How do you define your online learning objectives?

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In other words, you need to know where you are headed, remembering of course that your desires and actions need to be real and measurable.

Determine what the goal of your online training is.

Determine the type of online training you'll be creating - what you need to teach your learners - whether it's language training, an introduction to a new company product, an introduction to a new company policy, etc. This will help you pinpoint the goals the course needs to achieve, you'll know what resources you need, and over time you'll be able to measure the results.

Questions that will help you determine the objectives of your online training.

Once you understand the type of your online training, you will be able to focus on who the people will be who will take the course, why they will take it, and what their expectations are for after the course. You can start by answering the following questions:

• Who are the people being trained?
• What is important to them?
• In what situations would the learners use the information?
• What is the purpose of the online training?
• How will learners be able to demonstrate that they have achieved the purpose of the online training?

Some additional tips that will support the success of your online training.

Design your online training to meet your learners' expectations. 

For your online training to be successful, it must meet the expectations of the learners - in other words, be useful to them. Otherwise, they won't be satisfied and will regret having wasted time and money. 

Do not exaggerate the importance of the course.

Don't insist that all members of the organisation/institution participate in the online training. This will directly invalidate it. Only people who will actually benefit from the information presented to them should join the course.

Focus on how learners will demonstrate that they have mastered the material.

Your online training should ensure that your learners will be able to make the right decisions in the right situations. How do you prepare them for this? The only way is by creating situations close to reality. If you don't, then your level of understanding is reduced to general knowledge only.

In conclusion, we will reiterate the main takeaways from this article, namely: in order to determine the goals of your online training, you need to understand what are the needs it needs to address. If your trainees have expectations related to their performance, you should focus on what you want them to be able to do after its completion. If you achieve this, your efforts and theirs will be justified.

Source: http://www.articulate.com/rapid-elearning/build-course-objectives-matter/ .