Improving Course Delivery | Office Hours Recap

DigitalChalk hosts weekly Office Hours, an online session where administrators can explore best practices, ask questions, and connect with our team. Each session provides practical guidance to help users get the most out of our LMS.

In a recent session, the focus was on optimizing the delivery screen. This key feature is what learners see once they begin a course and guides them through the required elements and activities. Our DigitalChalk experts, Ben Wright and Varinia Caballero, walked attendees through building a structured course from scratch and shared valuable insights. In this blog, we’ll recap their top tips.

Building a Course

One of the most common challenges administrators face is, “I have all this content, but how do I put it into the system?” This session tackled that issue by highlighting the importance of a well-structured course plan.

A well-structured course begins with breaking content into manageable sections. Ben and Varinia demonstrated how to build a skeleton or mock course, providing a clear framework for a clear and consistent learning experience. Varinia also emphasized the significance of visual design and user-friendly navigation. She encouraged administrators to maintain consistent branding using logos, colors, and a cohesive layout to create a polished user experience. This enhances engagement and makes the course feel more professional and easy to navigate.

Course design is key to both employee development and customer training. Whether you’re helping your team build new skills or teaching customers how to use your product, a well-structured and engaging course ensures learners reach their goals.

Breaking Down Your Content for Effective Course Structure

When structuring a course, choosing a clear topic and organizing materials effectively are essential. Many instructors want to share a variety of content, such as PowerPoint presentations, but presenting everything at once can be overwhelming. Varinia recommended breaking content into smaller, digestible modules to keep learners engaged.

“Think of it like a book,” Varinia explained, where each section has a clear introduction, main content, and conclusion. This approach makes information more accessible and easier to navigate. She shares, “You’re going to divide and categorize information into different sections to make your course both thorough and easy to digest. That way, learners get the most value from it.”

To accommodate different learning styles, DigitalChalk allows administrators to structure course elements with flexibility. Ben and Varinia demonstrated how to control course progression, when modules can be accessed at any time and which require completion of previous sections. This feature ensures learners can move at their own pace while following a guided structure.

Varinia points out that an effective course also includes interactive elements to enhance user engagement. Best practices include:

• Diversifying content delivery with videos, SCORM modules, and web archive elements.
• Using assessment tools like quizzes and assignments to reinforce learning and measure progress. With DigitalChalk’s AI-powered test creation, building assessments is quick and easy. Learning leaders can instantly create relevant questions, get real-time performance insights, and access AI-recommended learning materials.

Varinia highlighted the importance of adopting a learner’s perspective: “Think about what would make the course engaging for you if you were a student.” This mindset can help administrators make informed decisions about course structure and content presentation that would best suit their learners. 

Testing & Final Tips

Testing is a crucial step before launching a course. Varinia recommended that administrators create a dummy account to experience the course as a learner to help identify any usability issues and make the proper adjustments before going live.

Ben also shared two key strategies for effective course design:

• Chunking Content: Breaking down large presentations, such as a 75-slide PowerPoint, into smaller, manageable sections prevents learners from feeling overwhelmed.
• Scaffolding Learning: Start with foundational concepts and gradually introduce more complex topics, creating a structured and engaging learning path.

DigitalChalk’s weekly Office Hours session is just one of the many ways we support our clients. Be sure to check out our other blog, “Personalized Support & Seamless Onboarding with DigitalChalk,” where we explain how seamless it is to implement our LMS, the step-by-step process, and the additional resources available to help administrators succeed.

Book a Demo Today

This Office Hours session offered valuable strategies for building effective courses in DigitalChalk. By organizing content strategically, integrating interactive elements, and testing the course flow, administrators can create engaging and user-friendly learning experiences.

Ready to enhance your training programs? Schedule a demo or a Learning Strategy Assessment with our team today.