1. Optimizing for digital learning
In this lesson, we will discuss ways to ensure learners are prepared for your course and how to help them retain information from your course.
2. Online vs. offline learning
The online learning landscape is considerably different from in-person learning.
Engagement in the course is entirely one-sided - you engage with your learners, but you don't have discussions like in a regular classroom.
Additionally, online learning learners are often working professionals looking for learning opportunities that fit into their busy schedules.
3. Considering your audience
This is especially true at DataCamp. Our monthly survey of our premium users consistently finds that 60% of our learners are working professionals. Most are not in academia and are interested in practicing coding concepts rather than theoretical material.
4. Reasons for learning with us
Additionally, the majority of our learners subscribe to DataCamp to advance their current career.
Given the limited free time our learners have, it's important to consider how you can maximize the quantity and quality of material taught and retained by your learners.
5. Course description
The first key part is your course description. This is an approximately 600 character description of your course that provides learners with the information they need to decide whether or not to take your course. By clearly conveying what will be taught, you are maximizing the percentage of learners who will start and finish your course.
The course description you see here follows several key guidelines:
6. Course description
It contains one sentence describing why the topic is important,
7. Course description
it includes two to three sentences describing the problems that learners will learn to solve,
8. Course description
and includes one sentence describing the dataset that will be used. It's important here to include a brief description of the overall topic, rather than a summary of your syllabus.
9. Prerequisites
Defining prerequisites is key to ensuring learners grasp the material and maximize the learning potential from your course. By selecting correct prerequisites, you will spend less time explaining concepts that have already been taught in other courses, and more time on new material that maximizes the value of your course.
10. Prerequisites
In general, you can expect to have one to three prerequisites for your course. Here are two examples of courses we have available, and the prerequisites they list.
You don't need to include the prerequisites of your course's prerequisites. We recommend you take your prerequisite courses to get a better understanding of what's been covered, and where you can best contribute new material.
11. Prerequisites
Additionally, we have many courses in development that may be appropriate prerequisites for your course. Talk to your Curriculum Manager or visit our course roadmap to see what's currently being developed and how it relates to your course.
12. Analogies and heuristics
Analogies and heuristics are key to maximizing retention of information given the brief nature of our courses at DataCamp.
Analogies are similarities or comparisons made between two objects that can aid learners in understanding difficult concepts. When learners are able to reference information they already know through an analogy, they're more likely to grasp a difficult concept you are explaining. For example, Albert Kim explained R packages and CRAN by using the analogy, "R packages are like apps, and CRAN is like the app store."
13. Analogies and heuristics
Heuristics are mental shortcuts that help ease the cognitive load of information. Using heuristics can shorten the amount of time to teach a concept - and for learners to grasp it. An example heuristic explaining error in a forecasting model uses the phrase "Signal and noise" to separate the forecasted values, or the signal, from the error, or the noise.
14. Let's practice!
Let's see what you've retained by moving onto some exercises.