Introduction and guidance
Welcome to this badged open course, Take your teaching online.
The free course lasts eight weeks, with approximately four hours of study each week, plus extra time for the badge quiz and reflection at the end of week eight. You can work through the course at your own pace, so if you have more time one week there is no problem with pushing on to complete another week’s study.
Online learning has rapidly emerged and 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 ran its first fully online postgraduate course in 1998 and its first fully online undergraduate course in 1999. 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.
You will hear about the experiences of real educators, be introduced to recent research, and understand the ideas and tools that shape how we teach and learn online. You will also learn useful methods that will guide you to test out these new ideas in your own practice.
After completing this course, you should be able to
- Identify the differences between teaching online and teaching in a face-to-face environment.
- Make informed decisions when choosing new tools and pedagogies for online teaching.
- Identify major benefits and challenges of teaching online.
- Understand the changing practices of educators as they make use of online opportunities such as social networks and open educational resources.
- Understand how to create and evaluate approaches to online teaching that are appropriate for you.