Course Spotlights: examples of best practice
December Spotlight – Goldsmiths, University of London – Learn Jazz Piano I: Begin with the Blue
Over 11,000 learners have joined the six week course Learn Jazz Piano I: Begin with the Blues from Goldsmiths, University of London on the four runs it has had so far.
What made this course stand out was the educator’s commitment to making this course as practical as possible. Learners were encouraged to record their own playing and share it with their fellow learners for them to listen to and give feedback on. This led to some really valuable interactions between learners on the course.
Learners were particularly inspired by lead educator Ray d’Inverno who has been a jazz pianist and educator for over 50 years.
“I found Ray to be an excellent teacher in these online studies, with his clear instructions and plenty of well-demonstrated exercises and examples.” (sic)
“Ray is a great teacher. So clear, opens your mind and keeps you engaged. Loved this course.”
By its title you might have guessed that there are other courses in the Learn Jazz Piano series… you’d be correct! There are 3 other courses in the series: Improvising on Jazz Standards, Solo Piano and Advanced Topics, and Final Topics & Programmed Concerts.
December Spotlight – University of Strathclyde – Caring for Children Moving Alone: Protecting Unaccompanied and Separated Children
In 2016, an estimated 28 million children were living in a situation of forced displacement (UNICEF 2018). There is clearly a huge amount of work to be done to provide adequate care and protection for these young people and this course; Caring for Children Moving Alone: Protecting Unaccompanied and Separated Children, is helping to equip learners to do just that for free. In fact, over 17,000 learners have already enrolled on the first two runs of this course developed by the University of Strathclyde & CELCIS (Centre for Excellence for Children’s Care and Protection).
This course is for anyone who is involved in offering care and/or support to unaccompanied and separated children on the move. Learners who enrolled on this six week course can explore and apply meaning to relevant international legislation and guidelines, and identify a range of promising practices to meet the needs of children in these circumstances.
Another important outcome of this course is the connections learners make with each other, this is particularly evidenced by the higher than average number of social learners on the runs of this course so far. This was made possible by the Lead Educator, Dr Chrissie Gale, who has spent much of the last 30 years working as a child protection specialist in different countries around the world. Along with CELCIS’s team of hosts and mentors, Dr Gale does a fantastic job of facilitating the course, engaging learners to interact with the course and take part in meaningful discussions.
“It was one of the best on-line courses I have ever done and definitely the most comprehensive training on unaccompanied minors. Thanks a lot!”
This course has been made possible by the Caring for Children Moving Alone MOOC Taskforce: sixteen leading international humanitarian agencies and children’s rights organisations including International Social Service, the IFRC and UNICEF. It was also funded by a number of institutions, including the Swiss government, enabling all learners to learn for free and receive a certificate should they become eligible.
The courses from CELCIS at the University of Strathclyde on the topic of the care and protection of children and young people are Caring for Vulnerable Children and Getting Care Right for All Children: Implementing the UN Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children. To date, over 100,000 people from more than 100 countries have joined a CELCIS course.
November Spotlight – University of Basel – Entrepreneurship in Nonprofits
Nonprofits make significant contributions to sustainable social and ecological development. Through this 5 week course from the University of Basel, learners can build the economic tools and knowledge they need to become successful social entrepreneurs. The first run of the course attracted over 2,500 learners from around the globe who joined the lead educator, Professor Georg von Schnurbein, in exploring the world of social entrepreneurship.
They started by engaging with why entrepreneurship is so important for nonprofits and covered some of the main theories underpinning this sector and their applications. Learners were then able to develop their own social innovation models, learn about managing finances in nonprofits and finally measure the impact that these kinds of projects can have.
The University of Basel’s uniquely engaging videos help to bring theories and ideas to life and a variety of opportunities for discussion provide learners with great resources for planning their own social entrepreneurial activities. In the post-course survey, 98% of learners said they’d gained new knowledge or skills and a huge 63% had already begun to apply what they’d learned.
Here’s one of those learners on what they thought of the course – “Just one thing: THANK YOU! This course was a wonderful learning experience, and I can’t wait to apply what I’ve learned towards the betterment of the world.”
Other popular courses from the University of Basel include Allergies: When the Immune System Backfires and One Health: Connecting Humans, Animals and the Environment.
