Partner Platforms
The University partners with three learning platforms to offer free, open access education on a global scale.
One key part of developing a short online course involves choosing a learning platform for course delivery.
While all three partners offer free, open access education on a global scale, they have some differences in their focus of topic areas and range of digital tools available.
Your choice of platform will depend on your subject and the type of interactions you want to create for your learners.
Find out more about each platform's capabilities, and the different types of certification they offer.
A private company jointly owned by The Open University and The SEEK Group.
FutureLearn offers a range of courses which learners can sign up for free or paid in order to get certification. A large portion of the platform’s courses are related to social sciences. FutureLearn also offers learners the opportunities to develop their learning by taking part in ExpertTracks, which is a bundled course in a specialist area. This allows learners to master and develop their skills in that specialist field and earn a digital certificate. This is an excellent option for learners who are interested in CPD.
The next level of learning that FutureLearn offers is Microcredentials. These are a series of courses in the same subject area which offer a way for learners to both upskill and gain academic credit that can be applied towards a degree.
One of the benefits of using FutureLearn is the simplicity of the tools and the clear navigational structure of the platform. It is simple for both tutors and learners to navigate. It also puts a large emphasis on the value of discussion, with an opportunity to discuss ideas built into every activity.
EdX is a non-profit, open-source MOOC platform founded by Harvard and MIT.
EdX offers a variety of courses, but they have a large offering in data and computer science. Similar to other online learning platforms, they offer courses via a free audit track or through a paid verified track where the learners have the opportunity to complete assessments and earn certification to show their achievements.
EdX also offers a variety of other options in order to gain certification or potential academic credit:
- MicroBachelors – Undergraduate level courses offering university credit upon completion.
- MicroMasters – Series of graduate level courses offering university credit upon completion.
- Professional Certificate – Series of courses to build professional skills and develop your CPD.
- Online Masters Degree – Full online degrees offered through edX.
One of the benefits of using edX for your course is the flexibility of the tool. It enables you to customise layout and design, and it has a wide range of additional tools that you can add into the platform. These can be particularly useful for courses that require complex activities such as programming elements.
Founded by Stanford by Computer Science professors Andrew Ng & Daphne Koller.
Coursera offers courses in a range of subject areas, but a larger portion are in business and computer science. Learners have the option to sign up for free courses and upgrade to gain a certificate upon completion. Coursera also offers different learning pathways for learners:
- Specialisations – Complete a set of courses to earn a Specialisation certification to add to your CV.
- Professional Certificates – Learn from universities or businesses to earn career credentials that you can use as part of your CPD.
- MasterTrack Certificates – Master level programmes have been divided into modules. Once completed, coursework from the MasterTrack will count towards your degree if accepted onto the full degree programme on Coursera.
- Degrees – Fully online degrees offered on the Coursera platform from a variety of partner universities.
Coursera offers a wide range of tools you can use to create an engaging, interactive learning experience. It is particularly useful for courses involving coding or other programming activities, as it has built-in programming capabilities and grading for assessments.