During or after many online courses, you can join social media groups and/or receive emails from course providers or the course creators. Most course provider emails are marketing type correspondence, encouraging learners to enroll (and hopefully take the paid certificate option) in new or popular courses. These emails also often extol the benefits of online learning, particularly for your career prospects. Emails sent from course creators are more likely to contain information on topics or resources of more specific interest to that particular field.

Social Media Groups

Many courses have Facebook groups to join or Twitter handles to tag. Some have robust conversation while others are quieter groups. Students in a writing course I joined set up a LinkedIn group, but the posts fizzled out fairly quickly.

Emails From Course Creators

Some courses continue to send interesting communications long after you have finished. Naturally, you can choose to unsubscribe from these emails at any time.

• Learning How to Learn creators Barb, Terry, and the team send an email every week packed with recommendations of relevant and interesting books, websites, videos, podcasts, online courses, and more. I have been delighted whenever Online Learning Success posts are mentioned in these emails. When you do the course, look out for the link to sign up for Cheery Friday Greetings from Learning How to Learn!
• The Science of Happiness, created by UC Berkley’s Greater Good Science Center, invites learners to sign up for weekly and/or monthly emails on a range of topics. The Greater Good Science Center “studies the psychology, sociology, and neuroscience of well-being, and teaches skills that foster a thriving, resilient, and compassionate society.” Each month, a calendar is distributed with daily ideas and links for happiness, compassion and positive thinking. Some examples in the January 2019 happiness calendar include resolving conflicts at work, coping when people are mean, why challenging yourself is a good thing, and helping your kids manage frustration. The Greater Good Science Center also produces other courses including The Science of Happiness at Work, a three-course professional certificate program also available through edX.
• How to Make a Comic Book encourages participants to use the extensive resources on the www.makingcomics.com website and join the Reddit and Slack communities. Emails arrive from time to time advising when new podcasts about various interesting aspects of making a comic book are released on the Making Comics website.
• Programming for Everybody (Getting Started with Python) instructor Charles Severance sends occasional emails announcing Office Hours gatherings where you can meet him at various venues around the world.

Online Learning Success News

My current plan is to post fortnightly, rather than weekly. Look out for the next Online Learning Success post on Tuesday, January 29^th, 2019.

A Final Thought

Keep in touch with courses by joining social media groups. Sign up to email lists to receive interesting, helpful information and resources.

By Pat Bowden, published January 15, 2019.