November Spotlight – National STEM Learning Centre – Managing Behaviour for Learning
Effective behaviour and classroom management are essential to creating supportive learning environments. Student behaviour in the classroom is consistently named as one of the main things that teachers cite as being challenging in their profession and a barrier to learning. Managing Behaviour for Learning from the National STEM Learning Centre gives teachers the tools they need to manage the behaviour of their students and create positive environments conducive to learning.
This 5 week course starts off by encouraging self-reflection including an analysis of the teacher’s own behaviour and how that might be impacting on the environment in their classroom. The course team then take learners through practical techniques to implement in their classrooms. Throughout the course, learners are encouraged to share their experiences and ideas with each other using the comments section, which provides a supportive space with mentor guidance to discuss tricky situations that come up in a wide range of teaching contexts.
With it’s 8th run coming up in April 2020, this course continues to be popular with teachers on the FutureLearn platform. Here’s what some of them have said about previous runs:
“Overall this course has tremendously changed my own style of teaching and managing my class”
“Thank you so much – this has been a great course from start to finish. Absolutely perfect – well researched, planned and laid out, with practical tips and helpful demonstrations.”
“I think the course taught me that controlling myself is a crucial principle in managing behaviour. In addition, it encouraged me to communicate well and build a great relationship with my students.”
“I feel much more confident in handling difficult situations. I feel I have many more strategies under my belt, such as scripts and focusing on one behaviour at a time.”
The National STEM Learning Centre provides world-class professional development activities and resources for teachers of science, technology, engineering and maths. You can choose your next quality course from the great selection they have on FutureLearn here.
October Spotlight – CISAC – Copyright and the Business of Creative Industries
Who owns and is entitled to what can be a complicated part of working in creative industries, this course successfully shines a light on these issues and how they should be dealt with. It appeals to learners with creative roles and backgrounds, such as writers, musicians and visual artists for whom a good understanding of the legal aspects of protecting their work is vital. This 4 week course gives a thorough introduction to the hows and whys of copyright to equip those starting out in a creative career with the skills and know-how they need to turn their passion into a financial success.
The first run was very popular with the learners that were enrolled, receiving a remarkable positive sentiment score of 100%. Particular praise was paid to Professor Marisa Gandelman for creating compelling and informative content, as well as engaging in lots of conversations with learners to understand and deepen their knowledge of copyright in their specific context.
“This was a clear and concise explanation of a very expansive subject. I feel much more equipped to understand the basics of copyright as it affects me. Well done and thank you to the Professor!”
Another strength of the course was its wide reach, with a particularly large cohort from South Africa. This was seen by learners as enriching the experience, with one commenting “The course was very interesting and the participation of people from different sectors of the creative industries from all over the world enriched it a lot.” Run two of this popular course starts on 28th October 2019.
October Spotlight – University of Glasgow – The Scottish Highland Clans: Origins, Decline and Transformation
The development of this course involved collaboration between 13 colleagues across disciplines in the College of Arts at the University of Glasgow. The process drew together their expertise on the structure, economy and culture of the Highland clans to create a compelling course that explores this fascinating part of Scotland’s history. The learners on the first run agreed!
“I thoroughly enjoyed the combination of many disciplines to present this information. A very thorough overview/introduction to what is an exhaustive subject. Well done.”
This first run was shared widely on social media and attracted over 8000 learners. The nature of the course meant a variety of people could enjoy learning together, including a large contingent from the USA. Many learners had Scottish ancestry and were looking to find out more about their heritage while others were keen to expand their knowledge of other parts of Scottish history. Learners particularly valued the variety of media used to tell the story of the Highland Clans and enjoyed three weeks exploring clan history through videos with experts as well as Gaelic poems and songs enjoyed by clanspeople.
Learners were inspired to delve deeper into the history of the Highland Clans with many telling us they’d be taking their studies further to explore, for example, the role of women in clan history or to do some more research on the clan they are descended from.
The educators, Dr McKillop and Duncan Hotchkiss, were praised for their expert knowledge and attentiveness during the course run which really enhanced the learning experience. For many, the interaction with educators and fellow learners made the course content come to life and brought a variety of perspectives to discussions. The University of Glasgow have many other fascinating history courses like Early Modern Scottish Paleography. Why not check them out here.
