fbpx
Home Blog Page 1350

Happy English Language Day from FutureLearn!

By
onlinefreecourse
-
0
Happy English Language Day from FutureLearn!

First held in 2010, the day coincides with William Shakespeare’s birthday and celebrates English as one of six official UN languages.

To mark the occasion, we spoke to IELTS expert Chris Cavey about how the British Council’s online IELTS course helped 2.2 million students learn English last year, enabling them to live, work or study overseas.

Did you know that 193 countries are UN members? With that many members speaking so many languages, there are just six official languages – English has been used as the lingua franca or bridge language in Europe since the interwar years.

I’ve had a think about why I think taking an IELTS course with FutureLearn is worthwhile. Beyond being intellectually stimulating, it’s something which has a positive impact on your prospects in employment and movement, globally.

Here are my two key reasons for learning English skills using the IELTS course.

  1. “It really is a global test, why not learn English in a global classroom?”

You see, it’s not a test that just uses English as spoken here in the UK, but the accents and customs of English wherever it’s spoken, from Australia to the US.

It’s the world’s most popular English test for higher education and global migration – IELTS is accepted by over 10,000 organisations worldwide.

So if you’re thinking about pursuing a career or study abroad, IELTS opens doors to universities, employers and even immigration authorities to help make this a reality.

The course you will take reflects the international reach of IELTS – and English as a whole – learners from around the world share their opinions and questions, helping one another to be more confident about English language tests.

  1. “Even before your IELTS results, you’ll boost your English language confidence”

Our free online course, “Understanding IELTS: Techniques for English Language Tests,” aims to help build your confidence over six weeks. The course focuses on each part of the test (listening, reading, speaking and writing), to give you the best chance to improve and get your desired IELTS score.

By the end of the course you’ll gain a clear picture of what is expected of you in the exam, developing your English language skills in the process. Videos and practice materials illustrate the format of the IELTS test, the best way to prepare for the real thing.

Useful to anyone learning English, working or studying abroad, and taking an English test – especially if your plan is to take IELTS.

Join the free online course, “Understanding IELTS: Techniques for English Language Tests,” now or find out more about today’s celebrations using #EnglishLanguageDay.

For other courses and to stay up to date with FutureLearn find us on Twitter and Facebook.

Not feeling social? Sign up for Lily’s alerts via e-mail here.

Do Moocs generate return on investment?

By
onlinefreecourse
-
0
Do Moocs generate return on investment?

Ang Davies, senior lecturer in clinical bioinformatics and genomics at the University of Manchester looks at the pros and cons of the University of Manchester’s recent clinical bioinformatics MOOC. Originally appeared in Times Higher Education. 

Genomics, the study of people’s genetic make-up, is revolutionising healthcare. Expanding far beyond the field of clinical genetics, it is now being used to diagnose disease, make disease prognoses and also predict potential adverse outcomes to treatments and tailor an individual’s treatment.

Clinical bioinformaticians are designing the IT infrastructure, data governance and analysis pipelines to allow the analysis of huge genomic data sets but, as a profession, clinical bioinformatics is still in its infancy (and is something of a mystery to some healthcare professionals). Because of this, we decided to create a Futurelearn massive open online course (MOOC) to raise awareness of this important new profession.

One year on (and five runs of our MOOC later), I wonder what value our course has added to the healthcare professional community, to The University of Manchester, and also to us as academics.

At what cost?

The development costs of producing a MOOC should not be underestimated. In 2015, a Times Higher Education study that looked at the real costs of developing MOOCs found figures varied from £10,000 to £50,000, with an average of £29,356. Our development costs were  £26,000, and running costs probably ran into the hundreds of pounds each time (although with genomics changing so rapidly it’s likely that the need for redevelopment will come quickly).

Early rhetoric suggested that MOOCs might threaten traditional university face-to-face provision. But the tide has turned, and the focus of many MOOCs has moved from widening participation in education to income generation. For some institutions they generate significant revenue, earning an estimated $100 million (£75 million) in 2016 according to a recent report.

FutureLearn’s financial model has recently changed, and while learners can still access the courses for free, there is now the option of a paid upgrade allowing continued access for the life of the course.  

What value have Moocs brought to us as academics?

