Curating Course Content

How do you curate content for your online courses? I typically use a three prong approach for curating content in my courses. In today's blog post, I'll be sharing the main method I use for curating content. 

Readings

The most common method used for sharing knowledge with students is through readings. Readings can take many formats from textbooks, slide presentations and various types of open educational resources and other reading materials found on the internet. My first step when searching for content for my online courses are readings related to the weekly topic.

Videos

 In today's age, there's no way to present content without some type of video content, especially in an online course. Consider the dominant nature of social media which is heavily reliant on videos and images. This is a major method of sharing and gaining information for students of all ages. When curating content, I always try to find supplemental information in a video formatting that will help to bring my main points home. In many instances, I have created my own videos that uniquely meet my needs. 

Alternative/Interactive Content

 Alternative/interactive content is essentially any material that don't fit into neatly into another category such as readings and videos. These can take the form of things such as interactive presentations and videos. These can be things such as Prezi presentations that include a variety of movements, videos with interactive questions and VoiceThread presentations which also encourage engagement. 

I love to include a mix of these three categories, but luckily the alternative/interactive content often includes a mixture of both readings and video. However, take note that some students may find videos and interactive content as too stimulating so it's always a good idea to provide options.

What is your go-to curated content format? How do you decide what information to include in your online course? Share your ideas in The Online Educator Facebook Group.