Here at LearnDash we have the pleasure of speaking to people from a variety of backgrounds and cultures all looking to implement some form of online course management.

• Some people want to setup a training portal for their franchise.
• Others are interested in selling certification courses to corporations.
• Schools want to deliver online training components to their students.
• Bloggers and entrepreneurs want to sell courses to their followers.

I could go on but I think the point is made: everyone has different needs for their learning programs.

Given our background in the elearning space we are able to provide some insight as to the best way to accomplish these complex learning objectives.

One thing that we have come to know over the years is that there are some situations where you just don’t need to create online courses.

It All Starts With Objectives

Before doing anything related to an online course you should have a good grasp on your desired outcome.

What is the objective, and does a course (or many courses) help to accomplish the end goal?

There are many scenarios where the answer is “yes”, but it’s also possible that a full-blown course is not needed.

It is worthwhile to consider other mediums. Creating an online course takes a considerable amount of time and it’s possible that your overall goals can be met more effectively in another way.

For example, perhaps you would be better off presenting the information in a series of webinars. You can then record those webinars and make them available at a future date.

Maybe a simple job aid or multi-page PDF document would do what you need. These take considerably less time to create and can be absorbed easily by your audience.

If you had intentions to sell your course then you can do the same with any of these alternative methods. In fact, it could be a good way for you to test your idea with your audience prior to investing the effort to build out your course.

If you’re wondering whether creating an online course is right for you, send us a quick message and let’s talk.