The written word is a powerful communication tool. For short online courses, it is how we share learning materials, build community, and create instructor presence. Online courses use a mixture of reading and listening coupled with more interactive learning like discussion forums, multiple choice quizzes, and reflective exercises. This means the learner’s overall experience is […]

Discussion is a powerful tool for online learning. It can help foster a sense of community and encourage peer to peer interaction and improve learner engagement. Discussion can take the form of debate or reflective sharing, giving learners the opportunity to expand upon and clarify their understanding of key ideas. It moves beyond more passive […]

We’ve been creating free short online courses since 2012, and have created more than 80 courses hosted on three partner platforms, Coursera, edX and FutureLearn. We’re fairly sure that we’re the only UK university to partner with all three of these major online course platforms! These partners and their websites are huge marketing machines, taking […]

Did you know that hiring for digital marketing roles has been growing nearly 33% year-over-year? As an MSc Marketing student at the University of Edinburgh, I found it no surprise that Linkedin has listed digital marketing as one of the fastest growing sectors in 2021 (source: CNBC). While the world has already been gradually leaving traditional media for digital over time, the COVID-19 pandemic has greatly accelerated the process. Many marketers immediately scrambled to reach consumers through the […]

We heard some fantastic news last week – Graham Nimmo, Programme Director of the MSc Critical Care, has been awarded the Principal’s Medal for Exceptional Contribution 2020, together with David Griffith. I have worked closely with Graham since March on the (very!) rapid build, launch and three runs of the COVID-19 Critical Care: Understanding and […]

I’m building a boat. A wooden boat, in a traditional hand-crafted way, I’m a student on a course on boat building, to build an Arendalspram, which is a traditional small Norwegian wooden rowboat, popular along the Skagerrak (love the sound of this word, its sounds so Viking, its the sea between Norway and Denmark) coast, […]

So, day 1 back in the office (not the office), after a 9-week paternity leave which coincided with a sudden decision as a family to move countries. We are getting settled now in Risor – Trehusbyen (The town of wooden houses) Norway. Everyone seems to be settling faster than me, I have been asked by […]

  Prepare to be intellectually challenged… Get your mind in focus as quickly as you can. This is not going to be an ordinary blog post. There won’t be a gentle introduction, followed by a few details served to you in an informal, accessible way. Out with the smooth and mellow, in with the… multifarious […]

The posters are up. The streets are filled to the brim. Performers are eagerly handing out fliers left and right. Last-minute tech rehearsals are happening all over the city. It’s August in Edinburgh. That means we have multiples festivals happening all at once and an influx of people who are all here for one thing: […]

Why are MOOCs important to UoE? The University of Edinburgh has a long history of online education and innovative use of technology, with a strong reputation for MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) development. Our MOOCs also offer us an opportunity to innovate in online delivery methods at larger scale and learn lessons that might be […]