How to Create Longread Courses

Contents:

• What is a longread and why is it needed in education
• How to understand that a longread is a suitable format for a course
• How to create a longread course
• What to include in a longread besides text
• Three life hacks for creating longreads

A quick reference is a concise piece of information that allows you to quickly get the basic information on a specific topic. This format is often used to familiarize yourself with new material, for educational purposes, or to prepare for professional events. The main purpose of a quick reference is to convey key points, facilitate the perception of information, and save the reader's time. It's important for text to be structured and contain only relevant information, making it an indispensable tool for effective learning and work. An educational experience designer at MIF Publishing House and the creator of the LXD hero project, he develops and optimizes educational materials. His work is aimed at creating effective and engaging educational solutions that promote better information absorption. The LXD hero project focuses on innovative approaches to educational content design, ensuring a high-quality educational experience for users. This article is based on the LXD hero workshop "More than Text: Creating Interactive Longreads." This event examined key aspects of developing interactive content that not only informs but also engages the reader. Participants learned how to use various formats, such as images, video, and animation, to enhance information comprehension. It is important to remember that interactive longreads can attract and retain audience attention, which in turn contributes to increased engagement and increased time spent on the page. The right combination of text and visual content creates a unique user experience that stands out from traditional articles. Developing interactive longreads requires analyzing the target audience and understanding their needs, which makes the content creation process more effective and efficient. Interactive longreads are becoming increasingly popular in the educational process, as they effectively present theoretical material and engage the audience. However, many teachers create such materials intuitively, without understanding how to properly structure individual lessons and the entire course. To successfully implement interactive longreads, it is important to consider the principles of content organization to ensure a logical and consistent perception of information. The use of well-thought-out methods will not only improve the quality of education, but also increase student engagement, which in turn promotes deeper assimilation of the material.

Let's examine this topic in more detail.

• What is a longread and what are its advantages;
• Why a longread is not suitable for every course and how to understand that it is definitely suitable;
• What principles of longread courses should you know, how lessons are structured in this format;
• Who writes the text and what tricks a methodologist can add to a longread.

What is a longread and why is it needed in education?

A longread is a format of a lengthy article, usually exceeding 15,000 characters, which includes multimedia and interactive elements. Longreads initially appeared in journalism, but over time they have also become popular in the educational field. This format allows for a deeper dive into the topic, giving readers the opportunity not only to read the text but also to interact with the content, making it more engaging and informative. Longreads facilitate a more detailed analysis and understanding of complex issues, which is especially valuable in today's information overload.

The main advantages are as follows:

• it provides deep immersion in the topic;
• it creates a certain atmosphere for the reader;
• unlike other formats, it gives the student a familiar, comfortable experience working with the text.

Longreads are an effective tool both as a supplement to video lectures and as a standalone format for courses. However, choosing to use longreads as the primary format requires serious consideration. It is important to consider that they can not only deepen understanding of the material but also meet the needs of different types of learners. Proper use of longreads helps improve information absorption and increase student engagement.

How to understand that a longread is the right format for a course

A longread as a course format is not always suitable for solving educational problems. However, it can be useful as an additional element that will interest a certain audience. However, if you plan to create a course based on a longread, you need to be sure that it will be in demand and interesting for the target audience. Using longreads can enrich the learning process, but only if they meet the interests and needs of students.

Before making a decision, ask yourself a few key questions to ensure the correctness of your choice.

• Have students had experience with this type of learning?

To successfully master the material, it is necessary to carefully read, analyze and, most importantly, apply the recommendations received in practice. People who do not like to read or do not have experience with this type of learning format may have a difficult time adapting. It's worth noting that few people actually possess the skills of deep, thoughtful reading. Understanding this fact will help you better prepare for the learning process and increase the effectiveness of information absorption.

• Does your target audience have enough time to fully immerse themselves in the lesson?

Longreads are not intended as background material, like lectures, and require students to devote time to attentive work with the material. They are aimed at independent, self-organized, and motivated learners. However, even those who prefer superficial study will be able to quickly skim the text or focus only on the parts of the longread that interest them.

