Some new MOOCs for you

Supporting children with difficulties in reading and writing. (Coursera)  This has proved to be a fascinating course which is basically about working with children with dyslexia.  As a non-teacher it is great to see how the basics of phonics are taught and also to see how children can be helped in their learning.  The course does include an element of observation but it can be completed without this if you are not looking to gain a certificate at the end.

Powerful tools for teaching and learning: digital storytelling. (Coursera)  This is not something that I had really thought of before, but I agree with the title in that it could be a very powerful way of putting information across.  I am hoping to complete a short film for this (no more that 5 mins) and will try and embed it in the blog or provide a link if possible.  We have looked at choosing the topic and creating storyboards   There are some extremely useful video clips showing examples and also techniques.  This week we are looking at audio recording and then we will have to put it all together.  It should be fun!??

Parenting in the Digital Age. (Canvas)

There has already been a course on Childhood in the Digital Age, so this makes a perfect addition to the list.  there is a high incidence of child safety material which is excellent and I particularly like finding a resource called “Common Sense Media” that I had not come across before.  This makes you think about the resources available on line, the gaming, social media and how much time our young people spend using technology.

Developing your research project  (Futurelearn)  As we speak this course has been running for one week and there are another seven to go; rather a long course by MOOC standards.  However I get the impression that I am about to actually undertake a small research project during this time.  I  hope to add to this post during the next few weeks to bring everyone up to date on the subject and what i manage to achieve.

 

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