Does your company offer free online AIA education? If so, there are some basic tips to optimize your education course so it receives higher participation. You can create the greatest AIA course in the world, but unless you integrate a few key strategies, your course may suffer low attendance. Online AIA course optimization strategies include using video, utilizing an accomplished subject matter expert, and integrating SEO into your course.

The Power Of Video

Research indicates that young professionals, such as architects and engineers, today are fundamentally different from previous generations in the way they think and in the way they access, absorb, interpret, process and use information. Today design professionals are increasingly visual-spatial learners, able to multitask and interact with multimedia. Your online AIA course better utilize powerful photos and video clips to make your point. Avoid using clip art, bad stock photos, and pictures that your janitor took with his Nokia two mega-pixel phone. Several years ago, Cisco, the networking equipment manufacturer, released a significant study on video education. This ground breaking research revealed several important benefits related to video education. Video allows architects to expand their understanding of complex subjects by strengthening the link between abstract ideas and practical applications. Video also gives architects the opportunity to travel to remote locations to learn without ever leaving their classroom. Videos are uniquely suited for taking architects on “impossible” field trips, such as a tour inside a new building project in Japan.

AIA Subject Matter Expert

Before you start writing your AIA online education course, you better ask yourself one question. Are you the most qualified person to write your course? You don’t need to be William Shakespeare but you better be knowledgeable about your topic and be a proficient storyteller. Every AIA online course should be written by a subject matter expert who can convey the crucial aspects of a building product while keeping the audience entertained. How many snooze-fest Powerpoint presentations have you experienced? The subject matter expert should be very familiar with the topic, the industry terminology, and provide anecdotal content when possible. Audiences love case studies and real life examples.

AIA Course SEO

An often overlooked topic in regards to online AIA courses is SEO. How will architects, engineers, specifiers, and other design professionals find out about your course? Your course title, course description, landing page, and learning objectives should all be optimized. Key words and phrases related to your topic should be optimized and integrated effectively in order to increase web traffic and user participation. Your Learning Management System (LMS) and website structure can have a major effect on your SEO. Overall, if you are not using video, a proficient subject matter expert, and SEO strategies than your free AIA CE course might not be effective. We work in a highly competitive industry and any slight edge can help. Does your company use video for its online AIA CE courses?