• The Open University

Online Teaching: Creating Courses for Adult Learners

Learn how to design engaging online courses and ensure your online teaching is safe and accessible for a variety of learners.

1,530 enrolled on this course

A photograph showing a person seated at a computer in frot of a window, beyond which is an open landscape featuring blurred green trees with hills in the background. The person sits with their back to us and is wearing headphones. They have bare feet.

  • Duration

    12 weeks

  • Weekly study

    13 hours
Overview
Requirements
Educators
This course is part of the Online Teaching: Creating Courses for Adult Learners program, which will enable you to get the skills to teach adults online and at a distance.

Design effective and equitable online teaching, learning and assessment.

This course has been developed by online learning experts at The Open University’s Institute of Educational Technology. The course is designed to support institutions and individual educators who are moving their teaching online. It is relevant to all adult learning sectors and has a strong focus on practice. Throughout the course, you will design teaching and assessment that enable online learners to achieve their study goals. You will also evaluate different technologies, and study theories that explain how people learn. Beyond the Covid-19 pandemic, the course has value for individuals and institutions who want to develop online teaching and learning strategies that are equitable, accessible and appropriate to their learners’ needs.

What topics will you cover?

  • What’s involved in teaching remotely, and in being an online educator.
  • How students learn online and at a distance.
  • How to evaluate the appropriateness of pedagogies for online and distance teaching and learning for specific sectors, subjects, study outcomes and learners.
  • Strategies for implementing online and distance teaching and learning approaches.
  • How to design online and distance learning and choose appropriate technologies.
  • Approaches to assessment at a distance and online.
  • How diverse learners, in diverse contexts, can be supported when learning online and at a distance.
  • The benefits of open, mobile and ‘at scale’ approaches to online and distance learning.
  • How to ensure online teaching, learning and assessment is accessible, equitable and engaging for learners.
  • How to work safely when teaching online, including how to support learners’ safety.

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.

Who is the course for?

This microcredential has a global focus and the skills you’ll learn will be relevant for learners from countries around the world. It is intended for teachers, trainers, learning designers, educational technologists, heads of department and institution leaders in a variety of adult education settings, especially universities and colleges.

What software or tools do you need?

To take part in this course you’ll need a computer and an internet connection. No specific software or tools are required.

Who will you learn with?

Dr Leigh-Anne Perryman (she/her)

Dr Leigh-Anne Perryman leads The Open University's Masters in Online Teaching programme. Her research explores the relationship between equity, social justice, online teaching and open pedagogies.

Rebecca Ferguson

I'm a professor at The Open University, focused on educational futures, learning analytics, MOOCs, innovating pedagogy & online social learning.

Martin Weller

I am Professor of Educational Technology at the OU. My interests are in digital scholarship, open education, OER and MOOCs.

Shaun Harley

As a teacher at both secondary and university levels, my professional focus and practice is to support practitioners who are developing pedagogies that upskill from face-to-face to online teaching.

Who developed the course?

The Open University

As the UK’s largest university, The Open University (OU) supports thousands of students to achieve their goals and ambitions via supported distance learning, helping to fit learning around professional and personal life commitments.

  • Established

    1969

  • Location

    Milton Keynes, UK

  • World ranking

    Top 510Source: Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2020

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

Want to know more about learning on FutureLearn? Using FutureLearn

Join the conversation on social media

You can use the hashtag #FLCreatingCourses to talk about this course on social media.