Course Quality Checklist

To create a course on examBrains, Below are the minimum requirements expected from Instructors.

An ideal course must comprise of 2 components required and recommended.

Required items : on the checklist are items that every examBrains course must have. Examples are HD video, good audio, 5 lectures or more, a minimum of 30 minutes and maximum of 2hours of video content.

Recommended items : are those that make good courses, well, great. Great courses blow students away with lots of instructor engagement, or super helpful supplemental resources or innovative approaches to presenting the material.

Courses that include the recommended items really stand out and engage students.

Minimum Requirements Checklist

We have minimum and recommended standards for courses creation on examBrains. Our course verification team is available to help you get your course ready for students to enjoy.

After course creation instructors will get a personalized feedback from our course verification team.

A complete course has:

1, At least 30 minutes of video content
2, At least 5 separate lectures
3, Valuable educational content (Learn more)
4, HD video quality (720p or 1080p)*
5, Audio that comes out of both channels and is synced to video
6, Audio quality that is not distracting to students*

A complete course landing page has:

1, A high quality course image in line with examBrains image standards (min. 2048×1152 pixels).
2, A well-written course title and subtitle that includes relevant keywords.
3, A brief, honest, well-written course description.
4, Clear course goals, target audience, and requirements that are
easy and understand.
5, User accounts should have a credible and complete instructor bio and profile picture.

Student Experience Checklist

Students value quality content first and foremost. To create a course that satisfies students, we strongly recommend you familiarize yourself with course creation best practices in 3 key areas.

1, Professionalism
2, Learning Experience
3, Clear & Compelling Marketing

Professionalism

Students judge the professionalism of an instructor or service provider on the following points.

1, Audio Quality
2, Video Quality
3, Delivery Quality

Audio Quality

When students pay for a digital product, they expect a certain level of professional polish. We strongly recommend having your audio setup vetted by the examBrains Review Team.

Good Audio Has:

1, No background noises or hums (usually comes from electronics, appliances, environmental noise, and mic setup issues).
2, Little to no echo (usually comes from undampened hard surfaces in your recording space or from recording in too big a space).
3, No distracting “popping” sounds on “p” and “t” sounds (not all voices and mics have this problem, but if you do, a pop filter helps).
4, Adequate base volume that comes out of both headphone buds.

Video Quality

HD video is: now a universal expectation. Beyond that, students ability to see what’s on screen directly impacts the quality of their learning experience.

Good Video Is:

1, In HD, 720p or 1080p with 16:9 aspect ratio.
2, Clear, not blurry, so students can see you and your learning material easily.
3, Steady, not shaky.
4, Well-framed and zoomed-in appropriately so students can easily follow along with
what’s on screen.
5, Well-lit and free of distractions in the video frame, so that it looks like you took a few
minutes to tidy up and present yourself in a friendly and professional light.

Delivery Quality

Students expect you to sound like you know what you are talking about.

Good Delivery Includes:

1, Straightforward speaking style with very few “umms” and “ahhs”.
2, Enthusiastic and energetic tone of voice. Recording equipment can strip some energy from your performance –aim to deliver a little more enthusiasm than usual.
3, Clear pronunciation of words and use of pauses to emphasize important points.

Learning Experience

When taking your course, students learn better when:

A 2-5 minute introductory lecture tells them what to expect in the course and each section.
You challenge them with a quick win action within the first 3 lectures (or first 15 minutes).
You share useful content early in the course, avoiding spending too much time on background.
Each section has a clear goal or primary skill,with all lectures building to reach that sub-goal.
Each lecture has 1 main concept and message (not 5!).
Each section has at least 1 learning activity, such as an exercise, project, or quiz to give students a chance to apply what they’ve learned.
Lectures are between 2-6 minutes in length (exceptions: yoga, codealongs, or meditation).
Lecture formats vary throughout the course. Too much screencast or talking head can become tedious.
Choose your lecture format based on the material you are teaching. Article (text) lectures and practice activities are great too.
They relate to the instructor. Talking head lectures build rapport, particularly early in a course.
It’s easy to find the resources they need. Provide all needed resources, downloads, and links for each practice activity (ex. worksheets, source code, practice files, etc).

Clear and Compelling Marketing

When deciding whether to take your course, students want to know :

What skills they will learn in your course.

Start your course goals with strong action words that complete the sentence, “At the end of the course, you will be able to…”

Who the course is made for.

Use descriptors such as level, industry, and learning intent to differentiate your target student. Saying your course is for “everyone” really means it’s for no one.

Think “Early career classroom teachers,” or “Small business owners looking for tips on…,” etc. rather than, “anyone interested in the topic.”

What kind of experience you’ll provide.

A 2-3 minute promo video gives students a taste of your teaching style.

We recommend summarizing the goals of the course and sharing what’s exciting and different about your course, so that students feel more confident in their purchase decision.

That it’s good value for the money.

Your course price should be comparable to other courses in similar topics, length of content, and style of teaching. If it’s priced differently, explain why.

What key lectures will cover.

Lecture descriptions add a layer of polish to your course curriculum and can make students more confident in their purchase decision.

For more questions regards course creation email [email protected].

Course Quality Checklist