Make Udemy: You + Academy (Unofficial) with AI

Simple Rule of Thumb:

• If learners will walk away doing something new, it’s Behavior Change.

• If learners will walk away thinking or analyzing in a new way, it’s Intellectual Skill.

Here’s your task: commit to the one goal you chose in the last lesson. Whether it’s Behavior Change or Intellectual Skill, commit to making every part of your course work toward that single focus. This will give your learners a clear path, make your course easier to design, and ensure your impact is strong.

In this lesson, we’re going to make your course design easy by following a simple, step-by-step template. This structure ensures your course will guide learners from understanding the behavior to actively practicing it in their lives.

Use this fill-in-the-blank structure to build your own course. When you follow this template, every module and lesson will be focused, simple, and effective. You’re ready to make a real impact!

Here’s the simplified template we’ll follow for an Intellectual Skills course. Think of it as a four-step process that builds learners’ understanding and encourages them to use these skills in real-world situations.

• Overview of educational psychology and its importance in online teaching and learning.

• How psychology helps us understand learners’ needs and how they learn.

This lesson explains how people learn, along with the common pitfalls of video-only approaches in online teaching. It sets a solid foundation for later lessons that will introduce actionable strategies.

This lecture introduces three foundational learning theories—Behaviorism, Cognitivism, and Constructivism—and explains how each theory can be used to enhance online teaching. By understanding the principles behind each approach, educators can design engaging, student-centered online courses that support effective learning outcomes. The lecture also includes practical examples to demonstrate how these theories translate into teaching strategies in virtual settings.

In this lesson, we’ll explore Self-Determination Theory and its key elements—Autonomy, Competence, and Relatedness. These elements are critical to building an online course that keeps students motivated from within, helping them feel more connected, capable, and in control of their learning journey.

Lesson Flow:

1. Introduce the core concept of Self-Determination Theory and why it’s relevant to online teaching.

2. Define and explore each element—Autonomy, Competence, and Relatedness—through characteristics, examples, and non-examples.

3. Show step-by-step applications of each element in online course design.

In this lesson, we’ll explore Bloom’s Taxonomy and how it provides a structure for creating clear and targeted learning objectives. You’ll learn how each level—from Knowledge to Evaluation—can help you design objectives that progressively build students’ skills and understanding.

Lesson Flow:

1. Introduction to Bloom’s Taxonomy and why it’s useful for setting learning goals.

2. Breakdown of each level in Bloom’s Taxonomy, with definitions, characteristics, examples, and non-examples.

3. Practical application: Writing effective learning objectives for each level in the context of online lessons.

In this lesson, we’re going to explore how Bloom’s Taxonomy can be used to create effective online assessments. By aligning quizzes, assignments, and exams with each level—from Knowledge to Evaluation—you can assess a full range of cognitive skills and ensure your students’ learning progression is clear and targeted.

Lesson Flow:

1. Overview of why aligning assessments with Bloom’s Taxonomy enhances learning outcomes.

2. Breakdown of how to create assessments for each level of Bloom’s Taxonomy with specific examples and non-examples.

3. Practical tips and sample assessment ideas to help structure quizzes, assignments, and exams.

Knowledge Mapping is like building a city map for your course: the core concepts are the major landmarks, and the sub-topics are the roads that connect them. By creating this visual structure, you’re not only simplifying complex information but also helping learners see how everything fits together logically. This is essential in an online learning environment like Udemy, where learners often progress at their own pace. With a Knowledge Map, they stay oriented, understand how lessons connect, and follow the course with confidence.

Anticipation Guides activate prior knowledge and encourage learners to think critically. They set a purpose for learning by making students curious about whether their assumptions are correct, which boosts their motivation to learn.

The Frayer Model organizes information systematically, making it easier for learners to grasp the concept and see how it applies in various contexts. It also helps them distinguish what the concept is and what it isn’t, reinforcing deeper understanding.

Combining Knowledge Mapping, Anticipation Guides, and the Frayer Model forms a comprehensive and powerful approach to online teaching. Here's why these three strategies, when used together, create a robust and effective learning experience.

Analogy Charting is a powerful tool that enhances online learning by connecting new concepts with familiar ideas, helping learners visualize and engage with the material. In an online environment, where capturing and maintaining attention is crucial, Analogy Charting provides a visual and relatable way for learners to understand complex information. This lecture will guide you through the concept of Analogy Charting, explain its importance for online teaching, and provide practical steps to create and implement effective analogy charts in your courses.

The Science Connection Overview strategy, originally designed for science topics, can be adapted for any complicated subject in online teaching. Its goal is to connect new and complex information to students’ everyday experiences, building familiarity and engagement before delving into technical details. This approach helps bridge knowledge gaps, especially when learners have no prior experience with the topic. In this lecture, you will learn how to implement this strategy effectively, utilizing multimedia tools and interactive activities to keep learners engaged and enhance understanding in a virtual environment.

