4 Community and belonging
You can connect with other students studying an Open qualification in various ways including via the student forums, hosted on the qualification subject site, where students can ask questions about module choices, pathways and module combinations, and also via student-led Facebook groups.
The Student Hub Live Archive is the Open University’s repository of recorded interactive sessions hosted by OU tutors. The recordings include study skills workshops, community events, and plenty of ideas, best practices, tips, tools and resources that can be very helpful, and you’ll get to hear both from guest experts and fellow students.
The archive also has the SHL Podcast offering, with episodes produced and presented by an OU PhD student and an OU alumnus. Heidi and Scott chat about their own experiences of studying, why they started, what they loved, the challenges they faced and how studying changed their lives.
All recordings and the podcasts are available via the Student Hub Live website and are accessible for all OU students.
Open qualifications students might be interested in these sessions:
Don’t forget the OpenSU has a thriving community with several opportunities to get involved in their different interest groups, such as clubs and societies. They have many different groups and are a good place for support and advice when studying. The Hoot is a great way to stay in touch with the wider OU student community, learning more about what OpenSU does and what it can offer you as an OU student.
Activity 5
Select one of these opportunities to engage with the wider Open community and explore it further. Note down some of the benefits engaging with the wider study community might bring you.