As with any rapidly developing field, the lifetime of the material created is finite – long-term sustainability will require significant academic and learning technologist support – a cost that we will need to factor in to any future courses. The time, commitment and effort that MOOCs demand should not be trivialised – I would estimate an average of 20 hours of academic or facilitator time to respond to the discussions and write end-of-week summary emails.

Within our course, case studies and articles are interspersed with quizzes, polls and discussion topics to encourage debate and discussion among learners. Educator engagement and participation is certainly important to the learners and our experience has been that MOOC learners engage better in discussions when educators and facilitator presence is high, which of course adds to the academic pressure of running a course.

This demand from the learners does also bring advantages to us as educators, ensuring we keep up to speed with updates in the field and simultaneously developing our public engagement skills. The MOOC has provided a good forum to explore how our science interacts with the wider community – for example, learners who are carers for people with rare genetic conditions.

Value of data

From a data analytics perspective, MOOCs generate data in abundance. We can use this to discern patterns of learning in relation to the learner demographic and predict those more likely to complete a MOOC, but we can also look for the peak content that generates the most discussion. From a course-design perspective this enables an educator to test content that might be useful for the development of any further distance learning.

Comments posted within FutureLearn courses provide a rich source of data to explore public views on issues related to the content. We have used these to explore perceptions of genomic data sharing.

A useful marketing tool?

MOOCs offer an attractive opportunity to market an institution’s educational portfolio in related subjects. Following our March 2017 course we tracked visits to our MSc genomic Medicine page, included as a link in the post-course survey. Those following this link spent four minutes longer on our website than other visitors, illustrating its power as a marketing tool. Translating this to enquiries, applications and confirmed students, though, is a lot more challenging.

Value for money? Yes. Hard work? Definitely!

Investment in the development and delivery of a MOOC is significant, though the opportunities it presents for pedagogic exploration, subject specific research and promotional activity are extensive. The value we have seen come from intangibles, the ability to reuse material, engage with a wider audience and raise the profile of our discipline. We have also seen that it works well as a marketing tool.

However, other tangible benefits, such as a significant increase in extra students to existing courses or direct income from the MOOC, have not been as forthcoming. I have no doubt that our MOOC’s future will demand creativity and innovation but will continue to stimulate our development as educators.

Category
Research insights

What do MOOC learners like and dislike?

By
onlinefreecourse
-
0
What do MOOC learners like and dislike?

A short blogpost on the subject of what MOOC learners like and dislike, originally published on Evalu-ate

Written by Kerrie Douglas, Assistant Professor and Gaurav Nanda, Postdoctoral Research Assistant, Purdue University 

Massive open online course (MOOC) learners vary widely in background and learning objectives. MOOCs are still trying to understand their learners better and provide content that is more suited to their needs. To understand the likes and dislikes of MOOC learners at a general level, we partnered with FutureLearn to study the responses to post-course survey questions from over 800 courses on its popular social learning platform. We analyzed open-ended questions that asked the learners about their most and least favorite parts of the course and ideas for course improvement.

We used Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) topic model, a widely used statistical approach for exploratory analysis of large textual data, to identify underlying topics from the responses to each question. The LDA model represents each topic as a collection of closely related words and each document as a mixture of topics with associated weights. The topics identified were assessed qualitatively for coherence and relevance. Some of the main themes that emerged were:

Lecture videos: Many learners mentioned videos as their favorite part of the course. They said that they could understand the course content better and at a greater speed with videos because the information was presented to them by expert instructors in a clear and structured manner. Some learners suggested using real-life examples in lectures and providing subtitles in different languages.

Social interaction: A lot of learners greatly enjoyed interacting with peers and instructors on discussion forums and wanted more avenues of interaction, such as live sessions and chat messengers. Some learners, however, did not enjoy online discussions because of a lack of time or the limitation of the medium, which they said led to misinterpretation of thoughts.

Evaluations: Many learners wanted more quizzes and assignments, as these helped them to consolidate and retain information, and validate their understanding. While many learners were fine with peers evaluating their work, some would have preferred their work be evaluated by teaching assistants.

Access to learning material: Easy access to learning material for the course and further study was highly valued by many learners. Some learners suggested uploading access-restricted journal articles and providing specific learning material.

Time commitment: Many learners mentioned that they wanted a reasonable estimate of the time commitment at the beginning of the course, as they felt that they spent more than the expected time. They suggested that the syllabus clearly mention the prerequisites, and the list and depth of topics to be covered in the course so that they could decide and budget their time accordingly.

