Laura Underwood
Open University Course Developer. Instructional Design and Media Production at Chemistry Communications. Interested in open education, languages, data viz, design. Former Communications Lecturer.
Location United Kingdom
Activity
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Laura Underwood made a comment
Thank you to everyone who took part! I enjoyed reading your comments as you worked through the material. I hope the course will help you towards your online learning (and teaching!) goals.
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Laura Underwood made a comment
Lots of interesting responses here. Thank you all for sharing your experiences!
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Laura Underwood made a comment
It sounds like many of you have had some great tutors. Good to hear it! How do you think your own experience of receiving feedback influences the way you might give feedback to someone else?
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Laura Underwood made a comment
Lots of technologies are being used now to help people connect even when we have to social distance. Like many of you, I've been in many meetings via Zoom, Skype and Teams these last few months. A lot of teachers have transitioned to teaching their courses this way. These are interesting times for online learning!
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Laura Underwood made a comment
Lots of interesting responses here. Thank you all for sharing your experiences!
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Laura Underwood made a comment
It sounds like many of you have had some great tutors. Good to hear it! How do you think your own experience of receiving feedback influences the way you might give feedback to someone else?
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Laura Underwood made a comment
Well done to everyone who tried the activities! I know some of you experienced technical challenges. Our apologies for that. So much of a student's online learning experience depends on things outside of the teacher's control such as internet access and speed, devices, browsers and more, so the experience is not the same for every student.
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Laura Underwood made a comment
Some learners face technical challenges when trying to learn online, which is something for teachers to consider. We can't always know which browser or device a student is using, or how good their internet access will be, so it is worth considering this if you are studying or teaching online, as evidenced by the difficulties some of you had while accessing...
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Laura Underwood made a comment
Some of you are not able to use the app because of device constraints – that's ok! Do you use any other apps for learning? Is an app a convenient way for you to learn something new, or do you think the technical barriers too great to rely on this kind of approach?
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Laura Underwood made a comment
I hope you all enjoy the game! It's a fun way to learn something new, isn't it?
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Laura Underwood made a comment
Welcome to Week 2! It's great to have you back. I'm looking forward to seeing how you respond to this week's material.
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Laura Underwood made a comment
Well done to everyone who completed Week 1! We hope to see you again next week.
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Laura Underwood made a comment
Interesting responses! It looks like many of you would still prefer to use books and the library to research this topic, with some people feeling wary of Wikipedia.
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Laura Underwood made a comment
Thank you for your responses. Some of us prefer a computer screen for its size, while others like the portability of a mobile device. It seems like more and more people are using mobile devices for online learning so that they can learn on-the-go.
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Laura Underwood made a comment
Do you find that it is easier or more difficult to stay motivated when you are learning online? If you find it difficult to stay motivated, what would make this easier for you?
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Laura Underwood made a comment
So many different (and creative!) uses of the internet, here. Well done to everyone who has taken part. I hope this helps you to recognise the learning you are doing day-to-day, even if you don't immediately think that you are learning!
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Laura Underwood made a comment
I noticed that many of you mentioned the COVID-19 pandemic. That's definitely a factor in pushing people towards learning online. It seems like the trend will continue through 2020 and beyond, given that face-to-face learning is not so easy to do right now. How has the shift to online learning been for you, if you were previously learning in a classroom?
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Laura Underwood made a comment
Thank you for your responses so far! We have some wide-ranging uses here. I go online for just about everything – communication, research, shopping, even books and TV. The internet is a factor in just about every aspect of our lives, now, so why not learning? It seems like a natural place to go to learn something new, and many of us are already using it...
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Laura Underwood made a comment
Hello everyone! Thank you for joining us. You can work through this course at your own pace. I'll be checking in on the discussions and I'm looking forward to reading about your experience and your goals as an online learner. I hope you enjoy the course!
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Laura Underwood made a comment
Hello everyone! You can work through this course at your own pace. I hope it helps you to take your next steps in online learning.
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Laura Underwood made a comment
Thank you to everyone who took part! I enjoyed reading your comments as you worked through the material. I hope the course will help you towards your online learning (and teaching!) goals.
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Laura Underwood made a comment
It looks like we have lots of aspiring teachers, here! I hope this course helped you to envision how you could adapt to teaching online.
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Laura Underwood replied to Hany Hafez
Thanks for your honest feedback @SilvanaM. We're just trying to show some different ways to learn (and teach) online. It doesn't have to just be about reading or watching videos, there can be more creative ways of engaging with the content. Of course, we have easier access to content that the OU has developed as we wouldn't be able to link you to courses from...
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Laura Underwood made a comment
Welcome to Week 2! I hope you'll enjoy the content this week. Please keep up your contributions on the discussion boards. It's great to hear from you all.
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Laura Underwood made a comment
Thank you to everyone who took part this week. It has been a pleasure to read your comments and follow along with you. See you in Week 2! :)
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Laura Underwood made a comment
Well done to everyone who tried out this task. You are developing your online research skills while doing this - something you'll use all the time while learning online. Great job!
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Hi @SumanKumari if you click on the link 'What are you capable of?' and scroll down the page a little bit, you'll see the video there.
