Proofreading and editing is one of the most important steps in creating your eLearning content. Since you’re the teacher, it’s crucial that you deliver quality content without spelling and grammatical errors. There are many things you can do to help proofread and edit your course a little easier – here are 6 great tips.
One of those helpful tips is to follow a checklist. What kind of checklist? Well, you can create a custom checklist including overall course design tasks, as well as a list of common writing mistakes you may make. Following a checklist not only while you’re proofreading and editing, but while you’re building your course, can be extremely timesaving and efficient. Here are 10 items we recommend adding to your own custom checklist.
Is all of your content within your course?
Be sure you have created and uploaded all necessary course content within your learning management system. Don’t scan through your course – read and reread your content to be sure you didn’t miss anything.
Are there any typos, spellings, or grammatical errors?
Proofread your content. You’re the teacher – that means you shouldn’t have any spelling or grammar mistakes. Check your most common mistakes and know your weaknesses (there, their, they’re, your, you’re, etc.).
Do all the images and graphics make sense?
It’s likely that you have images and graphics throughout your course and slideshow presentations. Read through all your content to make sure the images and graphics are in the correct places and make sense to your readers. Remember to use images that are valuable to your readers.
Is everything styled consistently?
The overall style and design of your course matters too. Are your fonts, color scheme, and PowerPoint slides consistent?
Did you successfully “chunk” your material?
Many students learn better with smaller amounts of material, this is called “chunking” (learn more here). Did you break up your content into smaller sections? Did you limit each PowerPoint slide to only a few lines (or bullets) of text?
Is the tone consistent?
Read through your content and be sure your tone is consistent. Whether you’re serious, lighthearted, or friendly and encouraging. Consistent tone throughout your course is important and it’ll be easy to edit after a few rounds of proofreading.
Do all of your links work?
If you add any hyperlinks to your course, be sure to test them. Sometimes the links can break before your course may launch, so always check them multiple times.
Does your content align with your course objectives?
You should include any course objectives at the beginning of your course for your students to easily access as needed. Did you get off topic? Are your course objectives covered thoroughly by your course content?
Are there any possible technical issues?
Some learning management systems are more user-friendly than others. Are you going to have any possible technical issues as your students access your course? Will they need access 24/7 anywhere, anytime? Be sure your LMS can meet your goals and offer the support you need.
Is your course interactive?
The majority of eLearning courses nowadays are created with the goal of student interactivity in mind. Many students learn better when they have the opportunity to interact with the course. Include things such as quizzes, checkpoints, and links throughout your course to achieve this.
View part 1 of our proofreading series here. Have more tips? Share them with us!