The Online Educator: People and Pedagogy

Enhance your online teaching with strategies from educational technology experts

As e-learning becomes ever-more widespread, online educators are being required to design learning experiences that engage and meet the needs of very diverse learners.

This course, developed by The Open University’s Institute of Educational Technology, explores four myths: that learning design is about technology and content; that innovation and accessibility are incompatible; that researching online learning is an ethics-free zone, and that educators’ online identities are irrelevant.

Studying the course will help you enhance your practice through videos, quizzes and discussion with peers.

This course is suitable for anyone involved in online education or training, including teachers, trainers, course designers and researchers. While it will help to have a current practice setting to draw on, this is not essential.

To take part in this course you need an internet connection. No specific software is required.

• Disruption and design
• Myths, hype and reality in online education
• Put people first!
• From people to pedagogy
• Innovation and accessibility
• Is online education inherently accessible to all?
• Are innovation and accessibility compatible?
• What's the value of accessibility guidelines?
• Evidence and ethics
• How can I cut through the hype?
• I'm innovating... Is it working?
• What ethical considerations are involved researching online education?
• Who am I online?
• What’s the importance of online identity for educators?
• Are you a visitor or a resident (and why does this matter)?
• How can Twitter be used as part of an online educator identity?
• End of course quiz