Learning with us

If this is your first course, please review Using FutureLearn an introduction to learning with FutureLearn.

How will we learn?

Throughout our four weeks together we will use articles, mini-lectures and interviews with experts to introduce the key approaches healthcare teams can adopt to prevent visual loss from retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in babies. We will build on the learning using a number of hypothetical case studies. We encourage you to assess your learning through quizzes and share your experiences and views through discussion with fellow learners and the course educators and mentors.

How will I learn?

There is no single aproach that guarantees success but to get the most out of this online course we recommend you take an active approach to your learning, for example:

• Make notes: When you read an article or watch a video make a short list of the key facts which are applicable in your setting. Is there anything you are struggling to understand? Reflect on why that might be.

• Analyse connections between the current step and previous ones to help build a clearer picture of a topic. Reflect on how your previous understanding relates to the course content e.g. guidelines or classifications.

• Contextualise: Ask yourself questions about what you’re learning and how it relates to your own experiences and that of your team or setting.

• Discuss and share your learning with others and consider how to apply your new knowledge, either in your professional life or personal situation.

• Explain what you have learned to others on the course, or within your setting.

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Join the discussion

‘I hear – I know
I see – I remember
I do – I understand’

Confucius, ancient Chinese philosopher

Almost every step on the course has space for active learning through conversation and debate: the Comments area. While Discussion steps feature more focused conversational tasks, anyone can talk about material in each step in its Comments area. We will regularly prompt you to share your thoughts and ideas with questions or suggestions at the end of a step. You can contribute to these conversations as and when you are able to.

Please note that you should not share your own personal contact information, and please remember relevant professional standards of conduct, such as not revealing information that may identify one of your patients or students. You might like to read 6 tips and tools for social learning on FutureLearn to help you get the most out of the platform’s social features.

Re-using the course materials

Unless stated otherwise, the materials on this course are published under a Creative Commons license (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) which permits non-commercial reuse without asking us for permission. We encourage you to download, adapt and share the materials for teaching and learning. For example,

• For your own future reference

• For training your team

• To support discussions and share ideas with colleagues beyond the course.

Getting started checklist

1. Set up your profile. If you feel comfortable sharing personal information, add some basic notes about your country and your role. This helps the lead educator and mentors give you appropriate advice.

2. Take the pre-course survey.

3. Introduce yourself in the next step!

4. Start the course and share your views in the Comments on each step. Try to find some time each day as this will allow you to participate with people from around the world.

5. Don’t skip the Quizzes – they help you to recall key information and reflect on the content.

6. Press the ‘Mark as complete’ tab as you complete each step. You may be eligible to purchase a certificate if you complete enough steps. Use the “Progress” tab at the top of each step to view how much of the course you have completed.

7. At the end of your studies, please take the post-course survey and help us improve this course.