August/ September spotlight – Durham University – Archaeology and the Battle of Dunbar 1650: From the Scottish Battlefield to the New World
This six week course, Archaeology and the Battle of Dunbar 1650: From the Scottish Battlefield to the New World, is not only a deep dive into one of the greatest battles of the Third English Civil War, it also allows learners to learn about and use archaeological science to interpret and analyse historical sites. Learners engaged in thought-provoking debate about the ethical issues surrounding the reburial of human remains and compared the contributions of history and archaeology in understanding the past.
Run 1 of Archaeology and the Battle of Dunbar 1650 had over 2400 enrolments, many of these reached through tweets by @HistoryScotland and @PalaceGreenLib – the home of Durham University’s archives and special collections. Enrolled learners included direct descendants of those who were killed at the Battle of Dunbar as well as those who survived as prisoners of war. This helps to explain why the country with the second highest enrolments on this run was the USA, as some of these prisoners of war were taken to New England in 1650 where many were sold to work in the iron and lumber industries.
This course run had a higher than average step completion rate, which is a testament to the high quality content available to learners throughout the six weeks. Our learner put it best in their feedback: “This course was the best paced of the ones I have taken. Not too much in one week. Each week was interesting and encouraged me to continue.”
To sum up, a quote from one of our learners: “The team at Durham is to be congratulated for this incredible project and the excellent execution of the entire process.”
If you’re interested in discovering the mysteries of the past further, it’s definitely worth checking out another one of Durham University’s great quality courses: Forensic Archaeology and Anthropology.
August/ September spotlight – University of Exeter – Addressing Postnatal Depression as a Healthcare Professional
Depression is wide-reaching and can have long-lasting effects on women through pregnancy and during the first year after birth. Improving care in this area is of vital importance to improve the mental health and wellbeing of new mothers and to support those close to them.
This course from the University of Exeter is a great resource for healthcare professionals to feel more confident in supporting new mothers. Over the three week course, learners were helped to recognise the symptoms of postnatal depression, empowered to take the necessary steps to ensure mothers receive the care they need to overcome depression, and provided with strategies to help mothers to maintain their wellbeing in the future.
As you might expect, the majority of learners on this first run were healthcare workers taking the course as part of their continuing professional development, due in part to the unique forum we provide for healthcare workers to learn alongside each other and share their expertise and experiences from around the world. The nature of the open course model meant they were joined by learners who had personal experience of postnatal depression, which provided a unique experience for both types of learners to provide each other with valuable insights.
Over 2500 learners from 124 countries joined Lead Educator Heather O’Mahen on the first run of Addressing Postnatal Depression as a Healthcare Professional. The course will be running again in September 2019 – we hope to see you there!
July spotlight – ABRSM – Becoming a Better Music Teacher
Making its debut in June 2019: Becoming a Better Music Teacher, ABRSM’s first course on FutureLearn.
As the UK’s largest music education body and the world’s leader in music assessment, ABRSM is well-known across the globe, with a large online following. At first glance, therefore, it’s not surprising that over 8,500 people from 150+ countries have enrolled on this first run, revealing with it a unique gap in the market for free CPD for music teachers.
Aimed at instrument/music teachers and vocal coaches of all kinds, this five-week-long course is designed to address the skills needed to teach music effectively, covering not just the broad principles of teaching and learning, but also the specifics, including individual teaching philosophies, instrument-specific advice and detailed guidance for lesson planning (check out this great video step from Week 5).
In response to the course’s strong uptake and presence of social learning, ABRSM explain that “instrumental and vocal teaching as a discipline is an isolating profession, more so than classroom teaching. We’ve been so overwhelmed with the honest comments from our learners, who are feeling courageous enough to share their concerns and challenges about their teaching in a safe, supportive environment.”
Many of these learners were reached through ABRSM’s organised promotion of the course across their official social media accounts throughout May and June, posting on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Engaging with learners both in and outside of the course, the course team actively retweeted and replied to posts featuring the course hashtag #FLMusicTeacher, getting learners even more excited about their progress and achievement.
