The power of free online learning
National Director of The Open University in Ireland John D’Arcy outlines the intrinsic value of facilitating cost-free access to online learning resources.
In Ireland in 2016, over 65,000 people accessed free learning materials from The Open University’s online learning platform, OpenLearn. That’s 65,000 people developing their knowledge and skills at no additional cost to government or business and moreover, bringing benefits to society and the economy.
Since its launch in 2006, OpenLearn has provided a free education service to over 44 million people. It is a critical part of The Open University’s social mission to open up access to education, regardless of educational attainment or social background. OpenLearn provides learning opportunities at a higher education level for all. It has over 900 free courses and around 15,000 study hours of materials. Growing year by year, it attracts more than 5 million unique visitors annually.
Unlike most other sites, OpenLearn provides immediate access to learning content without the need for registration. Learners can start anytime, as there are no ‘start dates’ and courses can be downloaded in various formats, including Word, PDF, Kindles and eBooks.
The Open University makes a huge contribution to Irish society through the provision of these free online materials. Individuals can access OpenLearn from anywhere, and in Ireland in 2016, learners accessed OpenLearn from Letterkenny to Dingle, and from Castlebar to Dundalk.
Nearly 49,000 people from Dublin alone accessed course materials, followed by 2,000 from Cork, 1,500 from Limerick and 1,400 from Galway. These free online materials make a real difference to individuals who wish to try out learning, who perhaps have never studied before, or who may not have time to undertake a full degree.
Learners use course materials to achieve personal and educational goals, and to validate their learning. Of the 65,000 OpenLearn users in Ireland, 63 per cent had no higher education qualification, over half were under 45 years of age and over 80 per cent said they were likely to study more of the free materials. The top course was in fiction writing, followed by courses in accounting, book-keeping, essay and report writing, and English, Mathematics and Psychology.
All OpenLearn users are entitled to a free ‘Statement of Participation’ if they complete a course, and an Open University-branded digital open badge if they pass the assessments on a ‘Badged Open Course’ (BOC). This is useful for employees who may have studied a course for work purposes, as their employers can recognise their learning. Over half of the people who took a BOC had no previous higher education qualifications.
In 2013, The Open University also launched FutureLearn, which is a separate private company and massive open online course (MOOC) platform owned wholly by The Open University. It has a number of partners in the UK, Europe and internationally, and in Ireland, we are partnered with Trinity College Dublin. Its FutureLearn course ‘Irish Lives in War and Revolution’ is the second most popular of all time among 40,000 FutureLearn users from Ireland.
Combining OpenLearn and FutureLearn numbers means that The Open University has reached over 100,000 people in Ireland, opening up access to education and offering key solutions to government and business in Ireland in order to plug skills gaps quickly and at no cost.
Take a look at our free courses today and see what benefits they can bring to you.
OpenLearn: www.open.edu
FutureLearn: www.futurelearn.com
John D’Arcy
The Open University in Ireland
Web: www.open.ac.uk/republic-of-ireland
Twitter: @ouireland
