Introduction to Week 1

Welcome to this Open University course on histology. This course is designed for students studying human biology at school or university, medical laboratory scientists and anyone interested in biomedical science.

In the video above your lead educator, David Male, describes what you’ll be learning about over the next four weeks.

David has been a Professor of Biology at The OU since 1999, and has a particular interest in the use of technology for teaching science. You will have a chance to experience one such approach during the course, by using a virtual microscope to examine a number of biomedical samples, just as scientists and medical professionals would explore such samples in a lab.

Your learning will also be supported by Nayab Fatima, who is a PhD students at The Open University. You can access David and Nayab’s FutureLearn profiles from the links provided, and ‘follow’ them in order to see their latest comments on the materials.

A key feature of the learning experience on a FutureLearn course is the idea of social learning. We learn best when we share and debate ideas with fellow learners. Therefore, we encourage you to take part in the comments and discussions and to ask questions and engage with other learners.

If this is the first FutureLearn course you have studied, you might find it useful to read the Using FutureLearn page.

Get extra benefits, upgrade your course

You can now get extra benefits by upgrading this course, including:

Unlimited access to the course: Go at your own pace with unlimited access to the course for as long as it exists on FutureLearn.

A Certificate of Achievement: To help you demonstrate your learning we’ll send you a Certificate of Achievement when you become eligible.

Find out more

Introduce yourself

Before you move onto the next step, click the ‘comments’ icon and spend a few minutes introducing yourself, including a brief outline of your motivations for joining this course. Find out about your fellow learners by reading and replying to other comments. When you’re ready to move on, mark this step as complete before clicking through to the next one.