I love online courses. What I don’t love is:
- Extra time in front of a screen.
- Not being able to listen at 2X speed.
- Watching someone talk to a camera without helpful visual information I need to see.
- Searching for where I left off in a long lesson.
The more friction there is, the less likely you are to complete a course.
I want courses to be as convenient as listening to an audiobook: Open the app and press play.
The benefits are:
- No Extra Time: I can take the course while walking my dog, driving my car, etc.
- Better retention: I find that I’m more present when my body is moving than when I’m sitting in front of a screen.
- Speed control: 1.5-2X works for me without losing any comprehension.
- Intelligent Resumption: The app rewinds a little so you remember where you left off.
- Queuing: You can add all your files to a queue so that you don’t have to figure out what’s next when you’re on the go.
How I Turn Online Courses Into Audiobooks
This works on MacOS. There are probably similar apps for Windows & Linux.
1. Get the audio files
Some courses provide audio downloads.
For everything else, you can use Downie to download almost any audio/video media from the Internet.
2. Create an audiobook
Use Permute to convert it to an audiobook.
3. Send it to your podcast player
Many podcast players allow you to upload your files.
I use PocketCasts Plus, which lets you do that for $2 per month.
Use the PocketCasts web app to upload the files or send them via Airdrop.
Then add them to your queue and enjoy.
4. Integrate
Passively ingesting content isn’t enough. Once I’ve gone through an online course this way, I know what I need to do. Then, I go back and review lessons, do the exercises, create summaries, etc.