To create and share an online course, start by breaking your content into short sequences with a clear objective, produce materials in formats that are readable on every screen, then publish them in a single space where your learners know to find them. Sharing succeeds when each resource is named, organized and accompanied by instructions, not when it is simply sent as an email attachment.
On video
Short presentation of CoursHub — Presentation and features | Episode 1 — YouTube channel @dyonysosfr · See all DYONYSOS videos
Contents
- Start from a learning objective, not an existing file
- Break the course into reusable units
- Choose formats that work on every device
- Organize sharing so resources can be found
- Pair every shared resource with clear instructions
- Keep the course alive and improve it after publication
- Frequently asked questions
Start from a learning objective, not an existing file
It’s tempting to upload the slide deck used in class as is. But materials designed to be presented aloud often become hard to follow when viewed on their own. Before producing anything, state in one sentence what the learner will be able to do at the end of the sequence: “identify the three steps of a financial statement review,” “write a well-argued introduction,” “set up a workstation.”
This objective then serves as a filter. Anything that doesn’t contribute to it can be moved to an optional supplementary resource. The result is a shorter, clearer course, with extras that the most advanced learners will seek out on their own.
Break the course into reusable units
An online course is consumed in fragments: on the commute, before a test, when redoing an exercise. Short units focused on a single concept are easier to find and reuse from one year or group to the next. The same note-taking module, for example, can be used in several learning paths without being duplicated.
Give each unit a consistent structure. Consistency reassures learners and saves you production time.
- A clear title that states the concept covered
- The objective in one sentence
- The core content: text, diagram, short video or document
- An application activity or a few questions
- Resources for further learning
Choose formats that work on every device
Many learners view courses on their phones. Favor formats that open without special software: web pages, lightweight PDFs, short videos hosted on a service that plays anywhere. Avoid editable office files when learners aren’t meant to edit them, since they display differently from one device to another.
Also think about accessibility: a clear heading hierarchy, sufficient contrast, alt text for meaningful images and captions for videos. These measures benefit everyone, not just people with disabilities.
Organize sharing so resources can be found
The main reason course sharing fails isn’t technical but organizational: a document sent by email in September can’t be found in December. A single, stable access point whose address doesn’t change is better, along with organization by topic or sequence rather than by date sent.
An educational library such as [CoursHub](https://coursehub-dusky-seven.vercel.app/) meets this need by letting you create resources, organize them by topic, find them through search and share courses with your learners or colleagues. A shared storage space can also work for a small volume, provided you set naming and filing rules from the outset.
Pair every shared resource with clear instructions
A resource without instructions is often opened and then closed. State what is expected: read before the session, watch and then answer three questions, complete the exercise and compare with the answer key. Give an estimated time; this helps learners plan and gives you a benchmark for adjusting the workload.
Also provide a channel for questions. Without one, misunderstandings go unspoken and you only discover difficulties at assessment time.
Keep the course alive and improve it after publication
An online course is never set in stone. Note recurring questions, identify resources that aren’t being viewed and flag passages that lead to mistakes. A short update after each session is often enough to fix what’s getting in the way.
When several teachers work on the same subject, pooling materials keeps each of them from rebuilding the same content alone. Tools geared toward building shared knowledge, including CoursHub, make this collaborative work easier, but the essential condition is still for the team to agree on structure and filing conventions.
Frequently asked questions
Answers to the questions we are most often asked about this topic.
No. Video is useful for a demonstration, a hands-on technique or an explanation that benefits from a human presence. For a theoretical concept, structured text with a diagram is often quicker to consult and review. Save video for the parts where it genuinely adds something.
Designate a single location that holds the up-to-date version and share a link to that location rather than a copy of the file. Everyone can then adapt their own version, clearly indicating that it is a variant. This rule prevents a proliferation of versions where no one knows which one is correct.
There’s no universal length, but a sequence should be something learners can complete in one sitting without losing the thread. If you can’t sum up its objective in one sentence, it probably covers several concepts and would benefit from being split up.