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The Open University

Take your teaching online

The Open University via OpenLearn

Overview

Online learning is now found in every area of education, from schools to skills training. More people than ever learn through online courses. Even where teaching is primarily ‘face to face’, online tools and interactions have become a key part of the learning experience.But teaching online is different. If you work in education or training at any level, you need to develop new skills and understanding in order to make the right decisions, make the most of the opportunities, and overcome common challenges.The Open University trialled our first fully online course in 1989. We are now world leaders in the research and delivery of online education. In this free course, we share the fundamental knowledge needed to deliver effective teaching online.This course is suitable for anyone moving teaching online, including educators, collaborators/support staff and leaders. In the course, you will be introduced to online education, hear about the experiences of other educators, and learn about principles of effective, inclusive and accessible online education. function toggle(obj) { var obj = document.getElementById(obj); if (obj.style.display == "block") obj.style.display = "none"; else obj.style.display = "block"; }View transcript [MUSIC PLAYING] NARRATOR: As a teacher, you may be looking for ways that technology can help to improve your teaching. In this free course you'll be introduced to key areas where online technology can transform your teaching practise. You'll hear from teachers who have successfully moved some of their teaching online. SARAH: Hello. SARAH: Hello. LEANNE: Hello. NARRATOR: You'll be accompanied in your study of this course by Rita. Rita is a great example of using technology to provide new ways of teaching. All Rita's videos were produced by a teacher entirely using online software. RITA: Hello, I'm Rita. I'm really looking forward to getting started on the course. NARRATOR: You will look at how online teaching differs from traditional face to face teaching. You will learn how to choose the right learning technologies for your context, and how to get support in developing your online teaching. This course can really help you to make a change in your teaching. Good luck. Enrolling on the course will give you the opportunity to earn an Open University digital badge. Badges are not accredited by The Open University but they're a great way to demonstrate your interest in the subject and commitment to your career, and to provide evidence of continuing professional development.Once you are signed in, you can manage your digital badges online from My OpenLearn. In addition, you can download and print your OpenLearn statement of participation - which also displays your Open University badge.The Open University would really appreciate a few minutes of your time to tell us about yourself and your expectations for the course before you begin, in our optional start-of-course survey. Once you complete the course we would also value your feedback and suggestions for future improvement, in our optional end-of-course survey. Participation will be completely confidential and we will not pass on your details to others. This course is accredited by the CPD Standards Office. It can be used to provide evidence of continuing professional development and on successful completion of the course you will be awarded 24 CPD points. Evidence of your CPD achievement is provided on the free Statement of Participation awarded on completion.Anyone wishing to provide evidence of their enrolment on this course is able to do so by sharing their Activity Record on their OpenLearn Profile, which is available before completion of the course and earning of the Statement of Participation.

