Abstract
This paper reports on a five week pre-induction socialisation MOOC that facilitates successful transition into Higher Education for flexible learners. In this context a broad definition is adopted of flexible learners, which includes adult learners in part-time and/or online/distance education. A number of national and international reports have emphasised the importance of bringing more adult learners into higher education, and adult learners have a preference for flexible programmes. The MOOC targets prospective learners during early parts of the study life-cycle, when they are considering entry into higher education and may benefit from advice about how to effectively prepare. The MOOC utilises a number of the OERs developed by the Student Success Toolbox project, and combines these readiness tools with supporting materials in order to deliver a comprehensive pre-induction socialisation course. A small pilot ran from the 15th Aug–19th Sept 2016. 150 people enrolled with 50 going on to receive a certificate of completion. Those selected to take part in this pilot were prospective flexible learners planning to start courses in Ireland in 2016/2017 and a cohort of approximately 70 learners from Kiron, an organisation supporting refugees in accessing higher education. The feedback received, albeit limited by the numbers of respondents, indicates that a course that uses the OERs developed by the Students Success Toolbox project, can have a positive impact on prospective flexible learners.
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Brunton, J., Brown, M., Costello, E., Farrell, O., Mahon, C. (2017). Giving Flexible Learners a Head Start on Higher Education: Designing and Implementing a Pre-induction Socialisation MOOC. In: Delgado Kloos, C., Jermann, P., Pérez-Sanagustín, M., Seaton, D., White, S. (eds) Digital Education: Out to the World and Back to the Campus. EMOOCs 2017. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 10254. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-59044-8_2
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