You’ve created an online course, put in the hard work to promote it, and finally have students signing up. This is a huge accomplishment and something you should be proud of! Just think about it, how many people even know how to design a course in the first place? Now that your course is up and running there’s one problem you’ll begin to run into: many of your students are dropping out. In fact, according to recent studies, the average online course has a dropout rate of 60-70%.
Of course, you can always have your online course free, just like online courses without cost. But hard work needs to be repaid in creating the course. So, what can you do to keep your students engaged and prevent them from becoming part of this statistic?
Here are 5 tips:
1. Make sure your content is engaging and interactive.
The average person has a shorter attention span than a goldfish. So, it’s no surprise that students are often quick to disengage with online content that is boring or irrelevant. If your online course contains content that does not hold your student’s attention, you risk losing them entirely. Here are three reasons why boring content makes students drop out of your online course:
- Boring content is difficult to digest. When students are forced to plow through page after page of dense text, they quickly become overwhelmed and tune out. On the other hand, engaging content is easy to read and understand, making it more likely that students will retain the information.
- Boring content is a waste of time. In today’s fast-paced world, time is precious. Students who feel they’re wasting their time on dull, uninteresting material are more likely to give up and move on to something else. On the other hand, courses that offer concise, valuable content are more likely to hold students’ attention and keep them coming back for more.
- Boring content is simply…boring. Let’s face it: if your course material is dull, your students will be bored. And when students are bored, they’re less likely to engage with the material or put forth their best effort. By contrast, courses that offer exciting, engaging content are more likely to capture students’ imaginations and motivate them to do their best work.
In any online course, it is essential to maintain engagement with your content to prevent students from dropping out. This means making sure that your content is interactive and interesting. One way to do this is to use videos and other visuals to break up the text and add another layer of information. Additionally, quizzes and polls throughout the course can help gauge student understanding and keep them engaged with the material. Finally, providing plenty of opportunities for discussion will encourage students to interact with each other and share their thoughts on the topics being covered. By taking these steps, you can create an online course that is both engaging and interactive, helping to retain students and prevent dropouts.
2. Provide ample opportunities for practice and application.
In any educational setting, one important element for students is an opportunity for practice and application, whether it be traditional brick-and-mortar or online courses. Often, students can understand the material when it is presented but struggle with putting the concepts into practice. If an online course provides ample opportunities for students to apply what they are learning, this will prevent them from becoming frustrated and eventually dropping out of the class.
One way to provide these opportunities is through practice problems or exercises. These can be graded or ungraded but should allow students to apply the concepts they are learning in a low-stakes environment. Another way to provide an opportunity for practice and application is through group work or projects. These can be done entirely online or can incorporate face-to-face interactions (if the course is hybrid). Students learn best by doing, so by providing ample opportunities for practice and application, instructors can prevent students from becoming frustrated and dropping out of their online courses.
3. Create a sense of community among your students.
It’s no secret that online courses can be a bit isolating. Students can quickly become disengaged if they don’t feel a sense of connection to their classmates and instructor. This is one of the main reasons why students drop out of online courses. However, there are some simple things you can do to create a sense of community in your online class and prevent students from dropping out:
- Make sure to include some opportunities for interaction in your course design. This could involve discussion forums, group projects, or live chat sessions.
- Be proactive about reaching out to students and making yourself available for questions and assistance.
- Encourage students to get to know one another by providing some icebreaker activities or opportunities for peer-to-peer feedback.
Creating a sense of community in your online course can help keep students engaged and prevent them from dropping out.
4. Offer personal feedback.
As an instructor, it’s important to be aware of the factors that can lead to students dropping out of your course. While many potential reasons a student might decide to disengage, one of the most common is a lack of feedback. Students who feel like their work is going unnoticed can easily become discouraged and lose motivation. However, by offering regular personal feedback, you can help to prevent students from feeling invisible and at risk of dropping out. In addition, providing encouragement and personal feedback also helps to give students a sense of direction and clarity about what they need to work on. As a result, it can be a powerful tool for keeping students engaged in your course.
5. Keep your course updated with fresh content.
This could mean anything from adding new lectures to incorporating new discussions and assignments. Keeping your course up-to-date will help ensure that students remain engaged and invested in their learning. In turn, this will reduce the likelihood of them dropping out entirely. So if you’re looking to keep your students engaged, ensure you regularly freshen up your course content.
Following these tips can keep your online course from turning into a dropout factory! Ensure you provide engaging content, ample opportunities, a sense of community, personal feedback, and fresh content. You’ll be well on preventing high dropout rates in your online courses!