does not always understand what this actually involves. In rare cases, some manage to successfully interact with students intuitively, but this is the exception rather than the norm. More often than not, experts come to the conclusion that they are not ready for teaching and prefer, for example, to speak at professional conferences. In a corporate environment, it happens that HR suggests to an experienced developer: "Why don't you start training our novice specialists?" When we, as methodologists, begin the process of training this expert, he begins to realize that teaching is not simply about passing on his knowledge to others. Some find it fascinating and are eager to develop their skills and gain experience, while others realize that teaching isn't for them.

An effective training course is formed not through one-way communication, but through interaction between participants. If a specialist simply intends to impart their knowledge and experience, it would be more appropriate to write an article, conduct an interview, speak at a conference, give a lecture, or create an expert blog or video channel.

Have you understood the target audience of your educational product?

At the heart of any product, including educational programs, is a person with their experiences, fears, aspirations and ambitions, as well as the desire to change. Without understanding who this person is, the learning process cannot take place.

There are no universal "courses for everyone." Each student has unique experiences, lifestyles, and expectations. Therefore, your task is to adapt to their rhythm, rather than imposing your approaches. Before launching an educational project, few consider the methods of teaching their audience. Most immediately offer their own solution—for example, initiating an asynchronous video course, even though in-person meetings with colleagues and specialists, as well as networking opportunities, might be more appealing and beneficial for specific students.

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Creating an empathy map for a methodologist is an important process aimed at understanding the needs and feelings of the target audience. To begin, you need to determine who exactly is the object of your research - it can be students, teachers, or other stakeholders.

Next, it is worth collecting information about what these people think and feel. You can use various methods, such as surveys, interviews, or focus groups. It is important to find out what their desires, fears, and needs are to better understand their motivations.

After collecting the data, you should visualize the information. An empathy map is usually divided into several sections: "What they see," "What they hear," "What they say and do," and "What they feel." By filling out these sections, the methodologist will be able to get a clearer picture of the inner world of their audience.

It is important to remember that an empathy map is not a static document. Update it regularly based on new data and feedback to keep it relevant and useful for your work.

Considering the characteristics and needs of your target audience is a key aspect when developing any product. This applies not only to content and form, but also to duration, platform choice, and other components. Start by talking to 5-10 potential students and asking them a series of questions:

• How much time during the day can you devote to yourself?
• Where are you currently receiving your education and how does it take place?
• What aspects of learning cause you dissatisfaction or discomfort?
• What steps have you already taken to solve your problem or achieve your goal, but they did not bring the expected results?

In one practical case, an online school decided to train mentors to interact with students. A request was received to create a curriculum and record a video course. However, an analysis of the target audience revealed that future mentors, who are experienced professionals, have little time, and sometimes even no interest, in watching videos. Their desire to participate in mentoring training is primarily driven by a desire to expand their network. As a result, text materials with sample meeting scenarios and discussion questions for mentees were prepared for this group, and several synchronous sessions were organized during which the mentors could get to know each other and communicate with each other. Had we chosen the video course option, the online school would have found itself wasting resources on a format that did not meet the audience's needs.

Do you have materials for creating a training course?

Course creation is a multifaceted process that includes various stages and requires the participation of several specialists. Before the first student begins their first lesson, you need to analyze the target audience, assess the available resources, develop a concept and curriculum, plan the content creation process, and prepare all the necessary materials. You should also create a marketing strategy to promote the course and implement it successfully.

Therefore, at the beginning of course development, you need to make sure that you have carefully thought through all the stages and clearly defined areas of responsibility.

• Who is responsible for developing the program?
• Who is responsible for developing the text-based learning resources?
• Who is responsible for editing the videos if you plan to create an asynchronous video course?
• Who is responsible for advertising the course?
• Who will answer students' questions in the course chat and check their homework?
• Who will check that everything is functioning correctly?

It is equally important to ensure that the specialist has enough time to collaborate with the methodologist to create high-quality educational materials. Don't limit yourself to just one interview and then assume the methodologist will handle the rest of the work. If the expert is heavily booked, this may increase the cost of the methodologist's services. In this case, you will need to either arrange for the methodologist to conduct their own research and supplement the materials using external sources, or immediately select a specialist who already has the necessary knowledge on the course topic.

