How to study this course
This course is slightly different to other OpenLearn Study Units. Although you could study this course on its own, it is also the third course of the free Learning to learn course. This course pilots an exciting new approach that aims to give you more flexibility and a pathway to expand your learning, so please bear with us if things are not quite right.
Learning to learn is for people who are thinking about making changes in their lives, such as returning to study or taking a different direction at work. It will help you to build on what you already know; to consider the choices open to you; to use your skills and qualities to achieve change; and to make plans for the future. To find out more go to the Learning to learn course page.
The course is designed to be studied in one week, although you can take as long as you like. If you are studying the course as part of the Learning to learn course you may like to aim to complete each course in a week.
Working through this course
As you work through the course, breaks will be important. You will have to determine how long you can study this material before you need to stop and relax. Be sure to take advantage of all of your resources – friends, family, the internet.
Learning Journals
As you work through the course it is a good idea to keep a Learning Journal, where you can make notes on activities, key words and concepts or elements that are particularly relevant for you. Your Learning Journal can either be a notebook or you may wish to create an electronic journal either by creating a document on your computer or mobile device, or create a personal blog.
Thinking about how you are getting on with your learning is also very helpful when it comes to improving how you are learning or simply looking back on your progress so far. You can use your Learning Journal to do this. Think about whether you have found the best time to study, whether you are taking enough or too many notes, and whether you have understood all the concepts covered in a course.
How you use your Learning Journal is personal to you. Writing things down in your own words will help your understanding. It will give you a handy review of the main ideas that you can refer to later. People learn in different ways, and it is important for you to experiment to find out which methods work best for you.
Support
While there is no officially support on this course, we hope that you, as a community of learners, will support each other and share ideas. As this is the first time the course has been run, the OpenLearn team will be monitoring the comments and forums to assist with common issues.
Pencasts
This course also features pencasts, which are animated PDF files with an audio commentary. In order to view these you will need to have Adobe Reader X or higher with the volume on your computer/device turned up.
Comments, forums and Facebook group
You can share your ideas and ask questions via the comments function or in the course forum or on the Learning to learn Facebook group. You do not have to use any, or all, of these platforms to share your thoughts and meet other learners. Use the online environment you feel most comfortable with.
Why do we provide a choice? Everyone has a preference for how they engage on online. Some will want to be actively involved throughout the course whereas others may just dip in and out without participating. As this is a pilot, we are interested in finding out if our learners would like the option of using social networking sites like Facebook as a community area.
If you have questions or suggestions on how we could improve the course or course please address them to the OpenLearn team and post them in the forum discussion - Questions for OpenLearn.
Enrolment
This course is for people who are thinking about making changes in their lives, such as returning to study or taking a different direction at work. It will help you build on what you already know; consider the choices open to you; use your skills and qualities to achieve change; and make plans for the future. Although you can view this course without enrolling, in order to participate in its activities and quizzes, you need to enrol.