Referring to the Suez Canal as Sewage Area, Burma as Bhramadesh, Mahatma Gandhi as Gandi, and Africans as Negros. These are some of the biggest blunders found in courseware books. There are many dos and don’ts for developing courseware books. Even if we follow all of these tips, we still tend to miss out on some things. Stylus Solutions, one of the best firm for courseware development in Mumbai, has many years of experience in K12 course development and also caters to corporate curriculum development. Hence, due to the years of experience, the team of Stylus has come up with a list of top 10 bloopers that should be avoided during the courseware development.
Technically incorrect statements
The poor sentence structure changes the meaning of sentences completely. And, with the intent to showcase the diversified vocabulary, we sometimes tend to use incorrect words. This changes the meaning of sentence which we actually want to convey.
Content and image mismatch
It is not only necessary to proofread the document to check grammatical errors but also for relevance of images. While writing content, use the appropriate images that add value and match the content.
Plagiarized content
Plagiarism is the gravest mistake. Be original. Don’t steal someone else’s ideas and sell them as your own. Even if you are tempted to use someone’s work, ask their permission and give them credits.
Poor grammar
Always use the correct grammar. Incorrect grammar will make your writing less trust-worthy. Thus, the learners will lose interest in reading.
Hurting people’s sentiments
While writing the courses, we should always avoid expressing our personal views and opinions about any sensitive topics such as religion, specific gender, caste, race, creed, etc.
Disconnecting from the audience
Always use the examples which are age appropriate. If you are writing a chapter for grade 4 students, you cannot use the real life example of the office environment. So, connect to audience through relevant examples. You can also make topic more interesting, add some in-between fun activities or titbits that will engage the learners.
Lack of flow in text and topics
Gather, analyse and chunk content effectively. Lack of flow in content will confuse the learners. Hence, take care while shaping the data. Divide huge content into small chunks and give appropriate sub-headings. Arrange the topics according to their level of importance.
Too much text /repetitive text!
Many times, it happens that in order to increase the page/word count, we tend to write one sentence in multiple number of ways. Thus, take care that sentences are not rephrased and then, repeated. Avoid the redundant words that add no meaning to the sentence. Keep the sentences concise and precise.
Disastrous book design and layout
Say that, you have avoided all of the above mistakes and written error free content; however, if the book contains too gaudy and/or many design elements, your efforts will be all for naught. Because these elements will take away the attention from the actual content. Keep the design of the book subtle yet attractive.
Poor page layouts
The page layouts should be well-organised and balanced. The content and images should be arranged in page systematically. The structure of page should communicate the messages clearly.
Hope you will beware of the top ten bloopers of courseware development. Do let us know if we have missed any blooper, or if you relate to any of the aforementioned mistakes of courseware development by dropping a comment right below.