Learning and Teaching in Practice/Getting started/Introduction

Pacing the course work
Work through this course module by module. Figure out your timeline early on and set aside time each week for your studies. You owe it to yourself to take time out for your professional development.

Remember that Bronwyn is available to support you through this course. She will stay in regular contact to help keep you progressing through the course.

Getting started involves:
 * Becoming familiar with finding your way around this course on WikiEducator.
 * Reading the.
 * Checking out the Course blog.
 * Exploring the assessment requirements.
 * Deciding how you will record your learning and track your progress.
 * Find your way to the forums and other resources in Moodle.

Becoming familiar with WikiEducator
Use the navigation bars at the top of pages to move around.

The Course guide provides overview information about the course, as well as more detailed information about the assessment requirements.

The StudyDesk  is where you find course content arranged in modules, topics and sub-topics. Work through each module in order and your portfolio will slowly build.

As you work through the material here in WikiEducator, you'll come across some other specially formatted blocks of text:

Read the Course Outline
(PDF, 184KB)

Reading this is the first step if you are formally enrolled so that you can familiarise yourself with the expectations and requirements of the course. This document will guide you with the learning outcomes, the assessment instructions and marking criteria.

Exploring the assessment
Take your time to read the assessment requirements in the Course Outline carefully, as well as the information on the Assessment portfolio page.

If you are uncertain about the assessment please contact [mailto:Bronwyn.Hegarty@op.ac.nz Bronwyn] as soon as possible.

Record and track your learning
As this course is based around self discovery learning, it would be helpful to think about how you will keep track of this learning.

Some people find a learning journal or a personal learning record useful for this.

The form that this takes is entirely up to you. Some people prefer to keep a written record which may be a word document or perhaps you may wish to use a blog and encourage some feedback from others, some may prefer a research notebook or to use voice or video recordings.

Depending upon the format that you use to record your learning you can use excerpts from this as evidence in your portfolio.

Moodle
The Moodle site for the course is: http://moodle.op.ac.nz/course/view.php?id=2719.

The Moodle site includes various resources to help your learning, including discussion forums to share your thinking and ask questions.

Course blog
The course blog will be another important channel for communication and interaction: