Stuff I Love Post 7

[smallhobbit]

FutureLearn.  I've been taking FutureLearn courses for nearly 2.5 years.  Although they cover a wide variety of subject areas, I've concentrated on Creative Arts, History, Language and Literature.  In that time I've finished 63 courses of varying lengths and interests.

Courses can run from two to eight weeks and each course states how long it should take to study each week.  Obviously, that depends on the student's depth of commitment, which in my case will also be determined by how engaging the course is.  Each week is broken up into a number of steps, generally between 15 and 22/23, and those steps will come under different headings, so it's possible to split the course over a number of days in the week.

Each step will have a video and/or written text, possibly supporting documents as pdfs, and maybe additional references to other sites.  There's also a comments section, where students are encouraged to interact with each other, and on some courses the mentors will also comment.  The appeal, for me, is that this means there are a variety of different teaching styles within the subject, which, of course, help to re-inforce the points being made.  The comment section may be used to answer a question set during the step, but this isn't always the case.

In addition, some courses have quizzes as one of the steps.  These are generally multiple-choice or one word answers.  The quizzes don't count for anything, but are helpful to see if what one has just been learning about has actually gone in.  There may also be formal tests, but these only apply if you pay for the course, or have upgraded to unlimited.  I like to challenge myself to do well at the quizzes, but they can be skipped if the student wishes.

Some courses have peer reviewed assignments, which I like to do, although they can be quite challenging.  The one I did earlier this week was very hard, but on the plus side, when I read others' assignments, and got my own review back I realised I wasn't the only one who was struggling.

I've learnt a lot on all sorts of subjects taking these courses.  Some haven't lived up to my expectations, others have completely exceeded them.  The enthusiasm of the presenters makes a lot of difference, and particularly where the final step of the week has been a video summation which reflects on comments and questions throughout the week.  The subjects seem to become less academic and more real and relevant.

So, yes, I have a fascination for learning new things, and this feeds that fascination very well.  It's even encouraged my creativity - hence the icon on this post.

Comments

[therealsnape]

That sounds like such a wonderful activity!

[smallhobbit]

Yes, I've been really pleased with what I've gained from it.

[debriswoman]

I have only ever done one course through futurelearn...a mandatory safeguarding one, but the range looks fascinating:-)

[smallhobbit]

There are all sorts of professional courses - I took one which related to inclusive education as that's the are where my current employer is involved. And I would certainly recommend the more general interest courses.

[corvidology]

It's always been fun for me hearing about the courses you've been taking! :D

[smallhobbit]

Thank you very much!

[moth2fic]

It sounds perfect for you and your inquiring mind! I personally tend to prefer going much deeper into one subject over a longer period but that's just me. I think this style of learning would probably suit Mr Moth though he sets his own topics and gathers his own materials then finds people to discuss with later. I'm glad you 'discovered' the courses and that they've brought you so much pleasure. It's always interesting to hear about your experience and have a brief review of the course!

[smallhobbit]

Yes, definitely suits my magpie mind. It also means I cover subjects I wouldn't normally read about, so I get a broader view on things. One of the delights is finding that something I've learnt in one course ties in with something within a quite different course. And if something really grabs me there's always the possibility of going deeper elsewhere.

[luthienberen]

Wow, 63 courses! That is incredible. Learning new things is so important to growth and creativity. I wish you many more fulfilling courses with FutureLearn :)

[smallhobbit]

Thank you. I find learning new things fascinating, and even if they aren't particularly relevant they all help to expand the mind.

[rusty_armour]

Wow! 63 courses is seriously impressive -- not matter how long or short they might have been. It's great that you've been able to get so much out of FutureLearn courses. I found it really interesting to read your description of how each course typically works in terms of the number of steps required each week, etc. One of these days, I would really like to try taking at least one FutureLearn course to see what it's like.

[smallhobbit]

I'd certainly recommend trying one. As with everything, what works for me may not work for you, but it does seem to be a good structure.

[adafrog]

Cool.

[smallhobbit]

Thank you.

[margaret_r]

I do enjoy hearing about your courses and what you've learned from them and 63 is an amazing number:)

[smallhobbit]

Thank you :) It works out at about two courses a month which mounts up over time.