Course Companion eBooks between Lessons
A course companion eBook gives learners something they can return to between lessons. Connect summaries, examples and exercises to the course so the book is easy to navigate when a question comes up. Open where the learner is: the lesson they just left, and the step they cannot remember. A course companion eBook that begins with the history of the subject makes them hunt for the one procedure they came back to find.
Start your book, freeWhat is a course companion eBook?
A course companion is a written resource designed to support an existing or planned course. It may summarize lessons, collect reference material and provide practice activities. Its structure should make the relationship to the course clear; a companion does not need to repeat a video transcript word for word. A course companion eBook is the written place a learner returns to when the lesson is over. It should use the lesson's names, hold the example still, and give them a task they can start. A transcript with headings is not yet that book.
How should a course companion match its lessons?
A course companion should connect the learning objective, the practice activity and the way understanding is checked. A summary alone may not prepare a learner for a task that requires applying or analyzing the material.
“assessments, learning objectives, and instructional strategies need to be closely aligned”
- Carnegie Mellon’s alignment model links three components: learning objectives, assessments and instructional strategies.
- For an original three-module course example, make three companion entries. Each entry names the module, its objective, a practice activity and a check; this is a mapping example, not a required chapter count.
- If the course asks learners to apply a skill, check that the companion includes application practice instead of only factual recall questions.
Give Bookeen the actual lesson outline and objectives, then review each companion chapter against that map. A complete mapping helps you find omissions; it is not evidence of a particular course-completion percentage.
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When to choose this book type
- Choose a course companion when learners need a reference alongside lessons. The learner should be able to open the book at the lesson they just met. If the book makes sense with the course removed, you may have written a standalone guide, and the promise should say so.
- Use the course outline and learning objectives as the starting material. Use the lesson names a learner would recognize. A private outline that only you understand becomes a second course hiding inside the book, and they will not find the page on the night they are stuck.
- Create a standalone how-to guide if the book must teach the subject without the course. If the buyer may never see the lessons, the book has to teach the steps on its own. A companion that only makes sense beside a video should be offered that way, not as a complete course in prose.
A practical outline
- Map the course modules and explain how to use the companion. Show the map from lesson to chapter in the opening, in the learner's words. Tell them what to do when they are stuck on a specific lesson, not only how the book is organized in the abstract.
- Summarize the ideas and vocabulary for each lesson. Define a term the way the lesson defined it, then add the sentence the video rushed past. A new synonym in the book often looks like a new idea to someone who just learned the first word.
- Add examples, practice and questions for review. Add the worked example and the task the lesson cannot pause for. If you remove those and the chapter still says everything the video said, you have transcribed the lesson.
- Collect reusable references and a final application task. Collect the references they will need later, and one task that uses more than a single lesson. Check that task with the video closed before you call the companion done.
A companion for a course on planning a workshop
The course introduces audience research, learning objectives and session design. The companion follows the same module names and offers a planning sheet at each stage. A learner who returns after the course can find a checklist or example without replaying every lesson. If the book is later sold independently, the author adds explanations for ideas previously demonstrated only in video. Take one lesson and show the short explanation, the example with the numbers or choices a learner can reuse, and the task that proves they can do it. Then show the next lesson referring back by name. That link is what makes a stack of handouts into a companion.
How do you plan course companion chapters?
Map the course lessons, objectives and materials before drafting course companion chapters. Some lessons may belong together in a reference chapter; others need their own activity. Preserve recognizable labels so learners can find the matching material. List lessons in the order learners meet them, and give each chapter a heading they would recognize from the course. Combine short lessons when splitting them would create empty chapters. Split a dense lesson when one heading would hide two different jobs.
- Connect each chapter to a course objective. The objective should be something the learner can do, and the chapter should practice it. A heading that only names a topic does not tell them why this page is beside that lesson.
- Use stable lesson names or numbers. Use the name the learner saw in the course. If you must shorten it, put the course's name in the first sentence so a search from their notes still lands.