Lesson Learned

Overall, we gained meaningful insights about likes and dislikes of MOOC learners, which will help MOOC providers to design their courses better. We found topic modeling to be an efficient method for exploratory analysis of large and unseen textual data such as discussion forums and open-ended responses. However, it is important to note that the topics generated by the model may not always be interpretable. Therefore, qualitative assessment of topics is necessary. MALLET is an easy-to-use toolkit that can be used to start exploring topic modeling, with the help of this tutorial.

This work was originally published on Evalu-ate on March 7th, 2018.

Category
Research insights

How Much Do You Know About Your Family’s History?

By
onlinefreecourse
-
0
How Much Do You Know About Your Family’s History?

How much have your parents, grandparents or other relatives told you about your family’s past? Are there aspects of this history that you wish you knew more about?

Helen Zia begins “My Mother’s Secrets,” her essay about learning about her own family history, this way:

Growing up in the 1950s as one of the few Chinese-American kids in my New Jersey town, I was so often told to “go back where you came from” that I wondered about this place called China, where I had never been. But whenever I asked my mother about her young life in China, I always received the same curt answer: “That was wartime, unhappy memory.”

Over time, I stopped asking. Until one day, when she was in her 70s and we were having dinner in her small apartment, I lapsed into my childhood mantra. “Too bad you can’t tell me about my grandparents in China,” I muttered with no expectation of a reply.

But this time my mother put down her chopsticks and said: “All right, you want to know? I’ll tell you.”

I listened, transfixed, as my gentle mother launched into a tale with such clarity and force that I sat mute, fearing any sound from me would disrupt the narrative unfolding like a storybook that had never been opened:

After hearing some of the harrowing history her mother had hidden from her, Ms. Zia writes:

Learning my mother’s stories for the first time, I began to understand why so many of the refugees and migrants chose not to tell their children about their exodus from Shanghai. Why recall trauma and hardship when, after finding places of refuge, they could focus on encouraging their children to reach their full potential? They themselves had not had that opportunity.

Even a cursory look at immigrants in America shows that a disproportionate number of their offspring pay forward their parents’ sacrifices. The Shanghai exodus produced Maya Lin, the architect, Elaine Chao, the secretary of transportation, the Nobel laureate physicist Steven Chu and the novelist Amy Tan. Other migrations have brought the nation talents as varied as the former secretary of state Colin Powell, the writer Edwidge Danticat, the guitarist Carlos Santana, the actress Lupita Nyong’o and too many more to name.

My mother did not live to see herself in my book, but her secrets enabled me to see today’s migration crises through the eyes of a frightened child. It should not take another seven decades to grasp why present-day migrants risk all to face tear gas at a border, to brave rough seas in rubber rafts, to crowd into the next boat, plane, train or bus out of fear that it may be the last one out.

Or for the nation to realize that these refugees and migrants give so much more to the communities that welcome them than they will ever take away.

Students, read the entire piece, then tell us:

— Does anything in this piece remind you of your own family or background? How?

— What do you know about your family history? What stories get told over and over? Are there aspects of your parents’ or grandparents’ pasts that they seem reluctant to talk about? Why do you think that is?

— What would you like to know more about? How could you find out?

— How do you think your family’s history continues to resonate in your generation? What aspects of this history or culture are still a part of you? How?

— Ms. Zia reminds us that refugees and migrants often sacrifice to find places of refuge. If your family has ever immigrated from one place to another, do you know the details and the stories behind those journeys?

Students 13 and older are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public.

#29 to #11 Learning Systems for 2019

By
onlinefreecourse
-
0
#29 to #11 Learning Systems for 2019

You may have seen in the news or heard on your favorite social media channel who has received and or raised funding.   For some people this is by far impressive on who got what, especially if it over 100M, and as an analyst, I concur.   However, I always have to remember that plenty of systems do not go out and seek raising funds/receiving funds from Private Equity firms, VCs and alike.    

As a survivor of the dot.com days, I have noted that we in the e-learning space are for all the sense of the approach back in the dot.com days from a mentality perspective.  There are hundreds of companies that are on the wasteland of what was, never to be. Dreams of IPO, left to the sands of time.   

On the e-learning front, who can forget the darling Grovo and its 73M plus of funds from equity firms and alike?  But what you do not see is their burn rate, nor their financials in the end before being acquired.   I know of vendors whose burn rates are well, bad, but who are seen by folks as darlings.

But for those of us during those frenzy days of the late 90’s and early 2000’s, once a darling, can easily fade.

Just ask Webvan.

And now on to the rankings.

This post covers #29 to #11.  The first set #29 to #20 are listed, with #19 to #11 briefs.  As with the other vendors in the Top 50 Learning Systems for 2019, nearly all of them are on findanlms.com, my learning system search engine platform.  Schedule a demo. Compare each of them to other systems.  I recommend registering first, then login and explore the catalog of systems.  

#29 360Learning – LEP/LXP

#28 Syfadis Experience – LMS. Available only in France.

#27 Thought Industries – LMS targeting B2B/B2C, customer training

#26 Kalllidus Learn – LMS, strong in the supermarket space

#25 Roundtable Learning – LMS, very solid system

#24 MATRIX – LMS, lots to offer, very slick UI/UX

#23 Eurekos – LMS, Extremely robust system, one to watch in 2019

#22 LMS365 – LMS, Built on SharePoint Online, ties strongly into Office 365, very nice system

#21 Schoox – LMS,  Really strong system, lots to offer, another vendor to watch in 2019

2019 TOP 20 Learning System

#20 Kokm – LMS,  Definitely under the radar, so much potential it screams let me out and show the world.  Well, it screams that to me. 

#19 to #11

#19 glo Learn – LMS.  What’s not to like. Very good UI/UX, robust system. Learning Journeys are fun and valuable, without being lame (trust me, I’ve seen lame).

glo

Big wins include a skill rating tool, where learners assess their skills and upon completion the system recommends the appropriate learning content. Other items include machine learning, but the administrator cannot change the weights and points (a minus), digital signature capability in the mobile app, can create KPIs and measure them via metrics and multiple catalog support (many vendors do not support).  Built-in scan capability is on the roadmap for 2019 (via a mobile app).

#18 GyrusAim –  Under the radar for some folks, not me though. Surprisingly, in a good way, strong in functionality.  Big wins include the ability to assign multiple certificates to a single course/content (not a common feature), skill ratings including ability for managers to review skill ratings by learners and change the rating if needed and KPIs too.   Built-in scan capability (i.e. for scanning badges, etc.) also on the roadmap for 2019 – and via the mobile app.  A minus at this point is the lack of machine learning, but it is on their roadmap for 2019.  I see the system best suited for SMB, although the do support large enterprises too.  Don’t let the UI fool you, this system has oomph behind it.

gyrusaim

#17 – Wow, this system has come a long way.  Always robust, its past has been, well, dated UI, but that has changed. A new UI that says, “Hi, take a look at me.” And when I say robust I am not kidding. From a learning environment which supports multiple catalogs, hierarchies and deep links to machine learning, where the administrator can make changes and having a built-in GAP analysis tool too for skill assessment. The skill piece is super strong, including the manager ability to review skills that the learner has rated themselves as high. In my content section (of my template) they scored nine out of nine.  Also has goal management.  Not a big fan of the “syllabus” vernacular that is doable, but that is maybe just me.  While I love the analytical data, the initial screen dashboard of some of the items seems squished – you can expand the size to solve that, but the initial is squished.

imc_mobile

#16 Instancy OnDemand – You know the song, take me to the ballgame (uh assuming you have been to an American baseball game), well, the song has nothing to do with this system, but what it does say is stand up and shout, “Wow. Wow.”  – Always have been a fan of this system, because it does so many things, quite well. Scored a perfect 100 on my learning environment. Video management includes auto frame per second detection, ability to add a quiz to an already existing video.  Has machine learning, content curation and coaching component.  Not a fan of the analytical piece showing the system traffic because well, how does that benefit or even tell me about the training/learning perspective.  Great, if I was a web site for SEO, ehh, not so much for learning.

instancy

#15 LearnUpon – SMB to mid-size is where I see this system align best to. However, at the association level, easily 50,000+ user base.  A system that packs a lot.  The learner dashboard adds to the wins in my book. Very good UI and UX. Video management includes auto frames per second detection. Offers content curation and some coaching components. Multi-tenant is doable, although they charge for additional portals, past the first one (a minus IMO).  Very affordable, which makes it extremely attractive.  Social is a weak point overall, but then again, social in this industry has become stagnant. Lacks mobile apps, but does support m-learning and mobile responsiveness. Looks good on smartphone and tablet.