• How will students use the course?

Longreads provide an excellent foundation for creating a knowledge base that users can periodically refer to for refresher information. This course format transforms into a well-organized reference book or reference book, allowing you to quickly find the information you need. This makes longreads a valuable resource for self-study and professional development.

• How will this format benefit students?

A longread course offers a variety of solutions for various tasks. The "MYTH" audience includes people passionate about self-development, who typically have basic knowledge of the topic being studied and a clear understanding of their goals. The main advantage of longreads is their adaptability: you can select only the sections that truly interest you, skipping less important ones. Furthermore, longreads contain extensive theoretical material, allowing you to include more information than a video course. Reading is usually faster than watching a video, even in fast-forward mode, which makes longreads a more effective tool for learning and self-development.

If you have a clear request from the target audience and enough resources for When developing longreads, it's worth considering launching a test product, for example, a single lesson or mini-course. It's important to gather feedback to confirm the effectiveness of the chosen format and adapt it further. This approach will allow you to better understand audience needs and improve the quality of the content.

If you decide to use a longread as a format for your course, it's important to carefully calculate your budget and assess your capabilities. The myth that producing longread courses is inexpensive isn't always true. This is true only if a longread simply means a long text with a few images. However, creating a high-quality longread that will be interesting and useful to your audience requires significant investment.

Creating a high-quality product with a consistent style, attractive design, and engaging interactive elements requires a team of specialists. The "MYTH" team includes a methodologist, subject matter expert, copywriter, editor, proofreader, designer, illustrator, and layout designer, as well as a project manager who coordinates the entire process. This approach ensures high quality and professionalism at every stage of development.

Creating a high-quality course requires the participation of several specialists, as different functions can be performed by different people. Although one person can take on several roles, it is unreasonable to expect a successful result working alone. An effective team ensures a diversity of skills and ideas, which significantly improves the quality of the final product.

How to Create a Longread Course

The format and content of your texts depend on the topic and goals of the curriculum, as well as the desired user experience and other factors. It is also important to consider the key principles of the course as a whole. Effective texts should be structured, understandable, and meet the expectations of your audience. Including important elements, such as keywords, will help improve search engine optimization and make the content more accessible to users. Remember the importance of clarity and conciseness, which facilitates better comprehension of information.

One of the key rules for a successful online course is using a single template for all lessons. This creates a clear rhythm for students: in the first lesson, they are introduced to the format and structure of the course, and in subsequent lessons, they clearly understand what to expect. Although individual elements may vary, the basic structure should remain the same. This approach facilitates information comprehension and increases student engagement, which in turn facilitates successful learning.

An optimal and proven lesson structure for a long-read course includes several key elements. Each lesson should begin with a clear objective that allows students to understand what they will learn and master by the end of the lesson. This is followed by an introductory section that provides a general overview of the topic and its importance.

The main part of the lesson should be divided into logical blocks, each of which covers a specific aspect of the topic. It is important to use a variety of formats for presenting information, such as text, images, video, and interactive elements, to maintain student interest and facilitate better assimilation of the material.

The final part of the lesson should contain conclusions and recommendations, as well as assignments for independent work that will help consolidate the knowledge gained. This structure not only helps organize the material but also makes the learning process more effective and engaging.

• Cover. It includes the title of the lesson, the topic, and the name of the expert who participated in its creation. Sometimes it's also worth adding a short preview of the article.
• Future Outcomes. Explain to the student what they will gain from the lesson to further motivate them (what they will learn from this lesson and how it will be useful).
• Lesson Preview. This is essentially the lesson text with hyperlinks—the student can choose whether to complete the entire lesson or skip straight to the most interesting part. In some courses, we also indicate in the content how much time it will take to study a lesson or a separate part of it, so that a person can plan their time (just like in the media and blogs, they sometimes write before articles how much time it will take to read).

