Online education: The foundations of online teaching

In a world that's quickly becoming dominated by mobile technology, flexible working opportunities and a post-pandemic economy, online learning is here to stay. This course introduces you to the basics of reimagining, redesigning and optimising face-to-face offerings for the online environment so that learners feel connected, engaged and motivated to learn. Educators from around the world who are facing these issues in schools, universities and the vocational education sector are finding they need to adapt by upskilling to meet these changing times. This course will introduce you to the key foundational concepts required for teaching online and will explore how technology has fundamentally changed the way education can be delivered and consumed by learners.

The course will cover questions such as: What is online learning and how does it differ from learning in traditional classroom settings? Do the needs of online learners differ from their face-to-face counterparts? How can I design online learning so that it reflects and meets the needs of my learners? Which tools and resources are readily available and easy to master for facilitating engaging and interactive online learning? These questions and many more will be answered in this course, which is designed for teachers and educators who are new to online learning, or those who are preparing to adapt existing learning resources to an online learning environment. Learning outcomes By the end of this course, you'll: 1. Demonstrate an understanding of the trajectory of online learning, from a historical perspective to contemporary experience and future possibilities 2. Explain how the needs of learners in blended and fully online learning environments differ from traditional face-to-face learning environments 3. Select and use a range of techniques, tools and resources to improve the digital learning skills of learner