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Laura Underwood made a comment
Some good reflections here. It seems that most of you are happy to receive feedback as long as it is specific and you can take action from it. Feedback can be a source of stress and anxiety for some learners, though, so it is important that educators approach this with care.
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Laura Underwood made a comment
It's interesting how many people are using a smartphone. The use of smartphones and tablets has really grown in the last few years, and I find more and more students are using these as their primary way of accessing online learning. Do you find that there are any limitations to this approach?
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Laura Underwood replied to Jane M
Interesting observation, Jane! I think you are right about the pandemic blurring the lines - it seems a lot of people are doing all sorts of formal and informal learning right now with most of it happening online.
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Laura Underwood made a comment
Well done to everyone who tried this out! As you can see, you're already learning online in many ways in your day-to-day life.
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Laura Underwood replied to Pooja Sahu
Hi Pooja, when you click on 'Launch' you'll be taken to a short form with pink buttons that you can use to navigate through. I hope that helps!
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Laura Underwood made a comment
Hello everyone, and welcome to the course! Thank you for joining us. I look forward to learning about you all in the discussions over the next couple of weeks.
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Laura Underwood made a comment
Well done to everyone who completed the course. Thank you for joining us! It has been a pleasure to read your comments. I hope this course is just the beginning of your online learning journey. Good luck with your next course!
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Laura Underwood made a comment
Hi everyone, if you want to try this out, you'll need sign up for an OU account using the first link. This is free, and optional, of course.
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Laura Underwood made a comment
Hi everyone, if you click on the 'find out more' link above, you can optionally upgrade to receive a certificate.
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Laura Underwood replied to Janet O'Brien
Good luck, Janet! I hope you enjoy your experience with online study.
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Great, Janet! I hope they are helpful for you.
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What subject will you be studying on your masters, Diovimar?
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Laura Underwood replied to Wendy Ortega
It makes such a difference when we can put ourselves in our students' shoes when teaching online. I think it is helpful for all teachers, whether they teach face-to-face or online, to try out a bit of online study to see how it differs and understand what their students' experience is like. It sounds like you've got a new perspective, Wendy, and I hope it...
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Laura Underwood replied to Rizaldy Umali
How have you found working with Google Classroom, Rizaldy? Do you find it is easy to use?
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Absolutely, Jarutas! The self-discipline part can't be underestimated. but, with careful planning and a workspace that suits you, you are well on your way. Students often don't think about the change in approach they will need to take with the shift to online learning, so it's important to think about this before jumping in to an online course.
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Laura Underwood made a comment
Well done to everyone who tried out some of these tools! I hope it has helped to expand your horizons about what is possible in online learning. I love creative application like these because it shows us that learning online doesn't have to be about reading long texts all the time - there are many ways to engage learners in similar ways as we might do in the...
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Laura Underwood made a comment
No worries if you are not able to access the app on your device, it's just one example of the many apps and tools out there that can help you learn something in a new way.
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Laura Underwood made a comment
Hi everyone, it might be easier if you open the link in a new browser tab for ease of navigation back to FutureLearn once you have finished playing. Enjoy! :)
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Laura Underwood replied to Angel Roberto Rivas
I did my own MA online and loved it. But then again I love technology and am happy to do my own troubleshooting and do my own research. I wondered what the experience of studying a degree might be like for someone who is not as confident with technology? It perhaps could cause a lot of frustration and give the student another level of things to learn if they...
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Laura Underwood replied to Diovimar Librea
As someone who works in the field, I'm very interested to see the changes that happen because of the 'new normal' we're living in. There is a lot of potential in online learning to make education accessible to all, but you are right that access to devices is not a given for everyone. I hope we can find ways to make access equitable.
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Laura Underwood made a comment
Good morning everyone, and welcome to Week 2! We'll be checking in with you in the discussions as we go. Thank you for all of your contributions so far. I hope you enjoy this week's learning.
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Laura Underwood made a comment
It's interesting that a number of us used Wikipedia as a reference on this. It's a bit of a double-edged sword, sometimes not accepted for academic assignment referencing. it's a great first stop but always try to get your facts from at least one other source. Wikipedia has been able to cover the volume of content it has because it is crowdsourced – anyone...
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Laura Underwood made a comment
Well done to everyone who has completed Week 1! Looking forward to seeing you all again next week. Have a great weekend!
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Laura Underwood replied to Allan Harkness
Thanks, Allan! I hope you're enjoying the course so far.
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I have wildflowers, sunflowers, lavender, alliums and foxgloves for the bees. Hope you find some flowers you like, Bernadette. :)
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I don't know where I'd be without the internet! Work, recipes, directions, general curiosity.... everything really!
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Which platforms did you use for English, Angel? I'm trying to learn Spanish so always looking for good resources. :)
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Why is that, Elaine?
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Laura Underwood replied to Norma Gourlay
In contrast, I love it because I find I can focus better on what I'm looking for instead of getting distracted or buying too much that I don't need. It has benefits and downsides too, that's for sure.
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Hi Angel, good advice - always wise to be cautious about links in emails as there is too much spam going around.
