Here are FREE tools to create and launch your first online course.
First off, you need to decide what course you are creating. Hint: start with a mini-course (for details on how to select one see (The procrastinator’s guide to launching an Online Course in 2020!)
Then you need to map out your course plan Freemind (https://sourceforge.net/projects/freemind/) is mind mapping software that can help you make sense of all those different topics.
Now you need to create the content for your cousre. Google docs is great but I use LibreOffice (https://www.libreoffice.org/) to do the bulk of my course creation. The word processor, LibreOffice Writer, is really simple to use and I can create PDFs straight from the toolbar. I find the presentation software, Impress, much easier to use than PowerPoint. I’ve used it for graphics in my videos, too. I can save files in many different formats, which makes things easy if I’m collaborating with somebody else. There are Windows, Mac and Linux versions.
DaVinci Resolve (https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve/). Believe it or not, major Hollywood studios use this free software to edit movies and TV shows! It looks a bit intimidating, but it’s actually easy to use when you know-how. There is a bit of a learning curve, so if you’re looking for something simpler try Video Pad (https://www.nchsoftware.com/videopad/index.html). Both apps have Windows and Mac versions.
Audacity (https://www.audacityteam.org/download/) is the sound recording and editing software I use for podcasts as well as for cleaning up the audio on my videos. Only a few years ago I was having to pay an audio facility a fortune to do what this app does for free. Windows, Mac and Linux versions available.
Camtasia (https://www.techsmith.com) is the leading product for screencapture videos. Not free, but you can use it unrestricted for 30 days — plenty of time to create your first course, launch it, and make enough money to purchase a license. Of course, if you have a mac you can just use SHIFT + COMMAND+5 and start to record!
If you still have questions about hosting and marketing your course then download Top 20 Tools For Creating an Online Course 2020 version for free.
With so many FREE tools available. There has never been a better time to pop your course cherry and start to make the world a better place by imparting your skills and knowledge to the waiting public!
