Category Archives: Motivation

Amber’s Story: the Advantages of Online Learning

Amber studying

Amber* is a Civil Engineer, working in Marine Structure Design, who combines part-time work with mothering her two small children. She completed her Bachelor degree as a full-time, on-campus student and has also studied a MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) and several post-graduate university subjects externally. Continue reading

Make the Most of Learning Later in Life

Learning Later in Life

When I retired from paid work in 2012, I thought I would be doing plenty of gardening, some handcrafts and reading. I also had visions of my house sparkling and tidy.

Five years on, most of the garden is again a wilderness and craft time is limited to crochet in front of the television in the evenings. As for that clean and tidy house, the less said, the better. Instead, I have spent many retirement hours completing 90 MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) and setting up my own blog. Continue reading

How to Succeed in a Self-Paced Course

 

No deadlines

By Pat Bowden, published November 7, 2017.

In the last three months, 560 free online courses have been released from more than 200 universities. They cover a wide range of subjects and although most are in English, several other languages are also represented. Most are self-paced courses. Continue reading

How do you reward yourself after finishing?

Taking a walk can be a reward.

By Pat Bowden, published October 10, 2017.

We don’t always need a reward for finishing tasks. Sometimes the self-satisfaction of completing a task can be its own reward. If you are having trouble with motivation, however, giving yourself rewards for making progress can help. Continue reading

How Do People Spend Their MOOC Time?

Getting the right balance

By Pat Bowden, published October 3, 2017.

What is the best thing about MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses)? To many people, it’s their flexibility. You can enrol easily, then choose to do as much or as little of the course as you like. Continue reading

How to Turn Failure into Success

 

Turning Failure into Success

By Pat Bowden, published September 19, 2017.

Are you thinking about taking a MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) but are worried it might be too hard or take up too much time? You’re not alone. Many people spend too much time thinking about things rather than simply jumping in and giving them a go. Continue reading