Learning together

Welcome to ‘the Power of Patient Advocacy in Genomics’! Just before we get started, here are a few tips that will help you to enjoy this course and get the best out of it.

How to learn on this course

You are going to learn by watching videos, reading articles, completing exercises where you apply some of the knowledge you acquire on this course, discussing the content with other learners, and checking your understanding using quizzes and if you want, by doing the final Multiple Choice Questions test.

You should be able to complete majority of steps in this course using an internet browser. The external links provided will always open in the same tab (window), so please use Back browser arrow to return to where you were in the course. If you would like to open an external link in a separate window, please right-click the link and choose “Open link in new tab” or “Open link in new window” or alternatively copy its URL into another window.

You might also want to try out what you have learned on the course in your own project. If you’d like to build your own resource library, for future reference, you can also copy and download the articles and videos presented on this course.

You will probably find it easier to follow the steps on this course if you have access to a laptop or computer with a large monitor, rather than a mobile phone or tablet.

Translating into other languages

To translate the content of a page on this course, you can use tools like Google Translate or built-in browser features. In Google Chrome for example, you can right-click on a page and select “Translate to [your language]”. You can also copy and paste the webpage link into Google Translate and view the translated version.

Other browsers like Microsoft Edge and Safari offer similar translation features. For shorter sections of text, you can copy the content and paste it into an online translator such as Google Translate or DeepL. These options can help you access content in different languages quickly and easily.

Comments

During almost every step of the process, you will be able to use the comments area to discuss the course material with other learners. We encourage you to try social learning by sharing your thoughts and ideas. Some of the course’s steps are Discussion Steps. Please take a look at FutureLearn’s Social Learning Tips and FutureLearn’s Learning Guide for more details.

Use these ideas to help you to make comments and to join in the Discussion Steps:

• Write what you would also say to someone face-to-face
• Make constructive comments – critique the idea, not the person
• Remember that other learners vary in culture, age and experience
• Read your comments and responses through before posting
• Some learners do not have English as their first language, so always try to write clearly
• Explain any acronyms you use and avoid jargon if you can

If you read a comment that you think might break FutureLearn’s Code of Conduct, report it to FutureLearn’s moderators for review by clicking the flag button beneath it.

On average, the course should take you about 3 hours a week to do. It may take you more or less time depending on several factors, including your learning preferences, your prior knowledge and experience, and how much time you have available. We encourage you to:

• Learn when it is best for you, and at a pace that suits you
• Use the quizzes to help you track your learning, recall and apply key concepts, and reflect upon what you have learnt
• Remember to press the ‘Mark as complete’ tab as you complete each step

At the end of each week we will share a summary of key learning points and give you an opportunity to reflect.

Course facilitation

Even though this course is facilitated for the first five weeks, the Educators won’t be able to join in every discussion themselves or respond to every individual comment, but the course encourages a strong learning community. The learning is focused around debate and discussion – supporting other learners, sharing your own experience and knowledge, and listening to new perspectives. We hope that you will enjoy interacting with and learning from each other in this way. Don’t forget to comment, reply to other learners and ‘like’ comments.

Completing the course and Free Certificate of Achievement

At the end of the course, you will find a test consisting of ten multiple choice questions which cover the material taught in this course.

If you are interested in obtaining a free digital Certificate of Achievement, you will need to score 70% or above on the final test, and complete 90% of the steps in the course (please mark the steps complete by clicking on ‘Mark as complete’ tab at the end of each step you have done). You should try to answer all the final assessment questions. You have three attempts for each question.

Please note this test is not compulsory and does not affect your learning on this course, it is only needed if you would like to claim the Certificate of Achievement at the end of the course.

Reusing the course materials

Unless stated otherwise, the materials on this course are published under the Creative Commons licence CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 DEED. This permits non-commercial reuse without asking for permission but giving the due credit. We encourage you to download, adapt and share these materials for your own purpose. Remember to add an acknowledgement of the original creator and Wellcome Connecting Science when you use the materials.