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Open University communities around the web

Hello!

Members of the OU community (that’s you) – staff, students and alumni – are scattered across the globe and our online content reaches just as wide. The OU has a huge presence online and we’re keen to build a relationship with you in the spaces you’re already comfortable with, as well as trying out new spaces together.

We want our content to be accessible to all and that’s why we have thousands of hours of content freely available via YouTube, iTunes U and OpenLearn, much of which can be reused in a way that benefits you. (A small point to bear in mind is that the terms and conditions of the licences for each of these sites does vary and you can contact Stuart Brown if you want more details on this).

If you use a social networking site to contact other students or to help your study we have some guidance about the OU policies that apply in that medium. Please read Using social networking tools:  guidance for OU students' on Student Policies. 

Platform

Platform logo

Platform is the OU’s community website, targeted at students and alumni, but open and accessible to all. The site features a broad range of content from OU headline news, feature articles and bulletins linked to the subjects you’re studying, events, competitions, student blogs, video and audio content, interest groups and forums. It’s a great place to chat to current students, graduates or even those who are brand new to study, across all faculties, subjects and stages in the student journey. It’s also a place to share your own stories, successes and thoughts.

 

There’s also an area for OU students and alumni to access member offers and discounts, as well as a community noticeboard for posting notices, appeals for course books or questions. You can also comment on articles, rate them, share content via Twitter and Facebook and create and manage your own interest groups.
Platform was built using the Open Source Drupal Content Management System and while it can be accessed by the general public, in order to comment on articles, post news items or contribute to the forums or groups you'll need to log in with your OU username or password.

 

Facebook

Open University Facebook page

You've got a Facebook profile right? So have we! Join us here and find out what students and non-students alike are saying about their OU experience. You can even join the OU Library on Facebook. 

If you're an OU student we've created a couple of Facebook applications that might be of interest to you. The first is called Course Profiles - it allows you to show others what courses you have studied (and hope to study in the future). Based on this info the app enables you to create relationships with other OU students, leave course reviews, access free course-related content, and suggests possible future courses based on others who have studied similar things to you.

The second app is My OU Story - this app allows you to publish your thoughts as you go through your course. You can assign an emotional status to each story and then see how your mood has changed throughout your journey! You can see other people's stories and leave them messages too; it's a great way to meet new people, offer support and share stories.

Twitter

Twitter logo

 

If you’re a Twitter user, then you’ll find the OU on there too. The OU has two accounts @openuniversity and @ou_community.  The former is used mainly for communicating news, events and upcoming broadcasts and the latter is used to discuss issues and engage in conversation with our followers.  
If you've got something to share with us direct a tweet at either account or just mention ‘Open University’ in your tweet and we'll find it. And be sure to follow some of our hashtags.

 

OU Students Association (OUSA)

OUSA Logo

 

The Open University Students’ Association is run by students for students. Its purpose is to serve your interests and to ensure that the student voice is heard throughout the university.

 

OUSA’s forums are open to all members of the OU community and are all moderated by students. Whatever your interests, hobbies or areas of academic study you’ll find a forum to suit you. 

OUSA is also on Facebook and Twitter and welcomes your participation there.

YouTube

YouTube screengrab

 

Did you know that the OU has its own channel on YouTube and was the first UK university to do so? The OU is also YouTube EDU’s largest UK university channel with 800 videos that have received 11.2 million views by 6.2 million viewers.
Under the themes of learning, student life and research, you’ll find a huge range of video content here, covering all the subjects you love as well as content created by members of our community. And, even better, you’re free to embed much of the content on your own site, profile or blog.

 

iTunes U

Screengrab of the OU page on iTunes U

 

The OU was one of the first UK universities to make its podcasts available for free on iTunes U, so if you’re in need of something to listen to on the bus, check us out.
 
In fact, in April 2012 the OU became the first university in Europe to reach more than one million subscriptions through its 52 courses on the new iTunes U App since its launch in January 2012.
 
For the more technical members of the community, the RSS for each podcast is available via iTunes so you're free to mashup/widgetise as you want. There's also a transcript of each podcast available so if you're looking for a little background research for a blog post or article this could be a great place to start. Copy and paste away if you need, but don't forget to link back and reference us.

 

OpenLearn

OpenLearn logo

Interested in a new topic and want to dig deeper? Or maybe you're passionate about a subject and want to explore it further? Whether it’s a five minute exploration or a 50 hour expedition into learning that you’re after, you’ll find it on OpenLearn. And for free.


OpenLearn is the home of free learning from The Open University. With over 27 million visits since its launch in 2006, the site averages 300,000 unique visitors a month.

Everything you'll find on the site has been created by The OU with input from our experts. For over four decades, we’ve made great programmes in partnership with the BBC, and OpenLearn is the place where you'll find learning inspired by those programmes. You can also try a taste of student life with over 650 free courses, developed from modules that our registered students take.

Visit OpenLearn now and discover a world of interactive games, videos, podcasts, online debates and ways to get your hands on free posters and booklets.

What are you waiting for? Take your study further with us now.

OpenLearn is proud to be part of the OER movement. This means that all the content you find on the site is made freely available to you under Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 licence (UK: England & Wales), unless otherwise stated.

Flickr

Flick through our photos on the OU Flickr account! If you’ve been to an OU event recently and have some photos to share, let us know. For example, if you load pictures of your graduation to Flickr, be sure to tag them with ‘OU_ceremonies’ so others can find them too. 

LinkedIn

Network with The Open University Business School LinkedIn Group. This group is open to students, alumni, staff, and prospective students who wish to connect and network with like minded people within the community of our prestigious triple-accredited Business School, take part in a conversation or start your own!

The Open University Business School Alumni also have a LinkedIn Group (closed to only Business School Alumni) which can be found here.