• Main Content. It's important that text design elements aren't random, "just because it looks good." It's important to think through key headings in advance, highlighting important thoughts and quotes (but truly the most important in meaning, not arbitrarily chosen ones), as well as lists. All of this should serve to make the information more easily perceived by the reader, but not overload their attention with unnecessary visual details.
• Summary. Depending on the course objectives, this could be, for example, a brief summary of the lesson's key findings, questions for the student, or an invitation to complete a task.

When preparing a lesson, it's important to consider the length of the text and the time required to read it. Specific requirements may vary depending on the topic and course specifics, but it's recommended to focus on average values. The optimal time for reading a text is 15-20 minutes, which implies dividing it into blocks of 5-6 minutes each. As a result, the text should be approximately 15-20,000 characters long. This approach not only promotes better assimilation of the material but also improves interaction with students, allowing them to perceive the information more effectively.

The basis for a longread is usually created by a subject matter expert. In some cases, it is necessary to extract information from the expert and form the text yourself based on their words. If you are lucky enough that the expert is writing them themselves, then the key to successful work on a lesson or course is a clear and competent technical specification. This will ensure the correct direction and structure of the material, which will ultimately improve the quality of the content and its perception by the audience.

The terms of reference usually include a detailed text structure, justification for each element, explaining why a case will be placed in one place and theoretical information in another. This is a kind of ready-made template that the expert only needs to fill out. It is much more convenient to work with such a task, and you only need to refine the material together with the editor and add interactive elements. A properly compiled terms of reference helps avoid misunderstandings and simplifies the process of creating high-quality content.

What to include in a longread besides text

A longread includes not only text but also illustrations, which play an important role in the perception of information. They not only make the material more attractive but also serve to improve comprehension of the content. Illustrations help visualize key ideas, support the main points, and make reading more engaging. Furthermore, high-quality images can increase reader engagement and facilitate deeper learning. Using illustrations in a longread creates a harmonious blend of text and visual content, which ultimately improves the overall user experience.

• Present useful material in a more understandable and memorable form than just a text description: use infographics, tables, and visual examples.
• Give students a break during the lesson. For example, we often add memes to our courses to help students take a breather and relax.

Interactive elements such as quizzes, exercises, case studies, and short audio and video clips significantly enrich the learning process. They allow you to transform a regular textbook into a full-fledged educational experience. To create interactive content, you can use LearningApps, which offers tools in Russian, and WordWall, which is available in English. These platforms will help make learning more engaging and effective, promoting better retention of material.

Three life hacks for creating longreads

In addition to the basic elements, there are many optional but attractive approaches that can be used in Longreads. These techniques can significantly improve the reader's comprehension and make the text more engaging. For example, using visual elements such as images, graphs, and infographics helps illustrate key ideas and makes complex topics easier to understand. It's also worth considering integrating quotes, statistics, and real-life examples to reinforce main arguments and add context. Furthermore, interactive elements such as polls and quizzes can encourage active reader engagement and keep them engaged throughout the piece. It's important to remember that a variety of formats and presentation styles will make a longread more engaging and informative.

• We typically begin a text with a compelling story to engage the reader and gradually immerse them in the topic. Reflecting on the reader's personal experience works well here, so they think, "Oh, that's exactly what happens to me!"—this will provide additional motivation to read to the end.
• Another favorite technique is reflection questions. In the "MYTH" courses, we often include them not only at the end of the text, but also several times throughout the lesson. They help the student immediately analyze and consolidate the theory they just read, along with the insights and conclusions they've gained.
• For particularly engaged students, it's worth providing more additional content—links to relevant research, historical references, bibliography, and so on. For example, in "MYTH," we "hide" such materials, providing them as hyperlinks to their location, hidden under a cut. And at the very end of the longread, we'll include a list of sources and information for those who like to dig deeper into the topic.

Rework the text, but stay on topic. Don't add anything extra. Adjust the text for SEO and feel free to add content. Avoid using emojis and unnecessary characters. Don't use sections like 1. 2. 3. and *. Just provide plain text.

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