The basis of the platform is a plugin named – Learnpress. It is the same plugin used in Atingi. Instructors will build their courses directly onto the specific website using Learnpress

The primary component of learnpress is ‘courses’. A course is a representation of an entire course upon which a student completes, then they graduate. You can have big courses (e.g. Wildlife Filmmaking Program) or smaller courses )coming later) such as Camera operation techniques. For our purposes, it will be best to initially make single large courses (e.g. Shark Development Program eLearning) designed to prepare students prior to arrival in Africa.

Sections are the building blocks of the course, but contain no content in themselves. They are simply a way of breaking up a course into various components. e.g. Wildlife filmmaking course, may have the following sections (1) pre-production, (2) production, (3) post production. Section number per course is arbitrary, but we recommend 5 – 8 sections per course

The are short individual lessons that make up the parts of a section. e.g. A lesson ‘White Balance in Wildlife Filmmaking’. Would be a lesson within the Wildlife Film Making eLearning’ course and ‘pre-production’ section. NB. A single lesson can be assigned to many courses (you do not have to rebuild a lesson every time)

Lessons comprise of (a) a short video (4 -10 minutes) that is uploaded onto the Africa Media or Blue Wilderness Youtube channels and marked as ‘unlisted. (b) text that is similar to the talk, and (c) links for additional resources (e.g. powerpoints that we have uploaded onto google drive).

These are short quizzes that make up part of a course. In order for the student to pass the course, they must complete the quizzes within the course. The structure should be multiple lessons and one quiz at the end of each section NB. Quizzes comprise of a number of QUESTIONS (see below)

Questions are the building block of a quiz. They can either be (a) true/false, (b) multi-choice, (c) single choice, (d) fill in blank. A question can be assigned to multiple quizzes.

When we have lots of courses, then we can divide them up into categories to make finding them easier. E.g. Tiger Shark Speciality Course, White Shark Speciality Course, etc. can all be categorised as ‘Shark Specialist Courses’. NB: Small course will only come later, once the initial program full course has been made.

a 250 – 500 word description of the course overview and its purposes and reason for the students to participate in it

a 200 – 300 word biography about yourself and your qualifications to offer the course. This should be written in first person (Hi, I am a photographer, who has…..) You will also need to upload a photograph of yourself for your profile.

Requires to be accurate and grammatically correct and cover keys points that will feature in the lesson. The word length of lesson text must bet between 300 and 600 words. With headings, paragraphs, and text fully formatted in a standard manner (consistent with with tutorial video)

A minimum of 1 additional resource is to accompany each lesson. These additional resources can be one of (a) accompanying powerpoint presentation, (b) Canva cheat sheet, (c) in depth blog post. or something similar for additional learning

Videos must be shot at minimum of 1920×1080 resolution with external microphone (if possible) and either a green screen background or approved background. Instagram type lighting on presenter face is required. Presenter either sitting or standing. Quality cell phone is acceptable if self filming and room is quiet (check audio quality with Chris). Please send screen shot of setup to Chris prior to filming a video for approval. If you stumble, stop for a couple of seconds and then repeat the last point before carrying on (Chris will edit out your stumble). Whatsapp, google drive, or email video to Chris for editing. Duration – minimum of 4 minutes, max of 10 minutes.

A video reel is a short (up to 60 seconds) high energy entertaining video aimed to be released free on facebook, instagram, youtube and other social media. First three seconds important to capture audience. Content is to be brief introduction into lesson, little bit of info, with a hook to join the full course by following link below or subscribing.

Content requirement to complete a course includes the full completion and approval of

• Course overview
• Instructor Biography
• 20 – 25 Lessons (video, text, additional resource)
• 10 – 20 Reels
• 5 – 10 Quizzes (1 per section)

Payment – Supplementary material for experiential course

Payments will be earned on (a) the completion of a lesson, (b) completion of a quiz and (c) completion of a course (20-25 Lessons, 10 – 20 quizzes, and 5 – 10 reels).

• Lesson – R500
• Reel – R100
• Quiz – R100
• Course – Completed in 4 weeks: R3000, completed in 6 weeks: R2000, Completed in 8 Weeks: R1000

Payment – For ‘exclusively online’ courses 

Courses (lessons, quizzes) can be re-configured, or new lessons can be produced and combined to form exclusively online standalone course that will be saleable direct to public as an online course (either on website or alternative eLearning platform). Course instructors will receive 40% commission on all sales from subsequent standalone for-profit online course sales. NB. It will be expected that instructor continues to improve course from time to time. If instructor ‘co-produces’ a course, commission will be split evenly between instructors. 

Africa Media retains the rights to place such courses on additional platforms (e.g. Udemy) and retain 60% and distribute 40% of profits to instructor.