Category: Learning design

  • Student journeys: embedding skills into the curriculum

    Student journeys: embedding skills into the curriculum

    The Open University approach to designing for learning puts a strong focus on knowing who the learners are, catering for their needs and supporting them to succeed. One of the strengths of the OU is that its students are very diverse – the OU’s mission is to be open to people, places, methods and ideas […]

  • The art of conversation: why collaboration matters in online learning 

    The art of conversation: why collaboration matters in online learning 

    If you’ve ever witnessed an awkward role play exercise in a training session, you may dread the idea of collaborative learning activities. The good news is that when it comes to online learning, you can plan and manage collaborative activities to ensure that nobody’s embarrassed and everyone benefits – possibly in ways they hadn’t anticipated.   You may have already designed some online collaborative activities. If you found it tricky, you’re not alone. They […]

  • Practical tools for developing student-centred learning

    Practical tools for developing student-centred learning

    Over the last decade, The Open University has developed its approach to designing and evaluating student-centred learning through a wealth of research and scholarship. The basis for much of what we do derives from the tools developed through the OU Learning Design Initiative.

  • Sharing our resources for designing online learning

    Sharing our resources for designing online learning

    Over the past few months of lockdown we’ve received a number of calls for advice from the sector and we’ve participated in a number of webinars as well as delivering workshops for various external clients. As time has progressed we’ve aimed to make sure that as many of these resources as possible are shared and […]