Online Course Creation: Success using Adult Learning for Business
I audit both the courses that aren't doing well and the courses that haven't even launched yet. In both situations, I find a lot of the same mistakes, and we're going to go over some of those.
AND the reasons they’re mistaken is that most businesses don’t take adult learning into consideration.
So, if you do, you’ll be ahead of the game. Whether you’re got a course (you can go find this mistakes) or if you're just in the beginning stages (you can get ahead of them), considering adult learning in online course creation will get your clients better results.
You Didn’t Tell Them Why
Mistake number one is not explaining why. Think back to the last time you were in a learning situation. Formal, informal, doesn't matter. And something felt like busywork. If you were a gifted kid, then it might actually have been busywork. But most of the time, especially as adults, it's because nobody explained why what you were doing was relevant.
In adult learning theory, relevance plays an important role in learner success: whether they can connect what they're learning to their lives, to what they're doing, to what they're trying to do, to what their goals are. If we're not clearly and consistently building those bridges early and often, then we start to lose people.
It doesn't have to be super complicated. It can be something as simple as:
“Hey, watch this video, this is what it's going to do for you.”
“Do this activity, here's why it matters,”
"Here's why it builds on what we've already done”,
“how it's going to get us where we're going.”
“Reflect on these questions, this is what it's doing for your learning and your progress.”
When we're not transparent about the design choices that we're making and building those bridges, it makes it really hard for our learners to see any reason to actually do it. Using adult learning for business is so critical.
Things Aren’t Connected
Mistake number two is not connecting the information to the activity.
This one is related to the first one, but it's also different. So I'm going to give you an example.
Let's say you've got a 7 to 10 minute video on whatever the topic is for that lesson. And in that same lesson, or on the same page of the lesson, you have a PDF. At the end of the video you might say, now go do it in the PDF. (Some courses don't even have that).
But if you do have that, that's still not enough.
Why would I go do something in a PDF when it hasn't been properly explained to me how to do it or why I'm doing it? The theory is there, but the bridge actually has to be built.
People need to have both the theory and the way to engage with it and the application, all in the same lesson.
Application is a missing piece in a lot of online course creation processes. But you need to provide the theory, examples, and actions in order to have a fully formed lesson that adults actually learn from.
This is where we start to see the connection between what they want to do and what we're doing in the course. That makes people interested in continuing on, and then it gives them a path to doing.
I’d argue it’s important for all learners, but it’s mission critical for adults. We often assume that because someone is of a certain age they can implement on their own. Spoiler alert: not true.
Those of us who had to teach ourselves as kids might, but that’s not the majority. Some of us can find our way forward with a direction and curiosity. If that’s you, that’s awesome. But it’s not everyone and this course is for others - not for you.
In my own course, the next step in that action verb outcomes writing is I give examples of good and bad outcomes and sentence starters, to help you start to figure out how to put the words together in a way that is actually action oriented.
So you want some examples to show your client what it might look like, and then setting them on to doing it themselves. And not just, “here, go do this, mimic the exact thing that I have”, but “here are some ways that you might action this information,” giving some choices.
If the information is disconnected from the actual doing of the thing, then you might end up with someone that just watches all the videos and doesn't actually do anything. You need them to get into the nitty gritty of how.
More IS NOT Better
Mistake number three, and this is a big one: you're adding more information because you think it adds value, or because you think they need more information. This one comes from a good place, but also a place of over giving, of wanting to make sure that people get value, that they get what they've paid for.
But adding more information doesn't actually equal more value.
More just causes cognitive overload (not specific to adults, but can actually impact faster because of the pulling of our attention in a million directions).
The easiest way to catch that you're doing this is to go back to those outcomes. If you don’t have them, I gotchu. Go get some and come back.
Then, take everything that you've go so far and ask: is this actually helping them reach that objective? Are they going to be able to do this thing?
Because that YOUR goal, helping them do the thing.
Let’s walk through an example.
So let's say you have outlined three modules. Module one is about assessing where they are in a particular process. Module two is about deciding where they want to go. And maybe module three is about creating a plan to get there.
Then all of a sudden you find yourself adding information about how to set the next goal, or what to do when a goal shifts.
But if what they're coming to you for is a plan, do they really need that right now? If you start expanding beyond the scope of what they're looking for, it's not just scope creeping your own course, but you might actually lose them.
They may get overwhelmed with all of these different options and places to go, or things that they don't see that they need just yet.
It comes down to recognizing when you're building from "this is the knowledge I have and what I want to share" instead of "this is what they want to do and how I'm going to get them there."
It’s Not Accessible
Mistake number four is accessibility, and this one often surprises people. To me, everything I talk about is under the umbrella of accessibility. But most courses are even just the basics.
28.7% of the adult population in the US has a disability or chronic illness (remember those stats come from reported ones; think of all the undiagnosed neurological disorders). You don’t account for them, and you’re an asshat.
We're talking about a lack of captions, no transcripts, no alt text. Not using headings properly so that a screen reader can tab through them. Not writing in plain language. These are the things I call functional accessibility. They’re the bare minimum.
Plain language is one that often gets shoved to the side because it's not considered a physical accessibility issue. We can't tell if someone has that kind of need. We can't immediately tell if English is an additional language for someone, we can’t tell if someone falls into one of the many neurodivergent categories. But those are real barriers. And if people are hitting those barriers, they're very likely not going to finish your course. They're not going to get what they came for.
That doesn’t just mean you disappointed people; it means you lose out on money. They don’t recommend you or buy other things. While the data to support the idea that it’s more expensive to get new leads than keep someone who has already bought from you has messy results, it FEELS harder to get new folks in and trusting us nowadays.
The areas that folks often don’t realize are a problem are:
Decorative Images that Aren’t Decorative (it means someone who uses a screenreader is missing information)
Diagrams (complex diagrams need GOOD alt text)
PDFs (if you build a PDF to look pretty in a design tool, it might make the read order a disaster)
Tables (making them accessible can be difficult because you need proper headings in order for the screen reader to read them properly)
Online Course Creation when You’re Teaching Adults as Your Business
Those are the four mistakes that I see the most often when I audit courses, whether the course has launched or not.
If you're still not sure if a course is even right for your business, I have a quiz to tell you if it’s a good fit.