The Open University

5 fitness trends for 2017

29 December 2016

Simon Rea, OU Lecturer in Sport and Fitness, takes a look back at sport in 2016 and examines the big trends in fitness for 2017… More people are getting involved in sport As 2016 comes to an end Sport England released a very positive report saying that the number of women playing sport has reached […]

Festive feast over? There is always room for another course.

26 December 2016

It’s Boxing Day and you have munched enough chocolate, pudding, and turkey to sustain you for another twelve months; however, there is always room for another course. If you are bored on Boxing Day and there isn’t anything of interest on TV – even though you have 846 channels – then dine on the OpenLearn […]

Definition of word fascism in dictionary

The world’s words of the year pass judgement on a dark, surreal 2016

22 December 2016

Every December, lexicographers around the world choose their “words of the year”, and this year, perhaps more than ever, the stories these tell provide a fascinating insight into how we’ve experienced the drama and trauma of the last 12 months. 2016 had potential. It was 500 years ago that Thomas More wrote his Utopia, and […]

The Open University in Scotland, The Scotsman

Taking students on a ‘learner journey’

6 December 2016

This article is by Learning and Teaching Co-ordinator at The Open University in Scotland, Joan Thomson, and was originally published in The Scotsman. The “learner journey” is a concept which crops up in most of the literature on education policy. It’s not exactly the most user-friendly of phrases – I wonder how many students would recognise […]

The filter bubble isn’t just Facebook’s fault — it’s yours

5 December 2016

Following the shock results of Brexit and the Trump victory, a lot of attention has focused on the role that Facebook might have played in creating online political ghettos in which false news can easily spread. Facebook now has serious political influence thanks to its development from a social networking tool into a primary source […]

Top trends to disrupt education over next decade

1 December 2016

New findings in a report from The Open University outline future trends which will impact on education and teaching. The Innovating Pedagogy report says that the productive failure, formative analytics and design thinking are amongst the stand-out developments for the sector over the next 10 years. Success and failure analysed Mike Sharples, Professor of Educational […]

We must challenge the culture of silence about child sexual abuse in football

25 November 2016

Professional footballers, including the former Crewe Alexandra player Andy Woodward, have been speaking out recently about their experiences of sexual abuse as children. They include alleged victims of football coach Barry Bennell, who was sentenced to nine years in prison in 1998, and are waiving their right to anonymity. The NSPCC said a special hotline, […]

‘Understanding vision impairment is more imperative than ever’

22 November 2016

Older people with Vision Impairment (VI) from Black and Asian Minority Ethnic (BAME) groups in England are less likely to access vital support services than those from White British backgrounds, a recent study by The Open University (OU) has concluded. The research, commissioned by the national sight loss charity, Thomas Pocklington Trust, interviewed 50 older […]

Teacher delivering material in a classroom

OU and Save the Children announce new partnership to raise education standards in India

8 November 2016

As part of the UK government’s trade delegation to India, The Open University and Save the Children (the leading child rights organisation in India), have announced a new partnership to deliver the TESS-India (Teacher Education Through School-Based Support) project from November 2016. Since 2012, the project has been funded by DFID (UK Department for International Development). […]

Illustration of training swimmers in a swimming pool

‘Super-human’ athletes are at risk from the post-Olympic blues – here’s why

23 August 2016

As nations all over the world welcome their Olympic athletes home, many of us will take a moment to reflect on the whirlwind of psychological pressure, physical strain, elation and disappointment, which they have just experienced. But whether they’re revelling in the glory of hard-won medals, or recovering from heartbreaking defeats, Olympic athletes won’t have […]

OU News

Category: Education, languages and health