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Laura Underwood replied to Norma Gourlay
I hope so, Norma! FutureLearn gives us a great opportunity to keep our minds active during this lockdown.
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Laura Underwood replied to Hannah Townsend
I hope so too, Hannah! Good luck with it. :)
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Laura Underwood made a comment
Hello everyone, and welcome to the course! We'll be checking in with you throughout the next two weeks, so please join in the discussions as you go. I look forward to learning from your perspectives.
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Laura Underwood made a comment
Well done with your analyses everyone! Great to see!
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Great points, Bara. Feeling some level of appreciation, belonging or meaning as part of the project is hugely important and this is an aspect that can be built in to the design of the project and the usability of any related technologies that participants are using.
Great examples! Do any other learners have similar examples that they have tried on their...
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Laura Underwood made a comment
Well done to all those who have made it this far! You are doing great. We're enjoying reading your comments and ideas. Lovely to have people with so many different experiences and projects in mind as we work through this together.
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Amended.
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Laura Underwood made a comment
Hi everyone, I hope you are getting on well with Week 3. Do let us know if you have questions and share your experience as you work through the content. I look forward to hearing from you again this week.
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Laura Underwood replied to Jan Mole
Here's a link to the project Jan mentioned in case anyone would like to explore it. https://www.capturingourcoast.co.uk
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Thanks for spotting that, Jordi! I will try to reach out to the GROW team and see if they can fix this.
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Some great points, Helena! I think you're right – I often feel like I have too many apps already. If there was a movement by different initiatives to come together and create a more wide-reaching app that allowed participants to get involved in a range of projects based on their location and interests, that might work better.
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Laura Underwood replied to Eeva Berglund
Hope you enjoy the trip, Eeva!
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Experience not necessary - just a willingness to give it a go! :)
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Maybe an opportunity for you to start a project! :)
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Sounds like there is a lot of promising work in Melbourne, Alisa! Thank you for sharing.
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Laura Underwood replied to Jan Mole
Very interesting technique, Jan! I wonder if others have used audio recordings as part of data collection?
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Has anyone had experience with some of these more DIY approaches to technology? I'm sure there are many great examples out there.
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Good point, Carlos! It depends on where citizen scientists are working, of course, but definitely something to be aware of. Has anyone else run into issues like this?
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Laura Underwood made a comment
Welcome to Week 2, everyone! I look forward to hearing more about your projects and ideas this week.
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Sorry @CallumMorrison I'm not following... what screen are you referring to?
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Sounds like a great project, Jan! Thank you for sharing. :)
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Hi Debra, did you also join us for the GROW courses? Lots of good info there on veg growing.
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Laura Underwood replied to Carmen Segura
Bienvenida Carmen! I hope the course will help you towards developing you own citizen science projects.
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Hi Naxhelli, sounds like an interesting project! We'd love to know more once you begin to develop your plans.
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Thanks for flagging this, Ian, and our apologies. Some content was moved around a little bit, yes.
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Laura Underwood made a comment
Hi everyone - I've added a Glossary PDF for your reference.
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No worries Barbara! You're here and that's the first step.
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Laura Underwood made a comment
Well done everyone! There are lots of good points raised here, but it makes me a little sad to read about them – so many problems to sort out. But, you are all here and keen to make a difference so that's a great start.
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Hi Rory, sounds like a great idea for a project. I hope the course can help you towards your goal!
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Hola Jordi! Welcome to the course. I'd love to learn more about the butterfly project - do share a link with us if you have one.
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Welcome, Amara! Sounds like a great idea. I hope all goes well with the new proposal!
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Is anyone else having the same trouble as Ian is?
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Hi @IanMalcolm, sorry to hear this! I haven't been able to replicate the issue myself so I'm not sure what to advise. Does your internet connection seem to be working well otherwise? I'm wondering if it's. bandwidth issue. For me sometimes the video takes a second to load but once it does it seems to play without any trouble.
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Hi Celia - Observatories are usually organisations that run projects (and often have many projects ongoing). I hope that makes sense! You'll learn much more about this as we go.
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Hi Ashmead and welcome! If I remember right, you took part in the GROW courses with us, too. Great to have you with us!
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These sound like interesting projects, Celia! Is there any info about your projects online? I'd love to take a look at a link if you have one. Hope you enjoy the course!
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I hope it does, Ian!
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Laura Underwood made a comment
Hi everyone! Welcome to the course. It's great to have you all with us, and lovely to see people from all around the world who are keen to make a positive environmental impact. I'm looking forward to finding out more about your activities in citizen science!
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Laura Underwood made a comment
Welcome, everyone. Wow! Our map is filling up already. Great to have you all with us. Just a quick reminder to include your city or town and country only rather than a full address. Thanks!
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Laura Underwood replied to Lynn Semple
Great to hear that this is happening in Glasgow! I am local and so off to explore your site. :)
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Welcome, Dominique! What kinds of veg and herbs have you been able to grow? What do you think went wrong with the others? Always great to hear about others' experiences.
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I hope you will!
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Laura Underwood made a comment
Thanks to everyone who has described their growing plot so far. I am feeling garden envy imagining some of your magical plots. :)