Other learners may have joined thanks to the news article published on ABRSM’s website, which celebrates the initial success of the course and features the video from its very first step. In the clip, Lead Educator John Holmes (ABRSM’s Chief Examiner) introduces the course, its aims and its topics. Referring to the importance of continuing professional development for music teachers, John explains how the course is “founded on the principle that an effective practitioner is a reflective practitioner. [As music teachers] we’re always looking at what we’re doing and seeing how we could do it even better.”
As ABRSM’s first fully online course, Becoming a Better Music Teacher has been widely welcomed by the music education sector. ABRSM tell us they “can’t wait to run the course again”, and they’re looking forward to developing their online offer in partnership with FutureLearn. Watch this space!
May/ June spotlight – NDORMS (University of Oxford) – Cognitive Behavioural Skills to Treat Back Pain
Cognitive Behavioural Skills to Treat Back Pain: The Back Skills Training (BeST) Programme is the first FutureLearn course produced by the Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences (NDORMS), part of the Medical Sciences Division at the University of Oxford. NDORMS is the largest European academic department in this field and runs a globally competitive programme of research and training.
The 6-week course is approved by the British Psychological Society for the purposes of Continuing Professional Development and it is designed for healthcare professionals with a role or interest in managing patients with lower back pain. NDORMS promoted upcoming runs at two professional conferences, helping the first run attract almost five thousand joiners.
The course starts by explaining key concepts like chronic low back pain, cognition and the cognitive behavioural model and then proceeds to introduce the Back Skills Training Programme. Learners delve into each session with articles, audio files, quizzes and videos which present real-life scenarios. Upgraded learners can also access two tests in the form of case studies. Where appropriate, learners are also provided with downloadable materials which they can use when implementing the programme.
The first run’s active learners included not only healthcare professionals but also learners experiencing chronic back pain who wanted to learn more about their treatment options. This created a space for dialogue between medical professionals and patients, allowing them to exchange ideas and reflect on one another’s opinions. We’re incredibly proud that are platform supports this aspect of learning by bringing different people together to discuss an issue from a variety of perspectives.
May/ June spotlight – The Open University and Foreign & Commonwealth Office – Diplomacy in the 21st Century
Diplomacy in the 21st Century was developed in collaboration between the Open University and the UK’s Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO). Covering the fundamentals of modern diplomacy through real-life case studies, it began as an invite-only course aimed at FCO staff and diplomats around the world.
The first open run was scheduled to follow ‘Inside the Foreign Office’, a BBC Two documentary series which offered viewers ‘privileged access to the strange and secretive world of British diplomats’. The FCO also ran an extensive publicity campaign, including engagement on official social media channels. In addition to diplomats and FCO staff, the target audience of the open run included staff of other UK government departments and the general public.
Learners were attracted by the collaboration between two notable partners, and also saw value in the course’s six weeks’ worth of extensive content. This was reflected in important metrics including learner engagement and revenue.
April spotlight – University of Auckland – Logical and Critical Thinking
Auckland’s course on Logical and Critical Thinking, now in its 11th run, introduces some of the most vital skills in our modern world of fake news and clickbait – how to examine and evaluate received ideas – and it makes highly effective use of FutureLearn’s pedagogical tools to help learners develop and apply these skills independently. For example, formative quiz steps deliver educator feedback designed to make learners think more deeply about their answers.
The course is content-dense, but the structure takes this into account, making sure each week has a specific focus and that each week’s learning outcomes build on previous learning. This helps to motivate learners to continue through the course.
Not only does Logical and Critical Thinking have eight weeks packed with rigorous and thought-provoking content, it also uses humour to enhance learning. For a great example, watch the last 50 seconds of this video step, where the educator demonstrates why it is important to examine the premises of an argument as well as its logical construction.
April spotlight – University of Kent – Understanding Autism
Understanding Autism, a course from the University of Kent, is now in its eighth run, and continues to attract high enrolments. The topic was chosen after identifying unmet demand for an accessible online course offering reliable and evidence-based information about autism. The University of Kent is home to the Tizard Centre, widely recognised as world-leading in the study of learning disability and community care; as such, this course drew on the centre’s expertise, as well as benefiting from the credibility of its brand.
