Creating a quality elearning course can take quite a bit of time.

This is especially true if you factor in all the different phases of an elearning project.

Most elearning courses require multiple steps.

First there is a plan put in place, an analysis phase, then the often design & development. Afterwards is often a short testing periods followed by the implementation and evaluation. The last step (and arguably the most important) is to make proper adjustments based on the evaluation.

Oh, and if you’re planning on selling your courses then you have the entire process of formulating a unique selling proposition, conducting market research, investigating advertising options, looking into partnerships, and formulating an overall marketing plan.

Depending on the size of your course these phases could span months!

As you can probably imagine you will be subject to a variety of checklists and methods across the life of your project. These are in place to help you keep your thoughts organized so that you can get your course developed in a timely fashion.

But what you’ll notice is that each one of these phases (and their associated checklists) has the ultimate goal of making your course effective. With better planning you are more likely to have a better course.

An often underrated part of this process is the testing phase. Personally, I find this phase to be the most useful because it often means you are getting real user feedback for your course so that you can further refine it. It’s also at this point that you’ll want to run through your own last-minute checklist.

While there is no “one-size-fits-all” checklist out there, the one below is a great place to start and covers some of the more important aspects of any online course.

Rate your course(s) against these items and make the proper adjustments where applicable.

Checking Your Course Quality

• Visuals are consistent
• Typefaces are consistent
• Text is readable
• Has enough white space
• Good contrast between elements
• Quiz questions reflect knowledge acquisition
• Navigation is intuitive
• Lessons satisfy course objective(s)
• Is the appropriate length

Reference:
Shift ELearning