Lesson references
- Match topics to recognizable course modules.
- Explain ideas without relying on video.
- Help learners find a concept quickly.
Course Companion Books for Course Creators
Course companion books for course creators stay useful after the video ends. Course creators can use Bookeen to build course companion books with clear explanations, practice assignments and references that fit their existing modules. A learner should be able to open course companion books at the lesson they just watched and find the explanation, the example, and the practice without hunting. If the book only repeats the video in sentences, it gives them a second copy of something they already saw.
Start your book, freeWhat course companion books include
Companion books for course creators give learners a place to revisit an explanation without replaying a lesson. Course companion books keep examples close to practice and add context where a demonstration depends on something shown on screen. Map each chapter to a lesson name the learner will recognize. Then add the piece the video cannot hold still: a worked example they can reread, a checklist, or a task with enough instruction to start alone.
Course creators can develop written material around a familiar module sequence in Bookeen. Decide what learners should remember and do, then build course companion books around that work. Course creators review terminology and references alongside the lessons before sharing the edition. When a lesson changes, mark the chapter that must change with it. Course companion books go stale first in the examples and the assignment steps, not in the broad description of the topic.
Course companion books and exercises
Practical exercises
- Turn learning goals into useful tasks.
- Include examples and review criteria.
- Give learners a reason to practise.
Introductory guides
- Solve one problem for a new reader.
- Explain the topic within a clear scope.
- Introduce the course through useful material.
Course creators at work: a photography companion
Illustrative example: use Bookeen to plan a course companion for introductory photography. Connect lessons on light, composition and camera choices with short assignments between videos. This sample describes a writing approach, not measured course completion or sales results. Use your real module names in the sample structure, even if you rewrite the sample topic. The test of the outline is whether a learner who finished lesson three would know which heading to open.
Map the course modules
Course creators begin with the module list and learning goals. Identify the terms, examples, and demonstrations the learner needs. Separate material that belongs in the written companion from video-specific instructions and discussion that does not need repeating. List the lessons in the order a learner meets them, and write what they should be able to do after each one. Chapters that do not match that list become a second course hiding inside the book.
Structure each chapter
Course creators structure course companion books one chapter at a time. Keep the course’s terminology consistent. Add context where a reader may arrive directly at the chapter rather than following the entire course in order. Give each chapter the heading a learner would recognize from the course, then add only what the lesson cannot hold still. If you remove the checklist and the worked example and the chapter still says everything the video said, you have a transcript.
Develop the assignments
Course creators design assignments around skills learners can practise. Explain what to look for, not just what button to press. Include reflection questions that connect the exercise back to the lesson’s main idea.
Check lesson alignment
Course creators check the companion against the current lessons. Test the instructions without playing the video. Inspect the final file, and keep a note of which course version the companion reflects so future updates have a clear starting point. Pick three lessons at random and find them from the table of contents using only the words a learner remembers. If you have to know your private naming scheme, the companion will not help on the night they are stuck.
Choose one subject and photograph it beside a window at two different times of day. Keep your framing similar. Compare the direction of the shadows and the detail you can see, then explain which image better supports the mood you wanted.
Course companion books by learning task
Course companion
- Follow the course’s learning sequence.
- Keep explanations useful without the video.
Workbook
- Organize tasks around specific skills.
- Explain how learners can review their work.
Lead Management guide
- Explain how a lead moves from first interest to a relevant next step.
- Define qualification and follow-up in the course business context.
Free writing & publishing tools for Course Creators
Plan companion books for course creators with tools for ideas, grammar and length. Course creators can turn a module summary into a readable explanation, then review whether each assignment connects to the lesson. Build one module before you commit the pattern: explanation, example, and a task. Use the lesson's own names. A companion that invents a private vocabulary makes the learner translate on the night they are stuck.
Course companion books: writing guides
Explore the next steps in planning, revising and sharing your book.
Planning Companion Books for Course Creators
Map course modules to written explanations, examples and assignments that work without the video. A companion earns its place when a learner who just finished a lesson can find the example and the task without hunting. If the book only repeats the video in sentences, it is a second copy of something they already saw.
Create Practice that Goes Beyond a Transcript
Design assignments that help learners use an idea rather than simply repeat it. Check the examples and the assignment steps first when a lesson changes. General advice stays plausible long after the clicks and the worked case have gone stale. Those are the lines that train people to distrust the current course.
Keep a Companion Book Aligned with Course Updates
Track the explanations, exercises, and references affected when a lesson changes. Decide whether the learner will read beside the lesson on a phone or print a page to write on. Then open the file and try one task with the video closed. If the task needs the video to make sense, the chapter is not ready.
FAQs
Course creators: companion book questions
A course companion book follows a course module by module, adding readings, summaries and exercises that help learners put each lesson into practice. Bookeen plans the book around your lessons so each chapter matches a module, and you review it before exporting PDF or EPUB files for your learners. New accounts start with 30 free credits to test the outline and one chapter.
Companion books for course creators should include explanations, examples and practice that work in writing. Course creators can use matching module names to connect the book with lessons. Check visual references and avoid reproducing every spoken sentence from a transcript. Keep the lesson's promise, a short explanation in writing, a worked example, and a task the learner can start without rewinding. Storytelling that does not help them do the thing belongs back in the video.
Keep module names and key terms aligned so learners can connect the course and the book. Within each chapter, use the order that makes the written explanation clear. Add enough context for someone returning directly to one topic. Follow the lesson order, and use the lesson's names for the main ideas. You do not have to transcribe the asides. Add the reference and the practice the video rushes past.
Give learners something to produce, compare or decide after a lesson. Explain the task, its purpose and what to look for in the result. A course workbook should help learners apply the idea, with examples or prompts that support the assignment. A workbook page asks the learner to produce something and leaves space for it. A companion can include that, but it also has to explain and point back to the lesson. If every page is only a blank prompt, you have changed the kind of book.
Let the essential explanations and practice determine the length. A fixed page count per video hour can add repetition or leave a difficult concept unexplained. Start with one module, review it as a learner would use it and cut material that adds no value. Length should follow the lessons, not a target page count. A short lesson may need a checklist. A dense lesson may need a worked example and two tasks. Adding pages that do not help the learner do the work makes the book easier to abandon.
Record which course version the companion reflects. When lessons change, review the affected explanations, assignments, terminology and references together. Request focused revisions in Bookeen, then check them in context. The book does not automatically sync with a course platform. Keep a note of which chapter serves which lesson, and change the chapter when the lesson's steps or examples change. A book that still teaches last year's clicks will train people to distrust the current course.
A companion gives learners another way to use your material, but its effect depends on the course, audience and how you introduce it. Bookeen does not guarantee completion or sales increases. Check whether learners can follow the explanations and use the assignments. A companion gives learners a place to return. It does not by itself finish the course for them or create buyers. Judge it by whether a stuck learner can take the next step from the page.