The course team also embraced social learning as a form of community-building, provoking conversation with the big question ‘Does Autism Exist?’. When designing the course, they had taken into account the need to represent the voices of people with autism-spectrum conditions in course content and in the facilitation team. This diversity was reflected in the supportive community of learners which emerged, where clinicians and support workers learned alongside people with autism-spectrum conditions and their loved ones.
March spotlight – The University of Roehampton – The Tudors
The enduring popular appeal of the history of England’s Tudor dynasty is undeniable. The era’s influence on national identity and culture can be felt to this day, its architecture marks Britain’s landscape with prodigy houses and heritage sites including the Tower of London, and it continues to inspire works of narrative art from novels and films to musicals and sitcoms. The University of Roehampton’s course, which began its first run on February 25, builds on this appeal to draw learners into the course, and keeps their interest by exploring connections between the often salacious personal lives of Tudor monarchs, the events of their reign, and topical political and social issues.
The course team made use of social media to tap into this widespread popularity. It was promoted both on Roehampton’s official social media and by educators. A tweet from the lead educator, Suzannah Lipscomb, on her personal Twitter account the day after the course opened for enrolment garnered over 1.7k likes and 400 retweets.
The success of this strategy was reflected in the outstanding course metrics, gaining over 10,000 joiners before the end of the first week and generating high revenue already.
March spotlight – The Open University – Introduction to Cyber Security
Now in its sixteenth run, the Open University’s Introduction to Cyber Security course is a perennial favourite. Since it started in October 2014, 230,000 learners have joined the course and gained skills in one of the most crucial subjects of the moment. In addition to the joiner numbers and learner satisfaction, it’s been a huge commercial success.
There are several factors behind its consistent success. Firstly, the demand for the subject is clear and pressing. The course was developed with UK Government’s National Cyber Security Programme to address a skills gap. It also features a lead educator, Cory Doctorow, who is a leading expert in the industry and well-known around the world.
Accreditation and assessment also offers extra value to learners. The course is accredited by three of the most well-regarded institutions in the field – GCHQ, APMG and The Institute of Information Security Professionals. This gives the course credibility and ensures the Certificate of Achievement has real value to employers. The course design includes tests every week, allowing learners to rigorously test their learning and provide evidence of their understanding to employers. Additionally, learners can gain external recognition of the skills gained in the course with an optional APMG exam.
February spotlight – King’s College London – Integrating Care: Depression, Anxiety and Physical Illness
This course, currently in its second run, is a strong all-rounder. In its first run it performed considerably above average on enrolments, conversion, and revenue. It appeals to two main groups of learners: healthcare professionals, and people struggling with their own mental and physical health or that of a loved one.
For professional learners, the integration of mental and physical healthcare practices is a priority area for professional development. ‘Integrating Care’ is unique among free online courses, and combines the credibility of a recognised brand and CPD Certification with succinct, well-produced content and practical case studies.
Meanwhile, for those with a more personal connection with the subject, the course is tied together with a strong narrative. Learners follow the story of a fictional character, Dave, who has depression and diabetes. His story gives learners a way to relate to the material, while also encouraging health professionals to empathise with their patients. In feedback, many remarked on how motivating they found the interactive format and the variety of content.
February spotlight – The King’s Fund – The NHS Explained: How the Health System in England Really Works
The NHS is a perennial hot topic: you’d have a hard time finding someone in the UK without an opinion on it. While this course’s largest audience was NHS employees and other healthcare workers, it was also able to tap into the popular debates around the beloved and controversial national institution which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2018.
‘The NHS Explained’ used high-quality video content and formative multiple-choice quizzes to approach a complex subject in a simple and engaging way. Its methodical structure and strong narrative also kept learners interested. Social learning was designed to be an integral part of the course through meaningful and thought-provoking discussion prompts. In their feedback, learners mentioned how much they appreciated reading others’ comments and exchanging perspectives.
Learners from many different backgrounds were able to benefit from the course, from the individual who had lived in the UK for a year and “never properly understood how the NHS worked before”, to the NHS employee of 15 years who not only enjoyed the “refresher” on familiar topics but was also able to “explore lots of new areas.”
Look out for second and third runs of ‘The NHS Explained’ later in 2019.
