U3A UK Online Courses

Our courses can all be studied from the comfort of your own home, (or library, or wherever you access the internet); they involve as much or as little contact with others as you wish - all through email. 

The potential for interactivity in a Tutored course makes for more interesting study, and each participant can play a part in the whole. With students based in UK, Australia, Cyprus and Spain, the contact with participants on other sides of the world is an enjoyable aspect that goes to make our online courses a worthwhile experience.

Untutored courses do not offer this contact and interactivity. However they are a great way to learn if you cannot guarantee regular hours, or are simply happier getting on with things on your own. (Any references to emailing tutors, etc found in Untutored courses, should be ignored.)

The courses are hence delivered in three distinct ways:

Untutored (£10 for access to ALL UK courses for 12 months)

• there is NO feedback from a tutor
• the course units can be downloaded at any time after the start of the course, allowing students to work at their own pace and to their own schedule

While our courses were originally designed for tutored delivery enabling shared learning, U3A style, there is a demand for our courses from those who do not have time or inclination for a tutored course.  Hence we offer our courses without a tutor.  While this works for many people who enjoy independent study, these courses are at their most effective when tutored.

The material is:

• ideal for use by U3A Group Leaders who present the units to a group who discuss the points raised and collectively complete the activities (again, these do not need to be completed at weekly intervals but can proceed at a rate convenient to the group concerned.)
• but can also be used privately for individual study

It is strongly suggested that the Group Leader completes the interactive course first as an individual.

Tutored (£5 on top of £10 access fee)

• these generally consist of 8 units worked through on a weekly schedule (occasionally fortnightly)
• participants need to work for 3-5 hrs/unit - although they may choose to do this at any time of day (or night!) and in several small 'chunks'
• participants submit their activities to the tutor for evaluation
• the tutor is available by email to answer questions and give help
• in most courses we set up an email discussion list facilitating discussion between/among students and the tutor, thus providing the U3A hallmark of collaborative learning

It is also possible for a small group of participants (say 2 or 3) to work together on the course and submit work prepared jointly after their discussions. This has proved very successful in the past.

Frameworks (freely downloadable)

These are smaller resources which you can access without enrolling or paying.

Copyright

The copyright of the course materials belongs to the Third Age Trust and participants are asked not to give them to anybody else.