Online learning: In your own time, at your own pace
Benefit from highly accessible ways to enhance your knowledge and bring diversity to your skillset.
Our theme for the Innovation Lab for 2020 is growing a culture of continuous improvement and we think that one of the most important contributing factors that can influence this culture is personal development. Empowering people to take charge of their own development has been a common theme in Innovation Lab talks recently with Janine Mayor, Investors in People Consultant at the GTA, highlighting how important it is for people to take ownership of their personal goals whether they are work related or not.
How can you make this happen? The first step we would recommend you take is to boost your learning. The rise of educational online platforms is leading a self-study movement where individuals can boost their knowledge and even gain professional qualifications in their own time, at their own pace and often for free. Start by identifying some subject areas or skills that you would like to improve, then take a look at the sources of virtual learning that we’ve highlighted below and plan in some study time.
Courses and professional qualifications from the GTA University Centre
If you are looking to gain professional qualifications there are some really interesting online learning opportunities available through the GTA University Centre. Signing up to one of these globally recognised courses could be the perfect way to develop an interest into a new career path, or to take you to the next level of your profession. Here are details of Project Management courses currently available.
Carry on scrolling down for information on other virtual learning sources.
Virtual Learning Platforms
If you are looking for more variety or less commitment, the sites listed below are a selection of some the most popular as well as some of our favourites. Each offers varying ranges of courses and levels of learning so that you can pick one to suit your needs.
Coursera
“Build skills with courses, certificates, and degrees online from world-class universities and companies.”
Their courses include recorded video lectures, auto-graded and peer-reviewed assignments, and community discussion forums. We particularly like the look of:
FutureLearn
Tried and tested by the Digital Greenhouse team, this online learning platform has a variety of short courses to develop skills, such as agile and design thinking. Courses are provided by leading universities and cultural institutions from around the world and a lot of them are free. We recommend:
- Unleash Your Potential: Innovation and Enterprise - by the University of Bristol, this free course covers a variety of practical tools and interactive sessions in bite-sized sessions.
- Getting Started with Agile and Design Thinking - by Darden School of Business, University of Virginia, this course is a great introduction to these methods and working collaboratively as a team.
- Emotional Intelligence at Work - by Coventry University, this course will help you understand the effects of our emotional intelligence on ourselves and those around us in order to build better relationships.
iDEA- The Inspiring Digital Enterprise Award
"The Inspiring Digital Enterprise Award, known as iDEA is an international programme that helps you develop digital, enterprise and employability skills for free."
Use iDEA Award for a head start on building your digital knowledge for free, available and applicable to all ages with fun challenges and badges to be earned. They offer easy and simple introductions to a variety of digital topics. We particularly like the following badges:
- Citizens: Teamwork badge
- Worker: Collaboration
- Maker: Virtual Reality
- Entrepreneur: Innovation + Problem Solving + Jargon Buster
Use our company code DIGITAL GREENHOUSE when you sign up!
Masterclass
“Online classes taught by world experts”
This is a highly curated selection of courses with the business section featuring well known, successful figures including Bob Ider, Sara Blakely and Anna Wintour teaching classes on strategy, leadership and entrepreneurship.
Skillshare
“We're on a mission to unlock universal access to learning. You can choose from thousands of classes in design, photography, business and more — and take them anywhere, anytime. Learn, collaborate, and even teach a class of your own. It all starts on Skillshare.”
A free-mium learning community for creatives with courses categorised into Create, Build and Thrive.
Udemy
“The world’s largest education site - Improving lives through learning”
Udemy aims to bring equal learning opportunities to everyone with over 100,000 courses in different languages, on different topics, for different skill levels.
If you enrol in any courses or have any recommendations please let us know and we can update the article with your top picks.
Email: info@digitalgreenhouse.gg