dashboard_achievements_Learn

#14 Degreed – LEP/LXP.  What is there to say that hasn’t been said about this system? Skill ratings is a big win for me. The UI/UX is good, but needs some enhancements, especially since others have caught up to them.  Mobile apps are available.  A lot of content is available for purchase, likely the most of any LEP/LXP, but not all of it is good – not a minus on Degreed – that is the content provider’s fault.    While they offer direct to consumer, this system is far better for employees and as a bolt-on to your LMS, rather than a standalone. I say that because it lacks the ability for an administrator to create and assign system roles.  Event management is non-existent too.  Has an LRS which is very good, but doesn’t leverage it as it should – would do wonders with data visualization.  Still the biggest minus to me is the inability of administrators to change weights, and the requirement that you must complete the content to score higher with the weights, thus the data in terms of what content is recommended via machine learning is skewed. 

degreed

#13 Cornerstone Learning Suite – The revamped UI/UX on the learner side is well, fantastic and kudos to Cornerstone for finally making the changes.  The admin side needs though improvement. This is an extremely robust system, and for some folks especially on the admin side, can be overwhelmingly.  That said, this is a system, who has achieved impressive results in the NexGen rankings (#2).  In my LMS RFP template, Cornerstone LS scored a perfect 100 in the machine learning category, as well as mobile, including built-in scan for badges – but it requires the Tribridge Attendance Integration Module (AIM).  I’ve never been a fan of module extras, and Cornerstone does offer this, understandable, for a system that contains a performance management component (as a mod).  That said, competencies/skill management in the system is quite good, and they have built-in an LXP.  

I wish their calendar offered different views including grids, but that is on the roadmap for 2019.  They also support crowdsourcing for content, which personally I’m not a fan of it, but it is something an administrator could do if they wanted (you are not forced to). 

CornerstoneLearning_01_learner-home

As you can see they support playlists – which I believe every system should offer/include. Oh, any of the items you see above can be hidden or removed, if you so choose. 

#12 Workday Learning – First off you need the Workday HCM in order to use Workday Learning. The system was one of the first to have that Netflix experience you see with so many vendors in today’s learning system world.  On the content side, they scored 95% and frankly the lack of system crowdsourcing wasn’t an issue to me, because well, I’m not a fan of it anyway.  Machine learning is quite good, but they do not allow administrators to change weights or points, thus data is skewed in my opinion.  Video plays a big role in the system and some of the terminology can confuse (it is not universal compared to most systems, for example, lessons doesn’t mean what you think it means).  Big wins include support for multiple catalogs, the ability for development paths or curriculum/learning paths to have contents placed in a specific order/hierarchy of learning and video sharing where a learner can share video content to another learner or multiple learners.   Minus is the lack of digital signature, a surprise honestly, and the inability for managers to monitor learning paths for each team member.

workdaycatalog

#11 Spoke – Vendor to watch in 2019.  While I could go into everything this system has to offer and it has quite a bit, two big wins right out of the gate for me are

a. A built-in BI tool for reporting and analytical data.  I am a big believer that the feature to watch for in 2019 is the increase in BI tools in an LMS whether it is built-in as it is with Spoke or as an add-on.   BI stands for business intelligence. 

b. In the coaching component a manager can watch the video and provide coaching feedback on user generated content to improve skills. If the video is a success, the manager can approve the video and it post to the Spoke community where the learner can get peer feedback and earn Spoke coins. 

Overall the system scored 100% on my learning environment and 98% of administration, with the only item lacking – the inability to batch upload courses (likely to be fixed before the end of the year).  Has a built-in LRS and supports multi-tenant. Gamification is outstanding especially with the Spoke Reward Store.  Video management supports auto detection of frames per second. 

spoke

Bottom Line

There you have it, numbers 29 to number 11 in the top 50 2019 Rankings for learning systems.  Up next, in terms of next week that is, the Top 10 for 2019. And remember every vendor in these rankings are ready to be compared, viewed and researched on FindAnLMS. 

Lastly on a side note, I will be speaking at ATDTK on Friday the 8th at 8 a.m. on buying an LMS.  Hope to see you there. Bring food (j/k, don’t bring me food).

E-Learning 24/7

For those who want my LMS RFP template, find it here.   For LEP/LXP template, here.