To avoid unnecessary expenditure of time and resources, it is wise to start with a minimum viable product rather than a full educational course. This will allow you to test the idea and gather feedback from the target audience. For example, you can conduct a trial lesson or organize a series of webinars. Private experts should consider creating a study group, which involves gathering students for synchronous lessons. This approach will allow you to assess not only the audience's interest in the topic but also test your methodology, style, and pedagogical approach. In addition, this will provide an opportunity to verify your own interest and readiness to engage in long-term training.

There is an opportunity to create something more compact and cost-effective:

• post on social media to stimulate discussion among subscribers, or create a story with the phrase: "If you are interested in this topic, let me know."
• organize a small workshop;
• participate in a conference with a presentation.

If you get a response, it is worth moving forward. Otherwise, you will save a significant amount of resources.

In one case, a specialist approached us with an idea for a course. He had neither a budget nor a team, only a strong desire to implement his idea. Instead of immediately starting to develop the program, we decided to conduct several webinars with an expert. During these events, we collected participant feedback, tested various formats of educational content, including theoretical materials and practical tasks, and also researched methods for organizing student group work in an online format. After two months, we had a clear course structure, and after three months, we were able to present a practically finished product that proved truly appealing to the target audience.

You can begin training using a wide variety of resources, but openly discussing these resources early on is key. In our experience, almost all experts realize throughout the process that creating high-quality training is significantly more difficult than they initially anticipated. Therefore, it is important to soberly assess your capabilities in advance.

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Creating your own course from scratch is an exciting and multi-step process that requires careful preparation and planning. First, you need to identify a topic that will be of interest to your target audience. This could be an area in which you have knowledge and experience, or something you want to explore in greater depth.

Once you've chosen a topic, you should conduct research to understand what courses already exist and what exactly your potential students need. It's important to identify gaps in current offerings and determine how your course can fill them.

Next, it's worth formulating course goals and objectives. A clear understanding of what you want to convey to your students and what skills they should acquire will help you structure the content later. At this stage, it's helpful to create a lesson or module plan, breaking the material into logical parts.

The next step is creating learning materials. These could be videos, presentations, text documents, or interactive activities. It's important that your materials are varied and match the learning style of your audience.

Don't forget about the platform on which you'll host the course. There are many online services that allow you to create courses, and choosing the right platform depends on your needs and preferences.

After completing all the preparatory steps, it's a good idea to test the course with a small group of people to get feedback. This will help you identify any shortcomings and make any necessary adjustments before launching.

Launching a course is not the end, but just the beginning. It's important to actively promote it using social media, email marketing, and other channels to attract students. It is also worth continuing to collect feedback and improve the course based on the information received.

Thus, creating your own course from scratch is a process that requires time and effort, but with the right approach, it can become a successful and in-demand project.

Checklist: How to Evaluate the Feasibility of Creating Your Own Course Before You Start

Thus, those considering the possibility of developing their own educational course are advised to consider a number of questions in sequence:

• What is our main goal: to influence, inspire, or impart specific knowledge?
• Are we creating a course that can be categorized as educational or media projects?
• What is the main goal of the business? Why should the educational process contribute to its achievement?
• Who is our target audience? What problems, concerns, and aspirations do they have? What ambitions drive her, and is there a desire for change?
• Has it been established that the target audience is interested in this educational product?
• What resources do we have at our disposal: human resources, financial resources and time?
• Who will be part of the team? How will we organize the distribution of key roles?
• Is it possible to test the product concept before launching it to market?
• What is the simplest and most viable product we can develop at present?

Read also:

• How to take the first steps in developing your first online course?
• How to successfully launch your own online course and avoid failures?
• Ways to effectively promote your online course include several key strategies. First of all, it is important to define the target audience and understand which communication channels are most suitable for attracting them. Next, create engaging content that informs potential students about the benefits of the course.

  Social media is a powerful promotional tool. Regular posts, interactive content, and advertising will help increase visibility. Don't forget about creating a group or community where you can connect with interested people.

  Also, consider collaborating with influencers or experts in your field. Partnering with them can significantly expand your audience.

  Email marketing is another effective method. Creating newsletters with useful information and offers can attract attention to your course.

  Finally, it's important to collect student testimonials and reviews to demonstrate the quality of your teaching. This will build trust and help in further sales.

• Creating a Successful Online Course: 6 Key Factors.