Do/Make/Say/Think

Suggested timing: 35 minutes

Adapting a course for learning circles

For today’s activity, we’re going to go through the process of finding, evaluating, and adapting an existing online course for use in a learning circle.

First, form small groups of 2-3 people. Each group should have access to a laptop or computer to complete this activity. Spend 20 minutes working through the activity below. Make sure that you choose someone in your group to document and take notes on the small group discussion, as there will be a large group share-out at the end of this activity.

Step 1: Find & select a course

• What topic area(s) are you interested in?
• How many weeks will your learning circle be?
• Who is the audience for your learning circle?
• Are you able to find a course on the P2PU site?
• Where else can you look for courses?

Step 2: Evaluate your course

• How is the course licensed?
• Will your learners be able to access the course materials free of charge? Will they need to create an account to gain access? How does your group feel about that?
• Does it seem like the course materials will be available/accessible in a few months? A year? How can you know for sure?
• Does the scope of the course make sense for your learners? Does it align with how long you intend your learning circle to be?

Step 3: Adapt your course

• What additional materials or resources will you need to gather in order to successfully use the course materials in a learning circle?
• How can you leverage the existing course structure in a group format? How do you envision learners working together through this course material?
• Does the course content lend itself towards group activities? If yes, how do you envision these activities working with your learners? If no, what activities can you think to add?

After you’ve finished, take another 15 minutes for each group report back to the full group, highlighting which course you chose and some of the more interesting things you noticed when answering the above questions. At the end of each report out, ask each small group to answer the following: Would you use the course you selected in a learning circle? Why or why not?

🧶—Check out the “Latest Courses and Topics” category on the community forum, and share your thoughts about any courses or topics that you investigated. If there is a topic that you are interested in but can’t find a good course for, let us know on the “What Topics are Missing?” thread.

Go to the forum

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