Who are our Learners? Part 1: What we did and why
A research-based insight into FutureLearners. Part 1: What we did and why. By Tracey Walker, User Experience Researcher at FutureLearn After 4 years, thousands of courses, and millions of learners, it seemed a good time to investigate who our learners really are and get to know them better. At the beginning, we assumed that…
Who are our Learners? Part 4: The ‘Leisure’ archetypes
A research-based insight into FutureLearners. Part 4: The ‘Leisure’ archetypes. By Tracey Walker, User Experience Researcher at FutureLearn In part one, Tracey explained how the research and data team at FutureLearn set out to understand more about our learners. You can read more about this in Part 1: what we did and why. In part…
A Far Cry from School History
Massive Online Open Courses as a Generative Source for Historical Research By Dr Silvia Gallagher and Dr Ciaran Wallace from Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin One of the most interesting things we’ve learned from running MOOCs is not just how to teach in these huge online classrooms, but also, what we can learn…
Who are our learners: Part 2: The ‘Work and Study’ archetypes
A research-based insight into FutureLearners. Part 2: The ‘Work and Study’ archetypes. By Tracey Walker, User Experience Researcher at FutureLearn In part one, Tracey explained how, last year, the research and data teams set about some foundational research to understand who our learners really are. We wanted to understand their motivations, their personalities and characteristics,…
Gender in the Workplace Study
Over the past three months, we have been reaching out to learning system vendors throughout the world, seeking to find information on the number of female executives at their companies and whether or not they had a leadership development program, and if so, what are the breakdowns? This post covers what will be included in…
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…
Making great online courses: 10 insights
Top 10 insights about how to make great online courses – based on course evaluation. By Reka Budai, Strategy & Insights Analyst at FutureLearn At FutureLearn, we take great pride in having high quality courses from reputable institutions and educators. When asked recently in our Net Promoter Score (NPS) survey, 91% of learners said that the…
Open, online CPD: supporting different modes of study
Matt Cornock, Online CPD Coordinator at the National STEM Learning Centre writes about supporting different modes of study and designing online courses with extended availability in mind. Online CPD courses from the National STEM Learning Centre encourage learners to actively participate, explore ideas together and take the time to reflect on their practice. An increasing number of…
Yes! Digital Learners are Emotional – Insights from the Irish 101 MOOC
Elaine Beirne, a researcher in The Ideas Lab at the National Institute of Digital Learning (NIDL) in DCU, and inaugural OLC Emerging Scholar, is researching the emotions of beginner language learners in Irish language MOOCs. Originally appeared on NIDL’s blog. Many people believe that online learning can be a lonely journey for a learner and…
Lesson of the Day: ‘Old Dogs, New Research and the Secrets of Aging’
7. Which research was most fascinating, memorable, provocative or surprising to you and why? Does it confirm or revise your perspective on how dogs age? What questions about how aging in dogs, animals in general or humans do you still have?Going FurtherOption 1: Tell Us About a Meaningful Relationship You Have Had With a Dog…