- Explain any material learners need from elsewhere. Say which earlier lesson a chapter assumes. A reader who skipped it should know what to open, rather than discovering the gap by failing the task.
Add value beyond a transcript
A transcript records what was said. A companion helps readers use what they learned. Distill the explanation, show the decision process and include an activity or reference that is useful away from the video. Add what the lesson cannot pause for: a checklist, a worked example, a definition they will need later, or a task with the first step written out. If you remove those and the chapter still says everything the video said, you have a transcript.
- Summarize the key ideas in plain language.
- Include a worked example where it helps application.
- Provide a review question or practical next step.
Draft the companion in Bookeen
Bring your outline, lesson notes and approved examples to Bookeen. Develop chapters around the learner journey, then check them against the current course. Review both the book and the course whenever lesson names or processes change. Bring the lesson list and one module's notes, including the example you already teach. Ask for a chapter a learner could open beside that lesson. Then try to do the task from the chapter with the video closed.
- Remove duplicated introductions and filler.
- Check that references point to the correct lesson.
- Decide which material needs a printable layout.
Compare book types
Write a How to Guide
A how to guide helps readers complete a specific task. Start with the result, show the steps in a workable order and explain how to tell whether each step succeeded. Put the finished result in the first paragraphs, in words the reader would use. Then show the first step from the place they actually are, not from an ideal setup. A how to guide earns trust when an early step can be checked with the eyes, not only believed.
Research Report eBooks You Can Cite
A research report earns attention through its evidence. Explain what you investigated, how you investigated it and what the findings can reasonably tell the reader. State the question in the first sentences, then the boundary of what you looked at. People who came for a result still need that frame, or they will treat a narrow finding as a universal one.
Workbook eBooks for Practice
A workbook eBook turns reading into practice. Give each exercise a purpose, a clear instruction and enough space for the reader to respond, reflect or make a decision. Open on the task, not on a lecture. Tell the reader what to produce, how long it should take, and what a finished response looks like. A workbook eBook that withholds the point until the second page loses the people who came ready to practice.
Readers, files and next steps
Explore a related writing situation, then choose an edition that suits your readers.
Explore the Bookeen book creatorCourse Companion eBooks between Lessons: questions answered
Must a course companion give every lesson its own chapter?
A course companion eBook does not need a separate chapter for every lesson. Use the structure that makes the companion easiest to navigate. Several short lessons may fit in one chapter, while a complex lesson may need multiple reference sections. Keep the mapping visible. Group lessons that share one job, and split a lesson that contains two. The test is navigation. A learner with a specific question should land on a heading that answers it, whether that heading covers one lesson or several.
Is a course companion the same as a workbook?
A companion supports a course and may mix summaries, references and exercises. A workbook is primarily activity-driven. Choose the leading purpose, then include other material where it helps the learner. A workbook is organized around tasks and space to respond. A companion is organized around the course, and it may contain tasks. If you remove the course map and the book still makes sense, you have written the other kind.
Can I sell the companion separately?
You can plan a standalone edition, but review it for dependence on the course. Add missing explanations and examples, and remove instructions that only make sense to enrolled learners. Rights and distribution decisions remain with the author. You can, if the offer is honest about what the buyer gets. A companion sold alone must teach the steps without assuming the buyer watched a video they do not have. If it only makes sense beside the course, sell it that way.
Will a companion guarantee course completion?
No. A useful reference can support learning, but completion depends on the course, the learner and the context. Review whether learners can find and apply the material instead of promising a numerical improvement. It removes one reason people stall, which is losing the thread after the lesson. It does not make them finish, and a page should not promise completion, ratings, or income.
How should I keep it up to date?
Track which chapters correspond to which lessons. When a lesson changes, review its summary, activities, examples and references together. Include an edition note when it helps readers identify the course version the book supports. Keep a simple map from lesson to chapter, and revise the chapter when the lesson's steps change. Check the examples first. Those go stale while the general advice still sounds fine.