CS4ODFL WS/Start

Communication skills for open distance and flexible learning (CS4ODFL) is an open online course and its time to get started. The course materials are hosted on this web site. Learners participate and interact using their own personal learning environments. We will show you how to set these up during Session 0 when the course starts.

The purpose of this page is to help you find your way around this course site before the course starts.

5 things you should do before starting the course

1. Register on this course site by clicking on the user icon () in the site menu.
   This will enable you to post comments using WEnotes and ensure that you receive course instructions via email. (Note: As an open course, registration is not mandatory and we will post copies of the course announcements on the course site.)
2. Familiarise yourself with the web site navigation to find out where the:
   • About page,
   • Learning materials (see 'Learning pathways' in the menu above), and
   • Course guide are located.
3. Review the course guide, in particular the:
   • Learning outcome and course objectives, and
   • Syllabus page
4. Please complete the [[[:WS/Links/Pre-course survey]] CS4ODFL Pre-course Survey].
5. Post a comment on the course site to tell us why you are taking the course:
   • See instructions in the activity below.

Activity

Purpose: Tell us why you are taking the course while confirming you can post comments and locate the course feed page.

1. Log in to the course website by clicking on the "Log In/Create account" link above.
2. After you have logged in, a text area should appear below where you can post a comment.
3. Type a comment in the text area to tell us why you are taking the course.
4. Click the "Post comment" button and after a few seconds your comment should appear in the course feed.
5. Navigate to the Course feed page by clicking on "Interactions" in the main menu above, and selecting the "Course feed" option.

Note: Your comment will be displayed in the course feed.

Study tips

There are a few things you should know about the Communication Skills for Open, Distance and Flexible Learning (CS4ODFL) micro course.

1. Course tag: The course code is "CS4ODFL". Write this down because you will use this course code for tagging your social media posts. (This tag will enable the platform to fetch posts from selected sites on the Internet for the course feed).
2. Course feed: The course hosts a live feed where you can monitor posts from WEnotes, the course forums and our social media site.
3. Suggested study time: This is an asynchronous course which means you can participate at times that are convenient for your own schedule. The course is divided into 4 sessions and is spread over four weeks. You should aim to spend approximately 3 to 5 hours each week to suit your own schedule. However, as an open course you can "sip and dip", participating in the topics or activities that you find interesting. The time you will need to successfully complete the learning challenges will, of course, vary according to your own experience and previous knowledge in using digital technologies. If you fall behind, don't worry, the course materials will remain open which you can access at any time.
4. International time zones: Open courses typically register students across 24 time zones. You should study this course in your own time zone. For example, carry out the instructions for Week 1 in your own time zone, not the time zone of your facilitators.
5. Using social media technologies: If you are new to using social media technologies, we provide instructions to help you set up your own personal learning environment during the Session 0.
6. Information overload: At times the aggregated feed can generate a large number of posts. You are not expected to read everything. Read what is current when you log in and follow the links which you find interesting. After a few days you will identify participants with similar interests and you can then follow these posters in the feed.
7. Learn by doing and sharing: Most of all, have fun! We are changing the world for the better by returning to the core value of sharing knowledge freely in education.