DS4OERS course starts today!
We recommend you enrol on the course website and set up your personal learning environment
Dear [First Name]
Welcome and thank you for your interest in
Digital skills for OER sharing (DS4OERS), a free online course offered by the Commonwealth of Learning (
COL) and the Pacific Centre for Flexible and Open Learning for Development (
PACFOLD) under the
Pacific Partnership for Open, Distance and Flexible Learning.
Today we recommend that you set aside 30 to 40 minutes to establish your online learning environment and complete your first learning challenge for the course.
You are subscribed to receive the course instructions for each session of this course via email.
Quick start
A few things before you commence your learning journey:
- We recommend that you register a user account on the course website and enrol for DS4OERS here: https://pacificopencourses.col.org/ds4oers/. This will provide additional benefits to support your learning.
- Work through the Start here page to familiarise yourself with the course website and say hello posting a WENote.
- Please help us by completing the Fair and Reasonable Practice Survey (unless you have already filled this out). This online survey will take between 6 - 10 minutes to complete and will assist with future planning of OER support and capacity development needs in your region.
Survey link: https://oer.nz/ds4oers-survey
For more information on course registration, please see the instructions below.
This session: Establish your personal learning environment
Today you will focus on creating accounts on different websites. This will become your Personal Learning Environment (PLE) to connect with fellow learners during and after the course.
As DS4OERS focuses on building digital skills, we use the Internet as the learning platform to deliver content and support interactions rather than a single application like a learning management system. In the beginning you may find this approach different to what you have experienced online before, or even a little challenging if you are not familiar with these online tools. Rest assured, thousands of learners have mastered these approaches and if you persevere, you will also succeed and reap the long term benefits!
All instructions you need are provided on the course website, and if you get stuck, don’t hesitate to post your questions in the online forums and channels set up for communication and support.
Here are the links for today’s session:
- Visit the syllabus page for an overview of Session 0
- Work through the “Establish a PLE” learning challenge (remember to click through to all subpages of this learning challenge using the “Next” button at the bottom of the pages, or use the main site navigation by clicking on the “Establish a PLE” bar or navigation hamburger on a mobile device to progress through the sub-pages.)
Tip for today: The back button on your Browser or mobile phone is your friend. If you get lost - click or press the back button!
Tomorrow we will reflect on why we teach.
We wish you every success with your studies on this course and trust that you will enjoy your learning experience with us. Welcome to our growing OER family!
Best wishes
Your DS4OERS Facilitation team.
Why should I register an account on the course site?
In the spirit of open education, learners can view the course content and community contributions without the need to register an account.
There are, however, good reasons for you to register an account on the course website. This will provide additional features to support your learning, including the ability to:
- receive and manage course announcements by email
- become part of a learning community with your fellow learners by posting comments on the course site (we do not think anonymous commenting fosters community, and this also helps minimise spam postings)
You can leave the course (unenrol) and rejoin (enrol) at a later date if your circumstances change and you do not have the time to complete all the activities.
How do I register a new account on the course website?
- Visit the course site: https://pacificopencourses.col.org/ds4oers/
- Click on the "Log in/Create account" link at the top of your page (or the head graphic when using a smart phone)
- Click on the “Register” button and follow the instructions on screen.
Need more help with enrolling for a course?
The
OERu support site (which uses the same technology as the DS4OERS course) course provides detailed step-by-step instructions on how to:
Still have a question?
If you still have a query, you can post a question on our
forums.oeru.org site (you will need to create an account on the site to do this).
After creating your account, post your question in the
DS4OERS General forum.
