Online Learning
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In recent months I have been trying out online learning approaches. I’m guessing most people are familiar with TED talks these days. These are a great way to listen to focused, polished talks by an incredibly diverse range of thinkers – giving the talk of their lives!
Then there MOOCs (massive open online courses) which are being offered by universities around the world for free. These are a really good way to dip into a subject and learn about it from online video and reading materials prepared by academics who are regularly teaching that subject. I’m doing a couple of these over the next couple of months. The first is on Psychology and Mental Health: Beyond Nature and Nurture, which is being presented by Professor Peter Kinderman from University of Liverpool. The second is run by Dan Trowsdale from University of Leeds and is on Innovation: the key to business success. These are both available on the Futurelearn platform. I’m looking forward to participating in these.
The other platform I have found really useful is en*theos which provides online conferences and workshops. I did the first of these some months ago. Called ‘The Great Work MBA’, it was led by Michael Bungay Stanier. It was a week of interviews about what it means to do great work. Each video is on,one for 24 hours, if you miss any you can buy the whole package for download. It’s a great format as it creates the momentum to keep with it, and if the materials are really good there is the opportunity to continue to study after the event, something I did with this one. I have also been involved in conferences on this platform on creativity and productivity – both really interesting. Last week I took part in one on presentation skills, called ‘Speak like a pro’ and presented by Jenny Blake – it had loads of tips and ideas.
I know we all have different learning styles, but I am finding this approach to lifelong learning to be really well suited to mine. What works best for you?
2 thoughts on “Online Learning”
I have done a Creative writing course on a MOOC which was good. I would recommend the Future Learn portal which is a partnership of UK universitieshttps://www.futurelearn.com