Instructional designers and faculty have many tools to make courses more interesting and engaging using formats such as video, audio, image editing, interactivity and others. However, instead of randomly creating courses using any/all or a combination of these tools simply because popular or new, content creators should start with universal design principles to make eLearning truly effective.

Best practices for delivering impactful and meaningful course content begins with thoughtful course content development and a communications plan. Regardless of course content delivery format, such as HTML, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or social media, consider the following for online course design:

1. Begin with a clear course syllabus or content outline.
2. Design course content for wide range of participants (including various devices and connection levels).
3. Optimize the course level of understanding regardless of user’s experience, knowledge, language skills or current concentration level (such as by making sure all terms are text-readable).
4. Use a consistent but customizable content design (consider using accessible templates).
5. Ensure course content meets accessibility requirements (hint: use built-in Accessibility Checker).
6. Engage students through the use of assessments, requesting feedback and interaction.
7. Work with instructional designers or the campus EIRAC to remediate any inaccessible content with make-up opportunities for affected participants.

Developing effective course content begins with thoughtful design geared toward an audience of varying abilities and devices, as guided by a clear course syllabus. 

Consider other useful resources for creating accessible online course content.