Syllabus

  • Introduction and guidance
  • Introduction and guidance
  • Moving around the course
  • Cited works
  • What is a badged course?
  • What is a badge?
  • How to get a badge
  • Acknowledgements
  • Week1Week 1 Teaching online is different
  • Introduction
  • 1 Managing your study
  • 1.1 Being an online learner
  • 1.2 Your learning community
  • 1.3 Supporting your own learners
  • 1.4 Compassion and care online
  • 2 Online learning and wellbeing
  • 3 Digital Badge
  • 4 Online learning
  • 5 Teacher reflections
  • 6 This week’s quiz
  • Summary
  • References
  • Acknowledgements
  • Week2Week 2 Online learning
  • Introduction
  • 1 Synchronous and asynchronous
  • 1.1 Collaboration
  • 1.2 Reflections
  • 1.3 Asynchronous and synchronous teaching opportunities
  • 1.4 Interacting with learners
  • 1.5 Motivation and support
  • 1.6 Developing skills and confidence
  • 2 Blended learning
  • 2.1 Flipped classrooms
  • 3 Learner anonymity, backchannels and social interactions
  • 4 This week’s quiz
  • Summary
  • References
  • Acknowledgements
  • Week3Week 3 Understanding online learning
  • Introduction
  • 1 Principles of effective online teaching
  • 1.1 Create a schedule
  • 1.2 Know the students
  • 1.3 Foster a sense of community
  • 2 Educational theories that can help take teaching online
  • 2.1 Behaviourism
  • 2.2 Cognitivism
  • 2.3 Constructivism
  • 3 Digital technologies for online teaching
  • 3.1 Learning management systems
  • 3.2 Content creation tools
  • 3.3 Networking and collaboration tools
  • 3.4 Enhancing existing tools and materials
  • 4 This week’s quiz
  • Summary
  • References
  • Acknowledgements
  • Week4Week 4 Selecting technologies
  • Introduction
  • 1 Technologies for content creation
  • 1.1 Repurposing and extending slide presentations
  • 1.2 Screencasting
  • 1.3 Low-tech, low-complexity video recording
  • 1.4 Image manipulation
  • 1.5 Small interactive tools with big impact
  • 1.6 E-learning development tools
  • 1.7 Web conferencing platforms
  • 1.8 Plagiarism detection
  • 2 Personalisation with tools for learning
  • 2.1 Serving diverse audiences
  • 2.2 Giving control to learners
  • 3 Technologies for social communication
  • 3.1 Social technologies for promoting community
  • 3.2 Social technologies for enhancing online presence
  • 4 Tools in a changing technology sector
  • 4.1 Linking learning outcomes, activities and tools
  • 5 Badge quiz
  • Summary
  • References
  • Acknowledgements
  • Week5Week 5 Communities and networks
  • Introduction
  • 1 Benefits of engaging with online networks
  • 1.1 Sharing ideas and resources
  • 1.2 Professional development
  • 1.3 Making contacts
  • 2 Communities
  • 2.1 Communities of practice
  • 3 Developing communities of practice
  • 3.1 Microblogging
  • 4 This week’s quiz
  • Summary
  • References
  • Acknowledgements
  • Week6Week 6 OER and Creative Commons
  • Introduction
  • 1 Open Educational Resources (OER)
  • 1.1 What are OER?
  • 2. Copyright and the role for Creative Commons licences
  • 3 Evaluating the quality and relevance of OER
  • 4. Licensing your own materials
  • 5 Finding resources online
  • 5.1 Searching for OER
  • 6 This week’s quiz
  • Summary
  • References
  • Acknowledgements
  • Week7Week 7 Accessibility in online education
  • Introduction
  • 1 What is assistive technology?
  • 1.1 Types of assistive technology
  • 2 Making your online materials accessible
  • 2.1 Ensuring clarity of navigation and appearance
  • 2.2 Making visual elements accessible
  • 2.3 Making auditory elements accessible
  • 2.4 Making display elements adjustable
  • 2.5 Ensuring tasks can be completed without needing manual dexterity or visual acuity
  • 3 Checking the accessibility of materials
  • 4 Alternative formats
  • 5 This week’s quiz
  • Summary
  • References
  • Acknowledgements
  • Week8Week 8 Assessment and changing practice
  • Introduction
  • 1 Making the change
  • 1.1 Technology supporting learning
  • 2 Technology or pedagogy?
  • 2.1 Visitors and residents
  • 3 Learning to learn online
  • 3.1 Self-regulation
  • 4 Learning design
  • 5 Assessment
  • 5.1 Technology-enabled assessment
  • 5.2 Multiple-choice questions
  • 5.3 Confidence-based marking
  • 5.4 MCQs: mistakes to avoid
  • 5.5 Exam proctoring
  • 6 Changing practice
  • 7 End-of-course quiz
  • Summary
  • Next steps
  • References
  • Acknowledgements

Reviews

5.0 rating, based on 1 Class Central review

4.8 rating at OpenLearn based on 24 ratings

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  • Profile image for Maria Villalonga
    Maria Villalonga
    es una clase muy útil, bien estructurada, clarificadora y que, definitivamente, recomendaría. Los recursos son adecuados y fáciles de usar. El contenido se expone de manera clara y concisa a la vez que bien desarrollado.

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