The P2PU courses page is filled with free online courses that facilitators around the world have used to run learning circles. Whether you are choosing from that list or looking elsewhere, keep these criteria in mind when selecting a course:
NO MAJOR LOGISTICAL BARRIERS TO ACCESS
- Is the course free and do you expect that all resources will remain available? (An open license like Creative Commons is a good sign!)
- Is the course open-enrollment? If there is a set start and end date, does it align with your schedule?
- Does the weekly time commitment and duration of the course align with your expectations?
- Does the course require additional resources or software aside from a web browser and a word processor? If the answer is yes, do you have these resources available?
Some additional questions to consider when selecting a course:
RELEVANCE TO EXPECTED LEARNERS
- Is the subject matter interesting and relevant to the learners you anticipate working
with? - Are there prerequisites that will prevent many people from taking this course?
- Is the subject matter interesting for you to facilitate/study alongside learners?
HIGH QUALITY OF INSTRUCTION
- Does the mode of instruction seem engaging and effective?
- Are the course materials and the platform intuitive to use?
- Is there a clear sense of expertise present in the course materials?
COHERENCE AS A LEARNING CIRCLE
- Will learners easily be able to give feedback to one another given the content?
- Do the activities make sense being done together as group work?
- Can you clearly imagine your role facilitating this course in-person?
OPPORTUNITIES FOR FEEDBACK
- Do the assessments seem to reinforce course materials?
- Is there an active online community/access to mentors?
- Is there a clear way to get in touch with someone on the website if you run into technical
difficulties?
An interactive table where you can rank and compare courses is available here:
