Being an Online Learner is a series of articles for Cloisters that explores what it is to be an adult learner here in the 21st Century, in the Age of the Internet. We’ll look at what online learning is - and isn’t; we’ll find out where online learning has come from and all the benefits of life as an online learner.

-Noel Chidwick

3: Stuff and No Nonsense

"Young cat, if you keep your eyes open enough, oh, the stuff you would learn! The most wonderful stuff!"

-Dr. Seuss

Last time, we talked about how communication was the key to a good online course: tutors and students ‘talking’ via email and discussion groups. But there is little point if you have nothing to talk about. This month, we’ll take a tour of the contents of an online course.

More than words

When Gutenberg built his printing press, books were available to more and more people, and this started a new revolution in education - as long as you could read. Some people argue that the Internet is the second great revolution in education, taking publishing on to a whole new level. That you are reading this on a screen shows that you are used to the idea of the web as a publishing tool: words printed on glass. But it’s better than that, because of course it’s not printed at all. This is ideal for an online course. Unlike a textbook, changes can be made at any time, so a course can be kept up-to-date. For example, in the news recently was a discovery of an Egyptian tomb never before seen (Pharaonic tomb find stuns Egypt). Our Archaeology tutor was quick to inform his students, and point them to the best web-sites to find out more about it (and of course, discuss the implications - see The Online Learner and The Art of Communication): try that in a newly printed textbook!

The web is more than words. Pictures can tell their own story. Our Astronomy course is illustrated by pictures taken by the Hubble telescope orbiting the Earth, as well as by our tutor. Back on Earth, the tutor for our course Before we go to Paradise: the Development of the Garden Cemetery had a grand time taking photographs in Victorian graveyards - and he invites students to send in their pictures too.

And now that broadband is taking off, an online course can include audio and video, making for a very rich mix of learning materials. This you can see if you look at the short video in our Fire Balloon course (you may have to register first - the video is on page 5, The Modern Hot Air Balloon).

Alternatively, visit the BBC History site where you will find a load of resources, both video and audio.

And there is interactive multimedia. We use this in our courses to help make a point as appropriate. For example, in our Astronomy course we make use of a common web tool called Flash. Did you know that the temperature of a star was linked to its colour? You can play with this little piece of interactivity to explore the relationship.

And if you have a budget of millions, and a team of hundreds you can do what the BBC do so well on their website. This section, Animation, shows what is possible.

The great thing about all this is that if you are thinking about coming back to learning, then you couldn’t do better than take up an online course. Your course can be presented in all formats, to suit a range of learning styles. If you like words, we’ve got them. If you learn better by listening, then you are well in with the iPod generation. That’s no problem too. Pictures, and videos for those of you who like your learning visual - an online course is for you. And if you’re not sure of your learning style? Then enrol in our online course: How to Be an Online Learner, and we have access to tools and techniques that will help you.

But as I have said all along: an online course is more than just ‘stuff’. The BBC site is terrific, and well worth the licence fee, and great to play with, but is it true learning? Or just a very good learning resource? Think back to what we discussed last time.

Next time in Cloisters we will look at what you ‘do’ on an online course.

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