New to FutureLearn: download Certificates, pay with PayPal, free Career Advice and more

By
onlinefreecourse
-
0
New to FutureLearn: download Certificates, pay with PayPal, free Career Advice and more

Buy an upgrade or paid course using PayPal

Previously, you could only buy an upgrade or paid course with a credit or debit card. In 2017, we introduced the ability to pay in US Dollars, Euros and Australian Dollars as well as British Pounds – but this still meant paying by card.

After a lot of research and feedback, we decided to introduce PayPal. It’s available in most countries; it’s popular, secure, and easy to use.

To pay using PayPal, you just need to select PayPal at checkout and click ‘Pay with PayPal’. You’ll then be taken to Paypal’s secure site to complete the purchase.

Download your Certificate of Achievement as a PDF

Before now you could see a digital version of your Certificate of Achievement in the achievements section of your profile, and you could get a print certificate 4-8 weeks after you became eligible (depending on your location).

Now you can print off copies at home because you can download your certificate as a PDF from your profile, making it even easier to prove your learning.

Short clip of someone downloading a certificate

Plus, when you become eligible for a certificate, we’ll send you a notification on FutureLearn, so that you can quickly and easily view and download it.

Create your own wishlist

Seen a course you’re interested in, but can’t start it yet and worried about losing track? Now you can save the courses you like into your own wishlist. It’s simple; when you find a course that suits your interests, click the star to save it to your Wishlist.

Screen grab of the new navigation featuring wishlist.

You’ll get an email when a course in your Wishlist is about to start. You can access and edit your wishlist by selecting the ‘wishlist’ in this drop down menu.

Mention other learners in threads

You can now mention other learners in your comments – this allows you keep your conversations with others flowing.

Click reply under a comment you want to respond to, and the learner’s profile name will appear before your comment. (E.g. @futurelearner1)

Top tip: you can only mention others in a thread, you can’t use the ‘mention’ function in a standard comment.

Get free career advice

Whether you’re considering a new job, promotion or you want to improve your existing skills, our new career advice pages can help.

They explain all sorts of different careers, list some of the skills you need for each and group together courses from world’s top universities and organisations to help get you started.

 

Screengrab of careers advice page

Category
Making FutureLearn

What happens when you put African philosophies at the centre of learning

By
onlinefreecourse
-
0
What happens when you put African philosophies at the centre of learning

The team at Stellenbosch University looks at African philosophies and practices that are placed at the centre of learning and how teachers and students on the continent can use the concepts of ubuntu (human interdependence) and ukama (relationality) to come up with homegrown solutions for societal and educational concerns. Originally appeared in The Conversation. 

These were two of the questions we sought to answer when we set up a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), Teaching for Change. It was run jointly by Stellenbosch University in South Africa and FutureLearn, an initiative run by the Open University in the UK.

A MOOC is a course made available for free over the internet and can cater for thousands of people at once. More than 4000 people from around the world – most from the US, UK and a variety of African countries – took part in ours.

Indigenous forms of education, created and honed in African countries by African people, have historically been criticised as somehow inferior to forms from the Western world. But a shift is underway, as we found. Education systems around the world are increasingly recognising the value of local approaches to thinking, learning and being.

Here’s what we – and the participants – learned. These lessons could be valuable to anyone who wants to centre African philosophies in a MOOC or similar course.

Applying African philosophies

The renowned scholar Kwame Anthony Appiah has shown that humans’ capacities to think, reason, disagree, speak, listen and be listened to are important in constructing and reconstructing understanding.

Constructing and reconstructing an African notion of education, then, depends on borrowing from, exchanging with other cultures, and initiating thought and action that are novel. At its heart it is about respecting others’ rights universally, and about people being reflective and open about their own stories.

Here’s an example of how the philosophies of ubuntu and ukama were applied in the Teaching for Change MOOC. Not all 4000 students were registered at once; 2000 were registered at a time over two six-week periods that extended over two years. Throughout this between 250 and 300 students engaged online while others could be considered active “listeners”.

Students were encouraged to share their views or claims about knowledge, education, schooling, teaching and learning in their own contexts. Invariably, these views were in agreement or clashed with their classmates’. Practising ubuntu demanded that they then articulate their willingness to engage with one another in an atmosphere of openness without insulting or discrediting another’s point of view.

This encouraged people to remain dignified and respectful towards one another in any educational encounter. They were asked to listen attentively to different and even contending points of view. Afterwards, they were encouraged to offer points of view that clarified existing views.

