Hi all,
I am new here and I have just started to play with creation of my first courses. If my question has been already discussed elsewhere, please let me know.
Is there such thing as an optimal size of a course? I browsed some threads and I see that it may be a problem when a course is too large, because some devices cannot download necessary data from the site. On the other hand, if I have a really large database to upload as a course, is it reasonable to divide it in too many parts (like 20 or more)? So could you please give me some advice, what is the most convenient way to organize a (language) course?
you mean courses for the app? i never done that, but look here in this thread: [Course Forum] Dutch 1-7 by Memrise
Merlijn, the mod for the “official” Dutch courses says that these courses - official ones - are designed mainly for app use. Have a look
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I prefer courses with at least 1,000 words.
I have completed at least one course with over 4,000 words, and I’ve learned at least 35% in 3-4 more with 4,000+ words. A course with 2,000-2,500 items is a really nice size—long enough to have a lot of material, long enough to get a long streak, but not so long that it takes over a year to finish.
Another reason to prefer longer courses: Taking shorter courses means I’m more likely to duplicate material already learned in other courses, and I have to spend more time looking for courses that are high enough quality.
About level length: I’ve read that large courses (3000-5000 items) with fewer levels work better on the app than the same size course with many levels. For example: the app will handle 60 lessons of 75 items better than 300 lessons of 15 items each. That said, I have successfully used at least two courses of ~300 levels of 15 each on the app, and I’ve downloaded those courses for offline use. It simply took a long time.
Personally, I’d much rather work in a course that has many levels of 15 each than a course that has a few dozen levels with 50+ items per level. I prefer to plant one level at a time, and for that, 15 is quite nice.
If you have a lot of material and don’t want to create large courses, I recommend that you give them all the same logo, name them the same thing, and perhaps link to the other courses in your course description, too. This way, someone who likes your first course can easily find your subsequent courses. Here’s an example of a series done well: Hacking Turkish 1, Hacking Turkish 2, Hacking Turkish 3. Another good example is ian_mn’s series, First 5000 Words of Spanish: Top Up.
Good luck!
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I have seen it recommended that each level be kept fairly small, it was stated most people like to learn in smaller chunks (levels with 10, 15, 20, or 25 words per level). I personally prefer 15 words per level. I don’t enjoy the levels that have more than 25 words and I like a predictable number of words per level rather than an arbitrary number of words per level. 100 words per level is fairly common (I personally find these ones overwhelming).
I think the preference between small and large levels may come down to where the person is in their learning. In general, if you are new to the words smaller is better, if you are simply reviewing the words, larger might be preferred.
I believe that in the past there was an issue with the number of levels on mobile devices but that this issue has been fixed. I don’t think it was ever an issue when doing the course online through the website, with the exception of random bugs perhaps.
There has been debates on how large a course should be. Some people like to break the info up into course one, course two, … etc. and others like larger courses with everything in it. The size of a course may become an issue for someone who likes to download the course to their mobile device. In general if the person wants to maintain a streak of immense size they are looking for a large course. If they are simply here to learn they may prefer separate courses based on level of learning i.e. course one basic language, course two intermediate language, etc.
In the end it is a decision you will have to make based on what you are most comfortable with as you will never please everyone. Each person has their own learning style and preference. If you are using the course yourself to learn, do whatever is most comfortable for you.
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For my Suggested Guide for Japanese Literacy course series, there is going to be in total about 33,000+ items. Technically for vocabulary there is 10,000 vocabulary entries with an additional 10,000 example sentences while grammar will have 5500 sample sentences with unknown number of vocabulary cards. Both of these I’ve split into about 20 courses each.
The largest of the courses will be at most 1000 items (technically 500 but I’m including audio example sentences for vocabulary course) while the smallest will be about 250 items (Hiragana and Katakana courses). This makes it more manageable plus it leaves beginner courses to have fresh blood having top placement in weekly and monthly rankings while advanced students move on to higher courses and set their mark there in top rankings.
Really it depends on the course you’re creating, but more than 1000 you should consider splitting it up.
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Thanks everyone, your replies have been most helpful, now I am starting to understand it all more clearly.
I prefer levels of 15-20 words each, and courses of 1,000 words or less. I think it’s important to be able to get motivation from seeing the progress bar move after you learn a level (too many levels and it doesn’t move, too few words per level and the course feels HUGE).
I have no experience with what the app can load.
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