7 Free Online Courses in October

Autumn is my favourite part of the year – calm, beautiful and sleepy. Looking through my window I can see the trees slowly losing their leaves and getting into their winter sleep, fading colours, everything becoming quieter and slower. I enjoy the autumn walks, but I also like it when I get back home, make a nice cuppa and read an interesting book… or take part in an interesting course!

Today I want to share the courses I think could be really useful, especially now, when after the first few weeks of teaching you may encounter some interesting teaching challenges:

Teaching and Assessing Core Skills by the British Council

Start date: 18/10/21
Duration: 4 weeks
For whom: teachers and school leaders looking to build their students’ core skills
You will learn:

• how a theoretical understanding of how core skills can be broken down to support progression
• how the principles that underpin effective core skills teaching can be applied in your school environment
• how to assess your students’ existing skills and plan next steps

Exploring Teaching and Assessments for Higher Education by the Coventry University

Start date: 18/10/21
Duration: 2 weeks
For whom: anyone interested in teaching within higher education
You will learn:

• how the context in which you teach and implications for your practice
• how to critically reflect on the value of your current approaches for student learning
• how to evaluate your assessment and feedback practice

Good Practice in Autism Education by the University of Bath

Start date: now
Duration: 4 weeks
For whom: anyone working with autistic children in schools, such as teachers and teaching assistants
You will learn:

• how to identify the educational requirements of children on the autism spectrum with and without intellectual (learning) difficulties
• how to explain the concept of inclusion to promote inclusive culture, policies and practices within mainstream schools
• how to compare specific examples of good practice in autism education

Mindfulness: A Focus on Adolescents by the University of Glasgow

Start date: now
Duration: 4 weeks
For whom: all professionals interested in mindfulness, including healthcare professionals, educators, parents and anyone looking to enhance their understanding of mindfulness
You will learn:

• how the skills for applying a variety of mindfulness techniques and practice that can be integrated into everyday life
• how to cultivate an understanding of mindfulness skills to promote focused attention on thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations, and to have greater awareness of how these impact our actions and emotion regulation
• how to recognise the value of acceptance, empathy, and compassion in mindfulness practice

Short Film in Language Teaching by the British Film Institute (BFI) 

Start date: now
Duration: 3 weeks
For whom: language educators who want to develop their professional expertise in film-rich approaches to teaching
You will learn:

• what the language of film, especially short film, offers in support of language teaching
• how to design effective teaching strategies for working with film in language teaching
• how the use of creative film technologies support effective language teaching

Designing a Future Where Learning is a Lifestyle by Samsung

Start date: now
Duration: 2 weeks
For whom: young people aged 16-25 who are passionate about education and the possibilities of technology in solving pressing world issues
You will learn:

• how the current landscape of education relates to you today.
• how the challenges and opportunities that technology brings redesign the future of education
• how to understand the fundamentals and importance of empathetic design thinking

Makerspaces for Creative Learning by the University of Sheffield

Start date: now
Duration: 3 weeks
For whom: anyone interested in makerspaces and how they are used in formal and informal learning spaces
You will learn:

• the educational, cultural and social value of makerspaces
• how to organise makerspaces in early years settings, schools, libraries, museums and community spaces
• how to build your own makerspace

I hope you’ll find the courses really useful. Enjoy!