Then, applying the theory of ukama, students were asked to see themselves in an ongoing and relational conversation with one another without prematurely judging another’s point of view as irrelevant. They considered others’ views without rushing to judgement.

Students found these approaches useful. They were taught to not only share their views and stories (and stories, of course, play a large role on a continent with a rich oral history), but to offer reasons for these views.

Learning to justify stories is an important part of African philosophy. Kwase Wiredu, N’Dri Assie-Lumumba and Kwame Gyekye are three notable theorists who consider storytelling in relation to justification through reasons being as significant to what it means to engage in education. A famous text on African philosophy edited by Wiredu provides textual evidence for the importance of storytelling in cultivating ubuntu and ukama.

Narrating stories or views in this setting followed a communal approach: one told a story, and another listened to it. Then the “story” was retold through engaging with others’ ideas and contributions. So students didn’t just internalise understandings of African education as if nothing should be questioned. Instead they made sense of one another’s stories and in this way developed more informed understandings of the stories being told.

Participants engaged collectively, drew on their own existing thoughts about African education and learned from others. This approach to learning is not in one direction as if teachers have the sole authority to give an account of reasons. Students also have a voice as they assume responsibility for their claims. Students’ voices are at the fulcrum of democratic education which is necessary for assisting them in critically reflecting on their own social, cultural and economic contexts.

Thoughtful inquiry

Our task as university teachers on this MOOC was to find the opportunity to connect students to real problems plaguing the African continent. Examples of such problems are military dictatorships, famine and hunger, food insecurity, and societal violence. They were given space to collectively find ways to address and perhaps even resolve these problems.

The students rose to the task, recognising the need for thoughtful inquiry if Africa’s many injustices are to be eradicated. They used the MOOC’s online discussion forums to express their ideas – and most clearly embraced the idea of an African approach to education.

This scholarly effort to bring about societal and transformative change through collaborative teaching and learning is bearing fruit. We have already been approached to run the MOOC again and are working on an amended version. And, thanks to the MOOC, we’ve now published a book called Rupturing African Philosophy on Teaching and Learning: Ubuntu Justice and Education with Palgrave-MacMillan in New York. It will appear in July 2018.

Category
Research insights

A short guide to ethical shopping

By
onlinefreecourse
-
0
A short guide to ethical shopping

Over the decades, the fashion industry (said to be valued at $3 trillion globally) has repeatedly been criticised for a careless approach to ethics and the environment. Put simply, when you buy cheap clothes, someone else pays extra. That someone? Often the producer, or the environment. Or both.

And yet, when shopping, it can be hard to tell, at a glance, if the clothes you’re considering buying are ethically sound or not. We’re here to help with three top tips, and a course, to help you ensure your shopping habits are good for people and planet.

  1. Don’t buy things you don’t need

The first thing is to consider is if you really want or need those shoes in the first place. A lot of the things we buy only go to waste, staying in closets until they’re eventually thrown away. Debbie Moorhouse, co-founder of the International Society For Sustainable Fashion advises:

“More than 100 billion items of clothing are produced each year. The average person buys 60% more than 15 years ago but keeps their purchases for half as long. People can reduce their consumption footprint by rejecting fast fashion, and consciously taking the decision to choose quality over quantity.”

  1. Look for natural fibres

Not all fibres are created equal, according to Rob Williams, director of clothing manufacturer Hawthorn:

“One of the best ways to ensure you’re purchasing sustainable clothing is to only purchase clothing with natural fibres – specifically those marked as Organic. Regular cotton can be produced using pesticides and other environmentally damaging substances, whilst organic cotton is grown without extra chemicals”.

  1. Research the brand

Besma Whayeb, blogger and founder of Ethical Influencers wants us to do our research first.

“I recommend reading ethical bloggers’ reviews to discover new designers, makers, and initiatives. By shopping with the right brands, I know I can trust their process and fair treatment of staff.”

Try checking Fashion Revolution’s Fashion Transparency Index or Rank a Brand before you buy, both are very detailed, covering many of the major brands. If you still can’t find out: ask. Companies that are genuinely sustainable and Fairtrade will be happy to answer.

Though this list is short, these three steps are a good way to start improving your shopping habits. Remember, every time you buy something you’re ‘voting with your wallet’ – your vote can go towards cheap, sweatshop produced clothing that harms people and the environment, or towards ethical and sustainable clothing that doesn’t.

