Online Teaching: Creating Courses for Adult Learners Course - The Open University FutureLearn

Learn the practical skills you need to create online courses successfully and develop your ability to teach adults online.

Get the skills to teach adults online and at a distance

UNESCO (United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation) reports that over 91% of the world’s student population – a total of 1,576,021,818 learners across 188 countries and in all sectors – were affected in Spring 2020 by the closure of educational institutions as part of a broader ‘lockdown’ strategy in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Many institutions have had to rush to put their teaching online, at an unprecedented scale. Student assessment has also been affected, with many exams cancelled and others moved online, creating uncertainty for all involved.

Regardless of when the pandemic ends, this ‘online pivot’ in education is likely to become permanent as more and more learning opportunities move online. Knowing how to create engaging online courses for adults will be a key skill moving forward, now that distance and online learning are used so widely.

On this microcredential, you’ll discover how adults learn online – and at a distance – drawing on key theories. You’ll evaluate technologies for supporting online and distance learning in specific contexts, drawing on a range of experiences and research to learn how to design engaging and inspiring online courses successfully.

You’ll examine different online teaching and learning methods in terms of their appropriateness for specific settings and learners, and ways of ensuring your classes are inclusive and accessible.

Ultimately, you’ll explore some of the many possibilities offered by learning with technology and investigate the benefits and challenges of approaches to online learning that will have long-term career value beyond lockdown and the coronavirus crisis.

When would you like to start?

We aim to run our microcredentials every few months. Join on the date that suits you or register to hear from an enrolment advisor about future runs and updates.

• 14 March 2022

What you will receive

15 UK credits at Postgraduate level from The Open University

You’ll receive an Open University certificate confirming that you have received 15 academic credits at postgraduate level 7. Credits are awarded on passing the final assessment. The assessment will require you to develop your own plan for taking teaching and learning online. The plan, accompanied by a reflective commentary, will form the summative assessment component of the course, for submission in the final week.

Career-focused learning by

The Open University

The Open University (OU) is the largest academic institution in the UK and a world leader in flexible distance learning, with a mission to be open to people, places, methods and ideas.

This microcredential is endorsed by the Association for Learning Technology (ALT)

The Association for Learning Technology is the leading professional body for Learning Technology in the UK.

What is a microcredential?

Microcredentials are designed to upskill you for work in rapidly-growing industries, without the time and cost commitment of a full degree. Your microcredential can stand alone as an independent credential, and some also offer academic credit to use towards a degree.