In online teaching, instructors face a unique challenge—the “invisible classroom.” Without face-to-face interactions, it’s impossible to gauge students’ prior knowledge, backgrounds, or learning needs. To address this, the safest and most inclusive approach is to assume that students have no prior knowledge of the subject. By starting from foundational concepts and gradually building complexity, instructors can create accessible, engaging lessons that meet all students where they are. This approach promotes inclusivity, engagement, and understanding in a diverse online classroom.

This lecture explores what prior knowledge is, why it matters, and how first principles help us establish it effectively in an online setting.

Organized knowledge isn’t just a list of facts; it’s an interconnected network, where each idea relates to the next. In this lecture, we’re going to explore how organizing knowledge helps students understand complex topics, how to structure it for online learning, and, most importantly, why it matters.

Help instructors identify and leverage student motivations, whether their goal is to solve an immediate problem or prepare for a certification. By aligning the course structure and engagement strategies with these motivations, instructors can create a more relevant, effective learning experience.

This lecture explains the importance of integrating quizzes, assignments, practice tests, and case studies into online courses. It highlights how each element transforms a passive learning experience into an engaging, interactive journey that builds knowledge, skills, and real-world readiness. By going beyond video content, instructors can create courses that foster active learning, reinforce understanding, and support mastery.

This lecture explores the importance of managing expectations as an online teacher. Many new instructors expect immediate success and can feel discouraged when results aren’t instant. However, the true value of teaching lies in personal and professional growth. By focusing on continuous improvement, teachers can refine their skills, build better courses, and eventually see success as a natural outcome of their dedication. This lecture will outline why patience, perseverance, and a focus on mastery are the cornerstones of effective online teaching.

This lesson provides a foundational understanding of vocal archetypes and practical tips for building an engaging teaching voice, setting the stage for refining specific vocal strategies in future lessons.

This lesson outlines each vocal element and providing practical tips, empowering instructors to start building their vocal archetype for online teaching.

This lesson provide a breakdown of each element that makes up the Behavioral Change Archetype, empowering instructors to create a warm, encouraging presence in their online courses.

This lesson provides an in-depth overview of the Intellectual Skills Archetype, empowering instructors to build a clear and authoritative vocal presence for teaching challenging subjects online.

By the end of this lesson, students will understand the two primary types of lectures—those aimed at behavioral change and those aimed at intellectual skills development. They’ll gain clarity on how these types differ in purpose, structure, and delivery, and learn how to identify the primary objective of their own courses.

By the end of this lesson, students will understand the fundamental elements of structuring a lecture to maximize student engagement. They will learn practical strategies for introducing, organizing, and concluding lectures in a way that captivates learners, maintains focus, and reinforces key points.

By the end of this lesson, students will understand the ANSVA structure—Attention, Need, Satisfaction, Visualization, and Action—for organizing persuasive lectures, especially in the context of promoting behavioral change. They will learn techniques for crafting compelling introductions and establishing relevance, and will practice creating a persuasive opening for their own lectures.

By the end of this lesson, students will understand key techniques for keeping learners engaged and motivated throughout a behavioral change lecture. They’ll explore how storytelling, examples, and relatable analogies help build a connection with students, as well as strategies for emphasizing the benefits of change and creating a sense of urgency. Finally, students will analyze a case study of a successful behavioral change lecture to see these techniques in action.

By the end of this lesson, students will understand how to effectively conclude a behavioral change lecture with clear, actionable steps. They will also learn reinforcement strategies—such as quizzes, reflective prompts, and follow-up activities—to help students solidify and apply what they’ve learned. Lastly, students will practice designing a call-to-action segment for a behavioral lecture, applying what they've learned to their own course.

This lesson will introduce why student engagement is critical for success on Udemy, going beyond basic teaching strategies to foster a deeper, impactful connection with students.

Objectives:

• Understand the concept of student engagement and its role in Udemy’s platform.

• Identify key characteristics that define effective engagement.

• Learn how engagement affects student satisfaction, completion rates, and reviews.

• Explore practical examples and non-examples to clarify understanding.

• Gain actionable strategies to implement meaningful engagement that goes beyond surface-level interaction.

In this lesson, we’ll be diving into why your welcome and introductory video matters so much for engaging students on Udemy. Here’s what we’re covering:

• First, we’ll quickly define what a warm welcome is and why it’s essential for building student connection.

• Next, we’ll talk about what makes a welcome video effective.

• But here’s the part you’ll want to stick around for: I’ll actually walk you through a sample intro script designed specifically for this course, showing you exactly how to make your own intro engaging and memorable.”

creating an engaging teaching video isn’t about following a formula; it’s about bringing something real to the table. Share your stories, the lessons you learned through challenges, and the insights that only you can offer. That’s what will resonate with students and make your video stand out.