This a living document that we’ll add to over time (last updated: Oct 5, 2020).
Whether you’re an old hat or just starting out, online talks and courses are just so invigorating! Use them to get (re)motivated, remind yourself of key concepts or just for interest’s sake. This post emphasizes archaeology courses and heritage learning but includes other, more general courses.
Where?
I recommend these online platforms to learn something new:
Future Learn is a beautiful swirl of online platform and UK universities. Their ‘free online courses’ are free to do, but you may need to pay to get a certificate to prove it. That said, I’ve had personal success in doing these courses. Is the course you’re interested in not on yet? No problem. Just hit the ’email when this course starts’ button on the course’s info page.
The Open University offers OpenLearn (‘free learning from the Open University’).
EdX and Coursera are the American equivalents of Future Learn.
The Great Courses offers US college-level courses and is aimed at Lifelong Learners.
Brush up on your archaeology -thanks to BAJR!
British Archaeological Jobs and Resources (BAJR) have long been essential to anyone interested in archaeology. Their Education and Courses section is full of wonderful, key resources:
- Good places to start are: the Training Opportunities and Courses list and Universities, Colleges and Courses Directory These are kept up-to-date. Note the courses listed usually have fees.
- Learn something new with BAJR Guides – ‘a series of simple downloadable reference articles about a variety of subjects relating to archaeology’.
- Skills Passport – use this to create your own portfolio when you do any hand- on archaeology work. As your entries are signed off by a supervisor, it is recognised by major archaeology organisations.
Archaeology + Learning
We have such a huge list of courses here that we’ve created a separate blog post: Get Learning! Online, easy wins for your career (heritage learning special)
Pick ‘n Mix
Some other courses that caught my eye:
- Open Learn
- Future Learn
- Identifying the Dead is a cool one about forensic science – your case to solve is a crime fiction. When I took it there were a lot of budding and published crime authors to chat to in the student forum.
- Open University is an oldie but a goodie. At the moment (Oct 2020), only one course covers archaeology: Classical Studies (Diploma or BA).
Good to know
- You might qualify for a full fee grant for students in Scotland at the Open University, especially if you work part-time.
- The title of this course doesn’t fill one with awe, but it was amazing and taught me how to think about my entire career time line differently – and to boost my online profile: (Future Learn) How to Succeed at: Writing Applications
That’s it for now! I’ll update it as and when I learn about more.
Posted by: Rebecca Boyde. Last updated: October 5, 2020.
Cover photo by David Iskander on Unsplash
Blog author Rebecca Boyde is the Youth Engagement Officer at Archaeology Scotland and coordinates the Heritage Resources Portal. Views Own. Contact: r.boyde@archaeologyscotland.org.uk
Archaeology Scotland
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