Study how to learn online
DEAKIN OFFERS FREE COURSE
THE COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way we work. Businesses which are able to do so have transitioned to working online, and many of us are working remotely for the first time, managing operations directly from our homes.
Educational institutions too have transitioned to online learning, a new experience for many students.
To help ease that transition for students and employees alike, Deakin University has announced that its two-week short course, Transforming Digital Learning: Learning Design meets Service Design, will be available for free.
The course will be accessible during the next six months through FutureLearn, a website specialising in online learning.
It also comes with a free digital upgrade, meaning that users will have access to any articles or videos that supplement the course material, as well as tests to validate their learning.
FutureLearn’s courses act like a starter course for a degree: enough to give you a sense of the subject, as well as being your first steps towards a qualification.
Forming part of Deakin’s Digital Learning Leadership degree, the short course offers a range of practical strategies for transitioning to digital learning and professional digital practice.
Deakin’s deputy vice-chancellor of education, Professor Liz Johnson, says the free short course focuses on the latest thinking and literature on digital learning.
“We also look at the relatively new concept of ‘ service design’ as part of our design practices, which allows practitioners to create holistic online learning experiences while keeping learners first and foremost in mind,” Prof Johnson said.
The course also explores how digital technologies are changing the way we learn, as well as examining key roles in digital learning and design teams.
“Students in this course will be able to draw on and expand their current knowledge and practice at a time when we’re seeing a sharp rise in the importance of effective digital learning and communication.”
The course is particularly relevant during these chaotic times. It’s wellsuited to learning professionals
— such as teachers, trainers and other educators
— but is also applicable to anyone who has recently transitioned to working and studying online.
Deakin partnered with FutureLearn in 2016 in a worldfirst move to deliver full postgraduate degrees.
This provides global online access to Deakin’s premium learning experiences, from free short two-week courses, through to full postgraduate degrees — all delivered in easily manageable steps through a highly interactive 24/7 social learning platform.