7 Free Online Courses in July

No rest for the wicked*! Summer break may be a great time to work on our skills and abilities, especially when we know that the new school year is bound to bring changes. This month I’ve decided to focus on the courses that are quite summerish and light, so you can learn between a morning suntanning session and an afternoon nap, when you sip some chilled white wine while nibbling on sweet cherries…

1 Teaching Entrepreneurial Thinking by QUT

Start: 2.07

Duration: 2 weeks

For whom: teachers and educational leaders who want to improve their teaching practice

This course will introduce you to what entrepreneurial thinking is, and why it’s an important skill for young people to learn, especially in a contemporary world where the big problems of today and tomorrow are yet to be identified. You will discuss the types of entrepreneurship and how entrepreneurial thinking can be applied in your classroom.

2 The Art of Teaching Foreign Languages to Young Learners by Universidad Nacional de Córdoba

Start: 2.07

Duration: 4 weeks

For whom: educators interested in teaching languages to young people

The course reflects on various aspects of teaching foreign languages to young learners. You will discuss the developmental traits of children between ages 4 and 12, learn how to engage with children in a creative way and try to foster intercultural understanding through multimodal communication. If you are going to teach young learners soon, you will find this course particularly useful.

3 Exploring Play: the Importance of Play in Everyday Life by the University of Sheffield

Start: 9.07

Duration: 7 weeks

For whom: educators who focus on innovation and creativity

This course will help you reflect on the relationship between play, creativity and innovation in the workplace. From exploring the history of toys and games to investigating types of play in virtual worlds – you will discuss various aspects and definitions of play and current debates about how the nature of play changes.

This course is my pick of the month – it may be 7 weeks long, but it may help us give scientific background when trying to convince students that yes, you can learn the language while playing!

4 English Football: a Social History by the University of Leicester, DMU and Leicester City FC

Start: 16.07

Duration: 4 weeks

For whom: anyone interested in football and its background

It’s the World Cup time and even you don’t understand the football fever, if you are a teacher of English as a foreign language you simply have to acknowledge the role of football in the UK! This course will explore the history and culture of football, with a focus on the World Cup and on Leicester City Football Club (them becoming Premier League Champions in 2016 was one of the most unusual moments in football history).

5 Pictures of Youth: An Introduction to Children’s Visual Culture by the University of York

Start: 16.07

Duration: 4 weeks

For whom: anyone with an interest in contemporary educational and cultural topics

The course provides an introduction to popular types of visual culture for children and young people. By the end, you will gain a deeper understanding of children’s film, television, drama, picturebooks and comics. You will discuss the traditions of children’s visual culture and the plurality of ways in which childhood can be or has been represented – and have some time to reflect on your own childhood as well.

6 Professional Resilience: Building Skills to Thrive by Deakin University

Start: 23.07

Duration: 2 weeks

For whom: every teacher <sigh>

We all know that being a teacher is a tough and a stressful job. On this course you will learn about the capabilities, skills, and self-care practices that contribute to resilience. This will enable you to build up your own resilience so you’re ready to meet challenges at work and at home – and I believe summer break may be a great idea to build up resilience before the new school year begins.

7 Teaching English Online by Cambridge Assessment English

Start: 30.07

Duration: 4 weeks

For whom: teachers who want to start teaching online

Online education is awesome, believe me – I was there both as a teacher and as a student. This course will help you start by introducing the context of English Language Teaching online. You will learn how to plan and deliver online language lessons and how to adapt your face-to-face teaching skills to an online environment. If you feel like working from home – that’s a perfect solution!

I hope you’ll find the courses useful – remember, no rest for the teachers!

Enjoy!

*Actually even the wicked may have some rest, so I’m taking a fortnight of a summer break. See you on the 17th of July when I’ll share some exciting adventures I’m going to take you during the magical Zlot Nauczycieli w Stryszawie and IATEFL Conference in Wrocław. Stay tuned!