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Most Asked Questions
getting started
accessing publishing tool
before you start
provide course information
create course content
course review process
technical support
financial & copyrighting terms
earnings & payments
Most Asked Questions
getting started
accessing publishing tool
before you start
provide course information
create course content
course review process
technical support
financial & copyrighting terms
earnings & payments
Grammar and Syntax
Inadequate grammar and syntax errors are common but not acceptable. Download the free Google Chrome extension, 'Grammarly,' and use it to check your work before pasting (as plain text) into the Publishing Tool. Verify the Grammarly settings and ensure it is configured to British or American spelling style based on your chosen preference.
Ensure proper capitalisation when necessary. If you are uncertain, refer to the rules for title cases: Capitalise the first and last word, nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, and subordinate conjunctions. Keep articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions, and prepositions in lowercase. If in doubt, you can use the free website 'Capitalise My Title' for assistance.
Useful Considerations
We suggest beginning your course creation by working on documents or files rather than directly writing into the Alison Publishing Tool. Concentrate on the following aspects:
Structure
Balance of information
Clarity
Grammar
Spelling, punctuation and capitalisation
Quality of images
Quality of videos
All text that is pasted into the Publishing Tool must be pasted as “plain text”.
Text/images should not spill over the red line in the Publishing Tool.
The Publishing Tool incorporates features that enable you to replicate and import course content, which can be useful for Publishers interested in creating multiple courses on the Alison platform.
Is there any time period for course creation?
We don't have a set timeframe for course creation unless courses have been inactive for an extended period. In such cases, we take steps to handle any incomplete applications, and you will receive an email notifying you of the impending deletion.
Accessible Content
Accessible Content refers to content that is available to all users, emphasising the inclusion and involvement of individuals with disabilities to ensure their access to your material. Several factors influence how people navigate content, including:
Colour
Contrast ratio
Typography (ie. text)
Infographic, image and chart design
Writing style and layout
Relying too heavily on visual formatting such as colour alone excludes anyone who is colour blind or unable to see the screen. Don’t rely on colour alone to convey information. Include text, audio or other methods of communication.
Contrast ratio is the ratio of the luminance of the brightest shade to that of the darkest shade, this can apply to text and its background or the brightest and darkest shades of an image or graph. A high contrast ratio is a desired aspect of any display. WCAG recommends a 7:1 contrast ratio for users with vision loss equating to 20/80 vision, but 3:1 for large text since large print with wider character strokes is much easier to read at low contrast.
Consider font and size. Roboto is an accessible font and using 14-16pt for body copy is advisable. Smaller text should never be less than 10pt.
Avoid using images of text as this can cause issues for screen readers, use an actual text field instead. Informative text on an image needs to be captured in alt text. In most scenarios, if you can’t highlight the text with your mouse, it can’t be read by a screen reader.
Avoid writing in all caps. The use of all capital letters makes reading more challenging for some, including people with dyslexia.
Include alt text - screen readers “read” images via alternative text which is added in the code or CMS. It’s easy to add alt text, simply right-click on the image, select “alt text” and write a description of the image. You can do the same for charts or infographics. You do not need to add alt text to ornamental images, only to informative ones.
Make sure that the colours are distinguishable when viewed in greyscale.
Hover over the image and the alt text should appear. Alternatively, right-click and select Inspect to view the HTML.
PDFs are not very accessible in general, so avoid them if possible. If you do need to use PDFs you can use tagging or remediation software to mark them up.
Use text to convey critical information.
Avoid overfilling the page and if using different media types (text, image, animation) ensure there is a balance between them.
Avoid embedding - use a text asset or field rather than an image of text.
Make sure your videos incorporate closed captions.
What kind of course should I create?
Alison publishes a diverse array of courses spanning various categories. Course Creators should take the following into consideration:
Leverage your strengths; if you have expertise in a specific subject, that should likely be your primary focus. If you excel at research and teaching, you may possess the skills to create a course in a new area for you.
Take into account the present conditions, both on a global and local scale. The world is evolving rapidly, and people's requirements are also subject to change. We actively seek courses that stay current in all fields, with a particular emphasis on IT.
Although our focus is on publishing quality rather than quantity, it is beneficial to assess the number of courses available on our platform in your field and their specific focus. This evaluation can assist you in identifying potential gaps to address, rather than entering into direct competition with existing courses.
Alison courses may include text, video, audio, or a combination of these elements. Learners typically engage positively with mixed media, so whenever feasible, incorporate diverse content options. The minimum duration for an Alison course is 1.5 hours (applicable to short certificate courses), while advanced diploma courses might require up to 30 hours for completion. Alison advises publishers to initiate their course creation journey with a certificate course before progressing to the more extensive diploma format. Here are the general guidelines for course durations:
Duration: 1.5-3 hours
Assessment: Answer 25 out of a bank of 30 questions
Duration: 4-7 hours
Assessment: Answer 35 out of a bank of 50 questions
Duration: 8-15 hours
Assessment : Formative assessment: answer 20 out of a bank of 40 questions
Summative: answer 50 out of a bank of 80 questions
Duration: 15-30 hours
Assessment: Answer 100 out of a bank of 130 questions
What skills do Alison Course Creators have/need?
Alison Course Creators possess a diverse set of skills, with our most successful ones demonstrating outstanding written and verbal communication, meticulous attention to detail, and frequently having experience in teaching or training.
Interviews with some of our Course Creators can be found here, and information about all our Course Creators is available here.
Everyone's different, and so are their questions. Speak to our team directly and they'll personally answer all your questions, no matter what they are.
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