Teaching - Online Teaching

This Masters in Online Teaching is available globally. It offers you the unique opportunity to study the theory and practice of online and blended teaching through modules created by experts from The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology who are pioneering in the design and delivery of digital teaching, learning and assessment. You’ll study ways in which new media, innovative pedagogies and cutting-edge educational technologies can be used effectively and equitably, across multiple sectors, to engage diverse learners and meet their needs.

Key features
• Deepens your understanding of online teaching, learning and assessment, and learning that blends face-to-face and distance education.
• Explores cutting-edge technologies such as eXtended and mixed reality and the use of open pedagogy and practice.
• Explores how online teaching can address equity, accessibility and inclusion related to disability, mental health, race, gender identity, gender and socio-economic status.
• Flexible study pathways offer a choice of topics, course formats and study intensity.

How long it takes
This qualification can be completed within 17 months. Most students will study this qualification part-time over three years, completing 60 credits each year. The maximum time to complete this qualification is 6 years.

To gain this qualification, you need 180 credits.
For module details please see "Course Web Page".

You must be prepared for study at postgraduate level. This usually means holding a bachelors degree – whether from a UK university or from one outside the UK – or its equivalent. However, if you have successfully completed two-thirds of a bachelors degree (an HND in the UK, for example) and have professional experience in technology-enabled learning, you may still be eligible for the programme. You will be asked to provide further information and evidence of your eligibility as part of the registration process for the programme.

All teaching is in English, and your proficiency in the language needs to be adequate for postgraduate study and for contributing to online discussions by text and voice. If English is not your first language, we strongly recommend that you make sure you can achieve a score of at least seven in the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). To assess your English Language skills in relation to your proposed studies, you can visit the IELTS website. Although experience of distance education may be an advantage, it is not essential.

3 years

See Course Web Page link for next start date.

Career relevance
The MA in Online Teaching is closely focused on developing knowledge and skills that can immediately be applied to professional practice. You will explore the implications of learning design and educational technology choices made across a wide range of contexts and organisations, both formal and informal, and for diverse learners. You will advance your skills in selecting and designing with educational technologies and your understanding of how educational technologies can be evaluated.

This qualification is relevant for professionals including teachers, trainers, lecturers, educational technologists, learning designers, librarians, project managers, entrepreneurs and practice educators in nursing and other subjects.