What Has Been Pivotal in Improving Your Course Quality?

Hi there,

When you look back at the start of your Udemy instructor journey, there’s probably something you would do differently—whether it’s due to evolving tools, lessons learned along the way, or time constraints you faced when creating your first course.

Today, we want to hear from you:
What has been the most pivotal change in improving your course quality?

Maybe you’ve found a game-changing tool that helped improve your production, or have you adopted new techniques or best practices that made a big difference?

Share your insights in the comments below!😊

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Comments

ChrisBankes120

A selfie stick which enabled me to wander round the countryside recording lectures on my iPhone, on sunny days.

MarinaT

Hi @ChrisBankes120, Thank you for sharing! When recording outdoors, do you take any specific measures to manage audio and background noise?

RonErez

I wouldn't create a free course. I would have got better audio equipment. I would have zoomed in much less since Udemy encouraged zooming in since students tend to consume content on their phones, however I went overboard with this and many students complained about it. Now I just zoom a little and add red callouts for things that are hard to follow. Finally I would have stopped saying things like "Click over there".

ChrisBankes120

My first response has been deleted - that's a pity.

In terms of special measures…

If the helicopter/airplane noise is not TOO intrusive I don't pause and use this as examples of 'authenticity'. So if I am talking about holding business seminars outside or art therapy and nature etc then I simply use the noise as examples of potential problems.
If the noise is very loud I say that I am going to mute the microphone and please use this time to summarise what has been covered. Meanwhile take in the view. That way there's no editing.
In terms of views, there have been times when cows have been in the background. They are curious beings. In one shot several can clearly be seen 'depositing' on the ground. I left that in and someone actually liked it as it gave the video 'a real countryside feel'.
I find in general students are more concerned with content. When I started I used a production company, several angles and/or a studio. Now I just wander around with iPhone, selfie stick and £25 microphone OR sit inside the house with a nice colourful sheet behind. Occasionally I film in cafes and I speak, eat coffee, eat cake. This is where I ask students to imagine they're having a tutorial 1-1 with me.

In one of my very first lectures - professional film company, good lighting etc - someone gave me a poor review as my top button (I was wearing a suit) was not done up.

MarinaT

Hi @ChrisBankes120,

Apologies for the issue with the first response—it ended up in our moderation queue, but I’ve just approved it. We’ll look into this, as it seems to be happening quite frequently with some of your comments, if I recall correctly.

Regarding audio when recording outdoors, authenticity is a great point, and it’s good to hear that students appreciate it and don’t mind background noises as long as they’re not too loud. Thanks for sharing more about this!

ChrisBankes120

Hi @MarinaT

I'm almost certain it was deleted because when referring to cows I said they were c—-ping (no blanks) and that probably flagged up rude language. Anyway I expanded with the replacement so i have deleted the original.

Thank you

peter_dalmaris

Aside from things like better cameras and microphones, a huge boost to my productivity and quality was soundproofing my studio.

That wasn't cheap, but it enabled me to work at any time, not having to worry about cars, trucks, birds, crickets, dogs etc.