Recreating the magic of your onsite offer
Questions to ask yourself before creating digital content for schools.
As a learning professional in the heritage and GLAM (Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums) sector, you are already creating inspiring onsite experiences. From object handling and expert-led workshops to immersive tours and access to incredible collections. These hands-on encounters spark curiosity and create lifelong memories for students.
But translating these rich, in-person experiences into engaging digital content is a whole different challenge. Especially if you’re more familiar with curriculum links than search engine optimisation!
This is an article for educational professionals who are experts in learning design but could use a helping hand when it comes to digital delivery.
For most of my career in zoos and museums, my focus was firmly on onsite learning. Then the pandemic hit, and like many in the sector, I began experimenting with virtual learning. I quickly became engrossed by the new opportunities (and challenges!) of digital content. Not long after, I took on a new role dedicated entirely to schools’ digital learning with Historic Royal Palaces. This sparked a steep but exciting learning curve. Now, I hope to share some of the lessons I learnt along the way.
1. What are you bringing to the (very busy) party?
The internet is overflowing with educational resources. And there are fewer geographical and financial barriers online vs. onsite. In the click of a button teachers can transport their students inside the Great Pyramid of Giza or find themselves face to face with the Bayeux Tapestry.
So, what is your organisation able to offer?
Consider your organisation’s assets and their relevance to the curriculum. Work out your unique selling point (USP). This might include:
Collections
Buildings
Experts
Specialist pedagogy
CPD
Keep your USP in mind as you develop the content. Ensure it is front and centre at each step towards publication. You might find it useful to conduct a landscape review to identify gaps in existing content already available online. This will help make sure you’re not duplicating existing resources but filling a genuine need.
2. Which audience, and when?
If you are creating content for schools in particular, it’s important to think carefully about the different audiences you might be serving. Think about who will be choosing your content and who will be consuming it.
Just like with your onsite learning experiences, the consumer will dictate the tone, style, and content of your digital offer. For example, content designed for young students will naturally look and feel very different from content aimed at teachers.
However, when creating digital content, don’t overlook the chooser, the person selecting the resource. Keeping the chooser in mind is essential for making the right decisions around platforms, keywords, thumbnails, and marketing channels to ensure your content reaches the right people.
A dual audience – a case study
Most of the digital learning content we create at Historic Royal Palaces currently has a dual audience. We intend for teachers to find and select resources and then share them with students in their classroom. For this reason, we take time to explore which audience should take centre stage at each part of the process.
When designing the content itself, we think mostly about the students. We work with professionals who are experienced in creating engaging content for that age group.
Then for almost everything else (platform, layout, SEO, marketing and supporting materials) we think mostly about the teachers. We discover their pain points, observe their digital habits and use their language. We try to present our content in a way that is as user friendly and efficient as possible, on the most suitable channels.
3. What do teachers need?
You are already very familiar with your teacher audience. You understand how time poor they are. You see how many different students’ needs they have to factor into their teaching. And you want to help, by providing useful, engaging resources!
There are many ways digital content can meet teacher needs, but here are a few essentials.
Simple to use: Teachers often prefer to grab-and-go materials. Make sure your resources are intuitive, with simple instructions. If something takes a long time to understand how to use, many teachers might just give up. Also don’t forget that many teachers will not be subject specialists (particularly primary school teachers). Make sure your content is beginner friendly.
Something they can’t create themselves: Put time and effort into creating things that teachers can’t easily make themselves. High-res images, expert insights and interactive content add lots of value!
Flexible and adaptable: It’s impossible to anticipate every student’s need and cater for every classroom at once. The more flexibility you can provide the better. Teachers will always want to adapt and tailor content for their students.
4. Have you considered the digital nuts and bolts?
Digital content comes with a digital to-do list you might not face when creating onsite educational experiences. The list will be different for different types of content but here are a few useful reminders.
Image licensing: Image licensing for digital content is different than when licensing for images onsite. Sometimes there will be a fee, or restrictions about editing. Make sure you understand how you can use an image and include the correct image credit where needed.
Digital accessibility: We all have a moral (and legal) responsibility to make sure our digital content is accessible for those who use assistive devices (such as screen readers) or require additional features. Research what this means for your content and ensure you have completed accessibility checks before publishing. This might include ensuring all images have alt-text or creating a transcript.
SEO and discover-ability: You will want teachers to be able to find your content! Think about how they might do this. Research how to choose effective keywords and create compelling thumbnails.
Web copy and navigation: You may have created the most wonderful content, but if teachers struggle to access it they may give up before they get to it. Make sure you write clear, concise web copy and present the information in the most user friendly way as possible. Usually, less is more!
Testing: Just like with onsite content you will want to pilot and test digital content if you can. Consider observational testing with your audience. This can be as simple as joining a video call with a teacher, asking them to share their screen and explore your digital content. You will learn valuable insights just by watching how someone else navigates around the page.
Final Thoughts
The shift to creating digital learning content means adapting your existing skills to an online environment. For each aspect covered in this article, there are plenty of resources and guides available online. Here are some from the Digital Learning Network that you might find useful.
How to avoid going (copy)wrong with copyright
Our four favourite digital learning tools
AI for the cash strapped and time poor
But this is just the beginning—help us expand!
What have been your most valuable insights when creating digital learning content? Share your top tips and experiences with the community in the comments. Let’s keep learning together!