If you want to learn more about making sure you’re shopping ethically, check out the course ‘Who Made My Clothes?’. Created with Fashion Revolution and the University of Exeter, it will teach you how to tell where your clothes came from, and who made them.

You’ll also learn how to use your knowledge to influence the industry for the better.

Why transferable skills are the key to a better future

By
onlinefreecourse
-
0
Why transferable skills are the key to a better future

Imagine a world where you’re competing with AI and other technologies for work. With each new patent filed by the likes of Amazon and door-opening potential terminator created by Boston Dynamics, we edge ever-closer.

In order to thrive and bring value to a post-industrial society, humans will need to adapt and learn continuously.

At FutureLearn, we help people develop new skills to close current technical skill gaps. For instance, to meet the digital skills gap we offer coding courses. We also believe that closing the ‘soft skills’ gap will be what’s needed to diversify the type of work we can do, and to differentiate human from machine.

Soft skills training in an area like emotional intelligence is an important stepping stone towards developing other transferable skills – leadership, communication, collaboration and even cultural competency (find out more about what soft skills are).

Through developing our soft skills, we all have the opportunity to transform society for the better.

We can and must train the next generation to explore the depths of our human ability: breaking down communication barriers where we find them, making connections between what we see, hear and feel. We have to challenge the mindset that practical or ‘hard’ skills reign supreme and invest equally in learning important transferable skills, like emotional intelligence.

Beyond helping us to meet our full human potential, transferable skills also help us to excel in a rapidly changing society. Emotional intelligence provides a heightened sense of reality that can help us to view and solve problems differently.

“Emotional intelligence gives us a heightened sense of reality that can help us to view and solve problems differently”

Our current education system is based on churning out mini replicas of adults. It’s a system designed for the Victorian era, when people needed to learn to conform in order to get work in the factories of the industrial revolution. In a world where change is a constant, emotional intelligence gives you the basic skills needed to thrive – no matter what life throws at you.

As globalisation, climate change and conflict displace populations and employment opportunity, resilience and intercultural competency will be more important.

Beyond the courses we offer to learners, we as an organisation are prioritising our internal learning and development towards transferable skills. We’ll be sharing some more practical ideas for how you too can do this in your own organisation in the coming weeks.

How are you developing your own soft skills? Does your organisation recognise the importance of this collection of skills?

Let us know in the comments.

Category
Learning,
Digital Skills

Get ahead with Soft Skills

By
onlinefreecourse
-
0
Get ahead with Soft Skills

This week is Learning at Work week in the UK. But making sure you have the right professional skills is important wherever you’re based. So how good are your soft skills?

These aren’t the specialist skills required in your role that you might already have (for example coding or writing) these are skills that are often missed by most of the working population. Despite the fact that employers are looking for them.

What are soft skills?

‘Soft’ skills, sometimes known as ‘transferable skills’, can be quite hard to define. But generally soft skills refers to a group of skills that help you work successfully with other people. Common examples of soft skills are communication, leadership and collaboration.

They are usually contrasted with ‘hard’ skills which are more technical skills, like knowing how to wire a plug, write code or drive a car.

Why are they important?

For two reasons. The first is that you need hard AND soft skills to succeed. Let’s use the example of writing code. Imagine you’re hired as a programmer. You’ve built a web page, but when you show your team the page they don’t seem to understand it and when you explain  your language is confusing and you forget things. They choose to remove the page. With better communication skills you could have helped your team understand, with collaboration skills they would have already been on board with your project.

In a globalised world you might end up working with a huge range of people, being able to communicate and work with them is vital.

The second reason is a changing job market. The advance of automation means that soon machines might well be capable of more and more technical or ‘hard’ skills. But we still can’t teach a computer how to collaborate or show leadership – having soft skills like being able to negotiate well or motivate others means even in a digital world you can add value to a company.

How can you improve your soft skills?

We’re here to help. So far over 300,000 learners have joined our most popular ‘soft skills’ courses. To make it easy we’ve grouped them together, along with some extra information about soft skills, so you can easily find which skill you want to improve.

We’re also going to be sharing more advice this week about how we’re improving our soft skills at FutureLearn, so keep an eye out!

Category
Learning,
Business

1...1,3491,3501,351...1,364Page 1,350 of 1,364

Recent Posts