Free teaching resources from The Open University

The Open University (OU) has teamed up with Cisco Networking Academy (NetAcad), Birmingham City University, and Computing At School (CAS) to offer a free collection of courses developed for teachers of school children aged 5 -16, based on the UK’s National Curriculum for Computing.

The courses are available on the OU’s OpenLearn Create site [open.edu/openlearncreate]. The OU and its partners on this project are all experts in their fields and provide the best possible content for these courses. Cisco is a worldwide leader in networking solutions and through NetAcad has been offering underserved communities technical and entrepreneurial skills since 1997.

Computing for Schools – Communications and Networks is a collection of 8 courses providing an introduction to the internet and the services it provides, with an emphasis on security awareness and personal safety considerations when online.
http://www.open.edu/openlearncreate/course/index.php?categoryid=146

The collection comprises:
• The World Wide Web and internet safety
• Navigating and searching the web
• The Internet and the Web
• Using and Understanding Internet Services
• Introduction of Data Networks and IP Addresses
• Identifying network hardware and protocols
• The purpose of network hardware and protocols
• The operation of LAN & WAN hardware and protocols

The content and organisation of topics is based on the CAS Computing Progression Pathways guide.

Schools interested in using these materials as part of the National Curriculum are free to do so. Additional teaching resource to support the delivery, manage classes, and run quizzes are available to schools by registering to become a Cisco Academy.
OpenLearn Create runs alongside the OU’s hugely popular OpenLearn free learning portal. It is an innovative open educational platform where individuals and organisations can publish their open content, courses, and resources.

Contact:
Gerry Cronin
Marketing & Communications Manager, The Development Office
e: gerry.cronin@open.ac.uk t: 01908 659 048 m: 0793 2727 345