How did I Create an Online Course?

8 SKILLS REQUIRED TO CREATE AN ONLINE COURSE

Developing an online course requires a set of skills in order to create a satisfactory project. Here, I share my experience and present the necessary skills that I learned to develop an internet-based course called "Sharks: Predators or Prey?" for my remote professional practice in collaboration with the University of Western Brittany (UBO). Let's take a look!

1 - Adaptability

2 - Time Management

3 - Communication

4 - Creativity

5 - Basic Internet Knowledge

6 - Reading and Writing

7 - Motivation

8 - Teamwork

1 - Adaptability

The 'new normal'! We are living a pandemic crisis, and our life needed to be adapted to follow the rules of this term. In my case, I had to go back to Brazil and participate in a remote professional practice doing home office. Working from home was a completely new experience for me, as well as working to create an online course.

I had to be able to respond quickly to my new responsibilities, expectations, and other processes at work. Then, In the beginning, I put aside my disappointments of changing my studies and lifestyle. I embraced my new opportunity and I started to see all the positive aspects that it was bringing to my career.

2 - Time Management

When I decide to take a remote professional practice, I knew that it would be a challenge for me. Mainly because I needed to be more organized and manage my time more efficiently without getting distracted, allowing me to complete my tasks on time.

The most effective way that I found was the method of Scheduling. This process of arranging, controlling, and optimize my work helped me to understand what I could realistically achieve with my time. Using Excel, I did my weekly schedule every last day of the week and included all the tasks that I had to conclude, including my priorities.

3 - Communication

To keep an excellent standard, and to overcome the challenge of the remote format of our experience, the other students and I organized frequent meetings to discuss the progress of our tasks. We also created a chat group where we could communicate more often. In that way, we were able to get to know each other well and provide assistance when someone was having trouble achieving goal.

One of the main challenges that we face as a group was to develop the course structure and define learning outcomes. This was a moment where we needed to be in the same mindset to finish this task. Due to our effort to keep in constant communication, we were able to discuss and plan the best way to address the online course.

4 - Creativity

The process of been creative became clear to me thru this professional practice. The feeling of been lost first appeared when I had my first task to create the content for the course. However, I understand that creative ideas did not come out fully formed. They only become apparent when I started to research and practice.

For instance, after finalizing the creation of content for the week 1 module, I received advice from my supervisors on how I can create and design a more involving lesson. For the next task, after gathering the necessary information, I thought about possible ideas to address it. Then I created the content with more visual harmonicity and trying to involve the target audience in the lesson.

E-Learning.pptx

Shark Mythology

This is the content that I developed for the week 1 module using the Moodle e-learning platform. The idea was to explore the time when sharks were revered as gods, and then the time when they became monsters.

Scroll the image for a better look!

My evolution!

Shark Evolution

This lesson was created for the week 2 module using Prezi presentation software. The idea was to create a chronological timeline about historical events of shark evolution.

Click on the image for a better look!

5 - Basic Internet Knowledge

During my professional practice, I had to know how to use the Moodle E-learning to create a course because it was the designated platform for the UBO’s objectives. The idea to learn how to use Moodle E-learning was desirable not only because of the professional practice, but because the platform is used worldwide for distance teaching. Additionally, I used other platforms such as PowerPoint and Prezi software when I desired to obtain more freedom of creation.

Regarding graphic design, it took a couple of weeks before I learned the importance of it. The concept of making a unique design that the audience can identify which course they are attending only by seeing the look of it. I found a graphic design software called Canva, which we used to design the final draft for the course.

6 - Reading and Writing

The ability to use words to tell people a story requires plenty of reading and writing practice. Reading about sharks is an easy task for me because I have been interested in sharks for a long time. But, when it comes to writing, I have more difficulties.

I spend many hours per week reading papers and developing ideas to be able to write a satisfactory content. When I combined these skills with creativity, I obtained fantastic content for the online course.

7 - Motivation

Self-motivation was essential to accomplish our goals. Like I said before when I put my disappointments away, I was able to motivate myself again for my new challenge. I motivated myself from my teammates, and in this excellent opportunity to learn something new for my career.

My main goal in this experience was to reach the final result of the online course. I knew that the final draft would be rewarding, both personally and professionally. This was a result of the relevant work done and the application of all the skills mentioned here. Take a look of the cover page, the syllabus and learning outcome of the online course:

8 - Teamwork

Last but not least, teamwork! The weekly meeting with all eight supervisors (yes, eight!) and the constant communication between the students could not be better.

We all worked hard to achieve our goals. We learned a lot from the supervisors, who were there to help us to improve our work. My teammates and I gave our best to learn and demonstrate our capacity, and we obtained support and helped each other to overcome the challenge of this new experience.

Conclusion

I finished this professional practice with sufficient knowledge of course creation and design, which can be a valuable asset to use in the future. I spend many hours developing these skills to build a satisfactory content to achieve the goals of the organization’s objectives. I still have plenty of things to learn, but I feel ready to participate and contribute to other projects like this one. Without a doubt, this opportunity will open doors in my future career, both working in a team and independently.

Now you know what skills are required to create an online course!

By the way, If you want to learn more about this topic and my remote professional practice, visit the websites of my teammates, Paola Talarico and Svenja Stoehr, on July 2nd between 12.30 - 14.00 PM CEST. I am sure you will enjoy it!

Thank you for your time!

Acknowledgments
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the IMBRSea program and Erasmus Mundus for allowing me to do this professional practice experience, which contributed a lot to my education and personal growth.Secondly, I also would like to express my gratitude to my mentor Olivier Gauthier as well as all supervisors from UBO, who guided me thru this fantastic journey to build a project on the topic “Sharks: Predators or Prey?”.Finally, I have to highlight the great work and determination of my teammates Paola Talarico and Svenja Stoehr. They helped me a lot in finalizing this project within a limited time frame. Without them, this experience would not be as satisfying and rewarding.

For more information, feel free to contact me on wilson.oliveirajunior@imbrsea.eu

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