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Getting to know you

Let's start this course by introducing ourselves and where we're all from.
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One of the easiest ways to be successful at university in the UK is by getting to know your classmates and using them as a resource for your learning.

When asked about what a successful student at Coventry University looks like, Ian Dunn, Deputy Vice Chancellor for Student Experience, said:

‘One of the most important things is to be there, to be in class, to engage with your tutors and peers and to take an active part in your education. It’s also about being engaged in the learning community, and the more you engage, in both a curricular and extra-curricular sense, the greater your chances of success.
‘For an online student who doesn’t come on to campus, then the engagement is about the subject, it’s about the discussion groups, it’s about the forum with your tutor and with your peers, so that you really discover your subject in-depth and not at some sort of shallow level.’
On this course, successful social learners will be the ones who participate most in discussions and get to know their classmates and tutors.
Posting a comment is not enough though; you need to engage with what your classmates are saying and respond to their posts with relevant ideas and support from the things that you have learned and researched. It is much easier and more fun to do this if you all know each other.

Getting the most out of the course

To get the very best learning experience from FutureLearn, find out more from these tips and tools for social learning.

Your task

Your first task on this course is to get to know each other and start becoming social learners by telling us more about yourself and where you’re from.
Share something about yourself by writing a comment about who you are and where you live.
You could write about:
  • Things your city is famous for
  • Famous landmarks in your city or country
  • What the people in your country are like
  • Why you love/hate living in your country/city
Then add some interesting facts about yourself. You could write about:
  • Your reasons for studying this course
  • Your favourite hobbies or interests
  • Your hopes for the future or the job you want to get
Have a look at other learners’ comments. If you can relate to a comment someone else has made, why not ‘like’ it or leave a reply? You can filter comments in a variety of ways including by most liked and you can also bookmark comments so you can find them easily later.
If you want to see all the recent comments on the course, just select the ‘activity’ icon. If you’re following someone, you can filter this list to show only the comments of people you’re following and also those comments that you’ve bookmarked.
Don’t forget, while discussion is encouraged, it’s important that you follow the FutureLearn Code of conduct and are respectful of your fellow learners.
© Coventry University. CC BY-NC 4.0
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