Online courses have increased in popularity. According to The Sloan Consortium, the demand for online courses increased by more than 70 percent from 2009 to 2010. In a related study, The Sloan Consortium also noted that 30 percent of all college students end up enrolling in at least one college course. Teaching an online course differs significantly from teaching a traditional in-class course and writing the curriculum can be a time-consuming and challenging activity.

Examine the text you will be using for the course. This can help you establish how you approach the course and determine the way in which you write the course curriculum. Students will find it easiest to follow the curriculum the same way that it is laid out in the textbook. You don't have to follow the exact order of the chapters in the text or use each chapter, if they don't all suit your needs. A simple way to create a course calendar is to follow the natural divisions of the book. It if is divided into four sections, divide your course material into four sections.

Determine which types of assessment methods you will use for the course. This will help you determine how you should write the rest of your curriculum. Your curriculum should be based partly on the types of assessments you require. If students will be taking quizzes over the reading material, then the curriculum guide you create should help students pass the quizzes by requiring them to read and study the material in the corresponding chapters.

Assign writing as a regular part of the online curriculum. Students can take quizzes and exams throughout the course of the semester and only prove that they are good test-takers. Assigning them regular writing assignments that ask them to synthesize the material is one way to ensure that they are actually learning the material and understanding it as it should be understood.

Integrate websites and links to other online media into the course curriculum. Develop your own notes in conjunction with the assigned textbook readings. You can also use audio or video lectures as an additional source of information for the students. Embed links to other websites of interest for the course. These websites can include textual material or video material that supplements the rest of the coursework.