LinkedIn™ Udemy Course

I'm currently knee deep in the process of developing my online Udemy course that will be teaching students how to effectively update, optimize, and polish their LinkedIn profiles. Course development for this project has been fascinating in its own right. Udemy has done an outstanding job providing detailed instruction that sets instructors up for success. Many instructional design principles are built in to how Udemy instructs instructors on how to set up a course (I know – it's a mouthful). Udemy has what appears to be a highly rigorous model of helping instructors build and revise their courses. 

The ADDIE Model

Developed by researchers at Florida State University, the ADDIE Model helps guide instructional designers in the process of design. Curriculum development is broken down into a series of phases that are part of the process of building instruction. These phases are:

  1. Analysis  
  2. Design  
  3. Development 
  4. Implementation 
  5. Evaluation 

Mine and Udemy's Use of the ADDIE Model

Between each phase, developers are encouraged to revise areas with apparent issues to improve the course. I have completed much of the analysis associated with my course. Through that process, I identified several areas where I needed to revise goals and more clearly outline objectives.

Udemy has provided a lot of tools that help in designing and developing the course. Since this online classroom marketplace is a well-thought-out platform, a lot of the design of course tools and layout has been addressed by Udemy. As I complete the development and implementation of my of my course, the guiding principles of the ADDIE Model will become increasingly important. This model places emphasis on the evaluation phase of a course. An instructor needs to observe what areas of the course students seem to be benefiting from and which areas need improvement. I plan to interject a few quizzes and open discussion threads throughout the course where I ask students what they are enjoying and what I can do to improve the course. I'll also look for areas where students are repeatedly asking questions; multiple related questions are a good sign that clarification on material would improve the course experience for students. 

As an instructor in an online setting where students can publicly rate your performance, where a portion of students' "tuition" goes toward compensating instructors, taking full advantage of feedback provided to the instructor from students is a crucial. Guiding principles from the evaluation phase of the ADDIE Model will be of high focus for me following the launch of my course. 

Photo credit: "LinkedIn Chocolates" by nan palmero is licensed under CC BY 2.0.