Studying online has become a viable option for many people, giving them flexibility of time, place and who to study with. Online courses also potentially offer a whole new way of learning; more personalised, and highly engaging.
However, take care, there are more and more online courses popping up on the Internet, and the one you choose could also turn out to be unprofessional, boring, not giving you what you wanted, and a complete waste of time and money.
The world of nutrition, especially online, can be a confusing place and the titles people hold are not always clear, consequently courses they offer may not be what you thought.
As a first step, and to get clarity on the different titles, qualifications and career paths (at least in the UK) I would check out this document. There are fuller references, including information for other countries, at the end of this article.
Now coming back to choosing the right course, how exactly do you find the best online nutrition course?
Well, first of all let me come clean; I’m afraid I have duped you – there is no ‘best’ online course; there is no such thing!
I realise you may have put that phrase into Google, and ended up here, but whilst there are higher and lower quality courses, the best one for you, depends on, well….you.
What you need, what you know, and the way you learn new information and skills, will be different from another person. There is only the best course for you.
1. Start with you
So, a good starting point when choosing an online nutrition course, is actually to begin with you.
Start with
Money
Time
Goal
It’s always good to have an idea about the following; how much money you can spend, how much time you can commit, and what your goal is.
Goals are important.
Are you looking to just learn something new or do you want to start a new career?
Do you want a recognised qualification, or just a certificate you can show off to yourself and others (I mean that in a good way), or just a better understanding of nutrition for your own benefit?
All of these will influence your decision.
Let’s go on to take a look at other features that will influence the quality of the course and your experience on it.
2. Quality content
There are ‘general’ nutrition and health courses and very specific courses. Make sure you check the curriculum (a nifty education word for ‘content’); most professional outfits will have a comprehensive curriculum telling you what you will study.
If you can’t see the curriculum, or you can’t download it on the site, email and ask for a copy. If it is not thorough, logical and well presented, think twice. This is the crux of any course, if this isn’t good, then the rest of the course is unlikely to be any better.
Going back to you….make sure you choose a course with content that matches your interests.
3. Clear learning objectives
This is closely connected to the above point, as well as saying what you will study, they should be clear about the course objectives and what you will learn, and what you will be able to do at the end of the course.
Are they clear and do they match what you want?
4. Assessment
It’s all well and good having course goals, but how are they going to be measured? Makers of a good quality course will have thought carefully about how to assess success.
The simplest form of assessment is a quiz, and for informal courses this may be enough. For more formal courses, there should be a wider range of assessment activities possibly including portfolios, and assignments (presented in written, audio or video format).
Some courses offer a certificate, and the certificates will either be recognised or not. Many are not, they just represent an incentive for you to complete the course, and they have no use beyond decorating your wall for a few weeks.
Courses that have recognised certificates will be more expensive, and may prove useful for your curriculum vitae / resume. However, do check exactly who recognises them and do a quick internet check on the recognising organisation; some will be valid but some may be bogus.
Generally speaking, the more complex the assessment, the more valuable the certificate (if there is one). This is logical as it means the certificates are not just handed out to anyone.
Be careful though, if a course says you will get a certificate without any assessment at all, then something is probably amiss!
5. Professional teachers
Most people will check to see if the teachers are Registered Dietitians, or Registered Nutritionists. As mentioned in the introduction, the world of nutrition and the titles people hold can be confusing, and it is certainly worth spending time getting to grips with these.
Whilst being a qualified dietitian or nutritionist is important, a person with good subject knowledge doesn’t necessarily make a good teacher.
So, as well as being qualified in nutrition, look for people with some experience teaching, or student reviews of the teachers and courses if possible. You want to know they can teach and inspire, as well as know their subject.
6. Activities that really engage you
Unfortunately, many online courses assume online learning is the same as face to face and so they put up some PowerPoints and get the teacher to talk through the bullet points; a bit like a lecture. In fact, often there are no activities at all!
Stiflingly boring!!
Online learning is different and needs a different approach, and can be extremely engaging if the technology is used well.
You want to look out for content presented via a range of media (audio, text, video) as well as someway of engaging with the content – evaluating, analysing, synthesising it, or creating something new.
All of this is not only exciting and engaging, it will also deepen your learning.
7. Interaction
The basic question to ask here is, will I have interaction with other students and how?
Most people learn better when they share ideas, challenges and even grumbles, with others.
A large number of online courses are ‘self-study’ which means there is no interaction with others. Sometimes, you are told there is a facebook group and you are put in a group with a thousand other people. Again, this doesn’t really work. Imagine a teacher walking into a classroom and saying – ‘well there you are, you are now in a group, so get on with it!’
That’s not likely to benefit anyone. Any interaction with others should be structured, so you are given tasks and activities to do, as well as support to do them.
If you enjoy learning on your own that’s fine, otherwise find out more about how this is managed on the course.
