How to create online course content that gets used

Create course content one complete lesson at a time: explain the skill, show an example, give students a task, and provide a way to check their work.

Start with a course outline. Then use the workflow below to turn that plan into videos, text, downloads, and practice activities.

Jump to: Choose a format · Copy the lesson brief · See a complete example · Check before publishing

1. Check what you can reuse

Gather the material you already use to teach: videos, workshop slides, templates, demonstrations, and answers to recurring questions.

Match each item to a lesson in your outline. Give it one of three labels:

• Keep: Accurate, relevant, and understandable without extra context.
• Update: Useful, but needs a new example, clearer instructions, or a correction.
• Create: Missing, or too different from the lesson to adapt.

A workshop recording may contain a useful demonstration inside a long introduction. Reuse the relevant part rather than making students watch the whole session.

Check permissions before reusing third-party material. Replace private client details with sample data. Questions from past students can help you choose examples, but they do not prove that a new course will sell.

2. Choose the right format

You do not need a video for every lesson. Match the format to the task:

What students need	A useful format
Watch a process unfold	Screen recording or filmed demonstration
Follow steps while working	Written instructions or a checklist
Start from an existing structure	Editable template or sample file
Compare choices	Annotated examples
Check recall or understanding	Quiz with answer explanations

You can combine formats. A screen recording might show how to build a spreadsheet, while a downloadable file lets students practice without recreating the starting data.

Avoid adding a worksheet simply to increase the number of downloads. Give every resource a clear use in the lesson.

3. Write a lesson brief

Use this brief before recording or writing:

Lesson title: What will the student learn to do?

Starting point: What must they know or have ready?

Outcome: What should they be able to do afterward?

Example: What will you demonstrate?

Practice: What will they try themselves?

Check: How will they know whether it worked?

Materials: Which files or instructions will they need?

Keep it short enough to use during production. If the brief contains several unrelated outcomes, consider splitting the lesson.

For scripts, choose what suits the material. A full script can help with precise explanations; bullet points can work well for a live demonstration. Read either version aloud before recording to catch awkward wording.

4. Make one complete sample lesson

Pick a lesson that represents the rest of the course. Produce its explanation, example, student task, and supporting material before recording the full batch.

For a video lesson:

1. Prepare: Open the right files, hide notifications, and remove private information.
2. Record a sample: Check the audio and whether students can read the screen.
3. Teach the task: Show what you are doing and explain choices that may not be obvious.
4. Edit for clarity: Remove mistakes, long pauses, and detours that make the task harder to follow.
5. Add captions: Review the text and timing against the recording.

For a written lesson, use short sections, descriptive headings, and screenshots only where they clarify a step.

Follow W3C’s caption guidance when preparing video. Captions should include the speech and meaningful sounds students need to understand the lesson. Describe essential visual changes aloud or provide an appropriate text alternative too.

A complete lesson example

Here is an illustrative lesson package for a beginner Excel course. It is a planning example, not a measured production schedule.

Lesson: Categorize expenses in Excel

• Outcome: Assign a category to every transaction in a sample sheet.
• Starting file: A spreadsheet containing fictional transactions and a category list.
• Demonstration: Categorize a few transactions and explain how to handle an unclear entry.
• Practice: Categorize the remaining transactions independently.
• Review file: An annotated answer sheet explaining the choices, including acceptable alternatives.
• Lesson text: Instructions for opening the file, completing the task, and checking the answers.

This package gives students something to do and a way to review it. The video supports the activity; it does not have to carry every instruction.

5. Get feedback, then produce the remaining lessons

Ask a learner who matches your audience to try the sample. Can they begin without help? Can they complete the task? Do the review materials explain anything they got wrong?

Fix those gaps before repeating the format across the course.

Then group similar production work where it helps: record related demonstrations, prepare the accompanying files, and review captions. Keep a simple tracker with a status for each lesson:

Brief → draft → reviewed → uploaded → checked

Measure how long your sample takes, including revisions. Use that to plan the remaining work, allowing extra time for lessons with different formats or more complex examples.

6. Check the student experience

Open the published lesson as a student and work through it from the beginning.

• Does the title match what the lesson teaches?
• Are instructions visible before the task starts?
• Do videos play and captions match the audio?
• Can students read the screen on a smaller device?
• Do download links open the correct, usable files?
• Is it clear how to check an answer or request feedback?
• Can students find the next lesson?

Also review any reused video settings. YouTube explains that anyone with an unlisted link can view and reshare it. Choose settings with that limitation in mind.

Add the finished lessons to your course

In Courselink, organize lessons into modules and place the relevant text and resources with each lesson. You can build and publish a free course on the Free plan; paid courses start on Lite. See pricing for what each plan includes.

If the content still feels hard to follow, return to online course design and check the sequence before adding more material.