Online Educators, Not Students, Are Focus of Latest Play by Udemy

Udemy has been gaining visibility and traction via Facebook Deals, but now it’s time for the online video education site to show and prove.

The latest version of its course-creation site focuses on tools for instructors, who are often experts in their field, but may not have much of a background in instruments of pedagogy. Udemy’s latest iteration acknowledges that online course instructors are essentially a one-man or woman operation, and that as the space becomes more crowded, the sell is just as important as the lesson plan.

“Having experimented with different approaches to the presentation and distribution of digital ed content, specifically in regard to their effect on learning outcomes, Udemy concluded that one of the most critical components — and oft-overlooked — is a well-structured curriculum. So, the startup rebuilt its curriculum editor, which now encourages teachers to build an outline as the first step in the course creation process.

Using the new curriculum editor, teachers can drag and drop lectures and sections to organize their content into a more structured course. On top of that, considering that many of Udemy’s teachers are in fact real world experts and not those well-versed in pedagogy, the startup has re-tooled its course creation process. Once they’ve outlined their course, they are served step-by-step guidelines and best practices that touch on everything from planning to promotion.”

More at TechCrunch.