Summary

This guideline provides an outline and list of items to consider when planning your LMS course creation. This is intended as a useful tool in the development of your courses and course materials.  


Course type

An essential first step in the creation of a course is to first identify the type of course you are creating:

Self-paced / on demand:  These courses are constructed in such a way that the learner proceeds from one topic or segment to the next at his/her own pace, with no immediate response required from an instructor (or at all).

Live training: These courses take place at a designated time and are led by an instructor.  

Webinar: Usually topic-specific courses that occur at a designated time and may be led by multiple presenters.

Combination courses:  Any combination of course types and delivery methods can be implemented such as:

  • Individual self-paced study combined with live instructions or testing
  • In-person events that allow virtual access to attendees via web conferencing
  • Live training that is recorded and consequently made into a self-paced course
  • Live sessions that require learners to complete a component online 

Learners

Establishing who your learners are can be very useful when designing course content and flow.

  • How technical are they and will they be able to easily navigate your LMS and course materials?
  • The value of this training for them and their expected outcome? (i.e CE credits, certification, onboarding requirements, training to further their development, because they “have” to..etc.)
  • What is the intention of the course and what do you expect from your learners? (feedback, attendance, lead generation / sales, compliance requirements, on-boarding ...etc..)

 

Enrollment methods

It is important to determine the ways in which learners can enroll and participate in the course. The RT Platform offers a large number of enrollment options including:

  • Manual enrollment: default enrollment that allows teachers and site administrators to manually enroll learners.
  • Self enrollment / Self Auto enrollment: Allows the learner to enroll themselves in the course by simply accessing the course page or enrollment page.
  • Token enrollment: Requires the learner to provide a specific code / token to enroll in the course.
  • Profile Field Enrollment: Allows enrollment to be open specifically to learners who meet certain criteria such as:
    • Specific value in their profile (such as their language, location, department),
    • System role
    • Who they are managed by (as defined in Managers / Locations feature)
  • Webinar enrollment: Generates a registration form that can be accessed by someone who is not logged in.  By completing the form, the learner is given an account in the LMS and enrolled in the course.

Course content

It is very useful to pre-defined the content you will use to deliver your course and it’s intended outcome before starting the development.  This does not involve the content itself, but the pathway you want your learner to take, the grading requirements, pre-requisites and conditions that need to be met for the course to be considered complete.  

Types of self-paced content:

  • Videos
  • Presentations / slide-decks
  • Previously recorded sessions
  • SCORM
  • Questionnaire
  • Quiz
  • Forum
  • Assignment

Types of live instructor-led content:

  • Connect meeting
  • Tutor sessions (?)
  • Sign-in reconciliation

Course completion

These are the conditions the learner needs to meet in order for the course to be considered complete. Once defined, you then have the ability to set your course completion conditions in your LMS and report on learner completion status.  These conditions can include:

 

  • Completion of other courses on the system
  • Completion of specific activities in the course (such as passing a quiz, achieving a certificate, viewing a specific video etc..)  NOTE: the conditions for having an individual activity by complete (such as minimum grade, minimum slides viewed or video watched etc..can be defined at the activity level)
  • Date / enrollment duration
  • Unenrollment
  • Course grade
  • Manual completion (by learner or by an instructor)

Grading and Pre-requisites
Grading and pre-requisites allow you to establish the way in which a learner’s participation is evaluated and the steps taken from one piece of content to the next. Depending on the activity/content, various options will be available for grading.

Grading:

  • Live virtual sessions: grading can be based on duration of attendance, simply launching the meeting room, questions answered during the session when using Vantage Point Enterprise.
  • Self-paced content: grading can be based on percentage of content viewed, number of slides, simply launching the activity.
  • Quizzes can be graded based on the number of correct responses

Pre-requisites:
Pre-requisites can be set within a course to determine conditions that need to be met in one activity (such as a grade, date, enrollment duration) in order for the next activity to become available.  The RT Platform uses a setting called “Restrict Access” within each activity, resource or course section where you can define the condition for which it will become available to the learner.  Restrict access settings can also be based on a learner’s language or other specific profile elements.  

Certificates / Certification

If your course awards a certificate of completion or certification, consider the following:

 

  • Certificate design and type: logos, graphical elements, seals, signatures and overall design
  • Information: What information needs to be included on the certificate?
  • Expiry / re-certification: Will this certificate expire and / or will the learner be required to repeat the courses at a specific date or interval?
  • Pre-requisites: What conditions are required for the certificate to be awarded? (i.e. grade on certain activities, overall course grade, completion of other activities)
  • Delivery: Will the certificate be provided via email, auto-issued or opened in a new window.  Will an instructor or manager be notified when a learner receives it?

Other Logistics to consider:

  • Name of the course
  • Description of the course
  • Graphics for the course
  • Start and end date of course or start and end date/time of a live session
  • If it is a live training, is it a one-time event or recurring?