• University of Leeds
  • UCL Institute of Education logo

Blended Learning Essentials: Developing Digital Skills

A course for the Vocational Education and Training sector to support the development of learners’ digital skills in the workplace.

17,402 enrolled on this course

Blended Learning Essentials Digital Skills course 3 image
  • Duration

    2 weeks
  • Weekly study

    4 hours
  • Accreditation

    AvailableMore info

Why join the course?

Almost every job now involves a range of digital skills, yet employers report a shortage in skilled new starters. This course will enable you, as a teacher or trainer to develop your learners’ digital skills for successful employment and progress in the modern workplace. Through real-life case studies, resources and practical support you’ll be able to help your learners manage their online identity and digital information required for their work. We’ll show you how to assist learners to create digital content and provide you with tools for communicating effectively and working collaboratively.

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Skip to 0 minutes and 10 seconds We’re in the digital age now and so are your learners and trainees. Almost every job now involves using a range of digital skills, whatever the sector. And yet, the government and employers report that young people are coming into the world of work without the skills they need for citizenship, for the economy, and for their own employability. Every time young people go online, they leave a trail of information and data about themselves, especially on social media. Do they want potential future employers to see the identities they create? We’ll help you to give them control over their digital identity. Your learners know how to search for and select information online.

Skip to 0 minutes and 54 seconds Many jobs involve working with digital data, how can you help your learners manage digital information? Employers now expect young people to have experience of creating digital content. This course will give you examples of tools and apps that can help you and your learners to develop digital creation skills. And a lot of jobs now require employees to create digital content collaboratively. This may involve working online with lots of people in different locations and even different time zones. You’ll have the opportunity to see many of the new tools and apps for communicating and collaborating online. The course will give you the knowledge and confidence to help your learners develop these skills.

Skip to 1 minute and 40 seconds We’ll give you resources, practical support, and teaching ideas on how to develop these four digital areas. The course covers a wide range of vocational education settings and all kinds of learners, with a variety of expectations and needs. And being online, it’s very flexible. You’ll be working at your own pace through videos, demonstrating good practise, guided practical activities, and discussion with other participants. And you will be trying out these ideas in your own learning context. We’ve made sure the course is based on the real experience of how digital skills are actually being used by young people at work. We’re asking employers to tell us what they need from your learners. Studying on the course is easy.

Skip to 2 minutes and 26 seconds You can do it in around four hours a week using your computer or mobile device. And what’s more, once you sign up for the course, you can use the resources in your own local professional development, as well as for supporting your learners. So please join us. You’ll discover all kinds of useful ideas about how to prepare your learners to be the most effective in the modern digital workplace.

What topics will you cover?

  • Raising awareness of digital skills being used in the workplace
  • Ways of teaching digital skills
  • Managing a digital identity
  • Managing digital information
  • Creating basic digital content
  • Creating advanced digital content
  • Publishing digital content
  • Collaborative digital content creation

Who is this accredited by?

The CPD Certification Service (corporate member)
The CPD Certification Service (corporate member):

This course is seeking accreditation from the CPD Certification Service, which will mean it can be used to provide evidence of your continuing professional development.

When would you like to start?

Start straight away and join a global classroom of learners. If the course hasn’t started yet you’ll see the future date listed below.

  • Available now

Learning on this course

On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

  • Enable teachers and trainers to develop their learners to acquire the digital skills needed in the workplace - to manage personal online identity
  • Enable teachers and trainers to develop their learners to acquire the digital skills needed in the workplace - to manage digital information
  • Enable teachers and trainers to develop their learners to acquire the digital skills needed in the workplace - to create digital content
  • Enable teachers and trainers to develop their learners to acquire the digital skills needed in the workplace - to use tools and techniques for working collaboratively
  • Collaborate on models for teaching of digital skills in practice
  • Support teachers and trainers in the VET sector in developing their digital skills

Who is the course for?

This course is open to everyone but particularly aimed at those working in the Vocational Education and Training sector, including: further education, skills training, vocational education, workplace learning and lifelong learning or adult education.

Time commitment

The course is designed to be completed in around 4 hours per week. All activities have recommended times and there are plenty of resources and activities for you to explore further if you’d like to do more on a particular topic. You can join at any time during the course and you will continue to have access for 4 weeks after you sign up.

Who will you learn with?

Chair of Learning with Digital Technology, Knowledge Lab, UCL IOE.
Developing a global community of teachers around the Learning Designer

Twitter: @thinksitthrough
https://twitter.com/thinksitthrough

Dean of Digital Education and Professor of Educational Technology at the University of Leeds. For more information see: https://essl.leeds.ac.uk/education/staff/156/professor-neil-morris

Promoted by

Association for Learning Technology

Who developed the course?

University of Leeds

As one of the UK’s largest research-based universities, the University of Leeds is a member of the prestigious Russell Group and a centre of excellence for teaching.

UCL Institute of Education

Founded in 1902, as a teacher training college in London, the IOE is now a world-class research and teaching institution.

Endorsers and supporters

funded by

Ufi logo

Learning on FutureLearn

Your learning, your rules

  • Courses are split into weeks, activities, and steps to help you keep track of your learning
  • Learn through a mix of bite-sized videos, long- and short-form articles, audio, and practical activities
  • Stay motivated by using the Progress page to keep track of your step completion and assessment scores

Join a global classroom

  • Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
  • Share ideas with your peers and course educators on every step of the course
  • Join the conversation by reading, @ing, liking, bookmarking, and replying to comments from others

Map your progress

  • As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning
  • Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control
  • Complete 90% of course steps and all of the assessments to earn your certificate

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