January spotlight – Queensland University of Technology – Teaching Students Who Have Suffered Complex Trauma
This course aimed at teaching staff and social workers debuted last spring and has already ran three times, with another three runs scheduled for 2019. It managed to tap into an unmet need, as there are no other online short courses available on this exact topic.
Although our data shows that in general 4-6 week long courses are the most successful, as they enable acquiring enough depth in a certain topic, this course’s short length (2 weeks) was a strong appeal with this particular audience. In qualitative research and surveys, teachers often tell us about their hectic lives revolving around the schedule of the academic calendar. As one teacher shared with us some positive remarks about including just the right amount of information: “no waffle, as I don’t have time for that”. Despite its length, it managed to deliver comprehensive knowledge beyond an introduction, as it had new information even for seasoned professionals. The start dates also fell outside the particularly busy periods for teachers, the start and end of the school year.
The course’s quality was also often praised by learners, unsurprisingly, as the material had already been delivered and tested in a face to face setting: ”Excellent variety of resources; videos with transcripts provided; diagrams; simple information about the complex brain”
January spotlight – Cambridge Assessment English – Teaching English Online
The creation of this course was preceded by some thorough market research about learner needs by Cambridge Assessment English. They found that more and more teachers would like to teach flexibly online, but they might lack the knowledge on how to deliver classes effectively and use the right online tools. This course hit a sweet spot with our learner base, as a quarter of our learners work in education & teaching, the majority of them teaching English. Also, courses addressing digital skill gaps in particular tend to fare well, due to an ever-increasing demand to keep up with our changing world and put new skills into practice with the help of hands-on online courses.
Even with the in-demand topic, the course could not have been successful without high quality content. The course scored 95% on the learner satisfaction survey due to it being a very well structured course with an incredible wealth of practical information that teachers can use immediately when starting out with their online teaching practise. As one learner put it: “Excellent contents, activities and additional information provided with link, articles, videos are amazing and the demo at the end of the week definitely superb. Also the people in the ‘classroom’ are very enriching with all their different experience and background and it is a very collaborative group“. On top of all the previous reasons, the educator team was also very much present, openly sharing their own perspectives.
December spotlight: Trinity College Dublin – Book of Kells
This month, the best performing course in terms of enrolments, satisfaction and even upgrades has been the Book of Kells from Trinity College Dublin. While this might seem surprising for a ‘niche’ topic, high quality and a targeted marketing campaign contributed to its success.
What led to such high learner satisfaction? In brief: the incredible range of information the course provides; the way content was broken down into manageable chunks, with extra resources for those interested in learning more; and digital access to a rare manuscript held by the partner university and widely associated with Ireland.
As one learner put it: “The wealth of information and access to resources is outstanding, and the quality of production is very encouraging in a world where so much is shallow and dumbed-down.” Learners often mentioned how much they appreciated the access to the high quality, beautiful HD images found in the book. They could also channel their inner artist during the course, trying their hand at illuminating a letter or creating calligraphy with hands-on exercises.
Trinity’s course team had a proactive marketing plan, and coordinated with both our Marketing and Comms teams on press releases and targeted emails. These efforts helped attract tens of thousands of learners to the course, including 39% from the US.
December Spotlight: London College of Fashion – Fashion and Sustainability
London College of Fashion partnered with luxury fashion group Kering to co-create a very topical fashion course on the issues, agendas and contexts relating to fashion and sustainability. The course is aimed both at people working in fashion and those with an interest in sustainability in the fashion industry.
They launched the course as part of a major marketing event at London Fashion Week, getting hundreds of enrolments on the spot during the week. Its first run attracted 10,622 enrolments, most of whom were ‘Advancers’, learners aiming to stay up-to-date in their field.
Apart from the brilliant marketing, the course’s success is also driven by its incredibly relevant topic in today’s world. The content is very high quality, covers 6 weeks of valuable material, and was tried and tested beforehand through classroom delivery.
A remarkable 95% of learners gave positive sentiment throughout the weekly surveys, such as: “I have been working in sustainability for many years. I like fashion and every time I go shopping, I see how fashion in my country is not concerned about sustainability. I hope this course can help me to work on that and make a change in the domestic industry.”
