Introduction to Flexible Learning
Flexible learning is a student-centred approach to design that builds a course around a set of ‘student personas’ or profiles. This allows course teams to build in flexibility in terms of how quickly students complete a course, whether they study online, on campus or in the workplace, and the balance between synchronous (live) and asynchronous (on-demand) learning.
The move to flexible delivery requires a re-thinking of the assumptions that underlie established models. Digital technologies enable pedagogic approaches that are not restricted by traditional constraints of time and place, providing opportunities for increased personalisation and inclusive practice. This is in line with the University's mission "to create opportunity by accelerating NTU's move to hyper-flexible learning that uses technology to redefine the student experience".
“I love this new Learning Room style a lot! It's really engaging. The layout makes sense, it has a clear flow and is easy to read and use. I like the images/card interaction could aid learning for people who are more visual too. I like the check your understanding sections as they really help consolidate key bits of info.” School of Social Sciences student testimonial
About the Flex Team
The Flex team have worked across a range of educational contexts, including Secondary, Further Education, Higher Education and Special Educational, as well as corporate training and Apprenticeships.
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Data visualisation showing years of experience across disciplines. -
Data visualisation showing years of experience across disciplines. -
Data visualisation showing years of experience in education. -
Data visualisation showing experience across creative, technical and design. -
Data visualisation showing the number of people with experience across disciplines. -
Data visualisation showing the number of people with experience across disciplines.
With backgrounds in graphic design, coding, video production, and multimedia, the Team combine knowledge of education with expert digital content creation to reimagine module delivery and redefine the approach, capitalising on the opportunities and benefits afforded by flexible and technology-enhanced learning.
The Team employs universal design principles to help colleagues explore innovative and creative options for online and blended learning in a way that secures excellent results and allows them to feel more confident. The Flex Team are passionate about innovative and flexible learning and teaching and work collaboratively with academics—experts in their field—on how best to deliver their material.
The Flex Team doesn’t simply move all face to face content online but instead adapts, modifies and transforms content so that the student experience is as good as it can be.
“The major utility of working with an NTU Flex Learning Designer is the partnership with another highly experienced educator who specialises in flexible learning design. They are able to encourage you to view things differently, visualise and convert an idea or form of words you have, in a manner that will engage and inspire learners. They help you to keep on track with the deliverables of the project and ensure that the work is pedagogically sound. They find solutions to converting text or bland diagrams into something far more exciting and engaging for students.” Nottingham Business School staff testimonial
Developing a Flex module
The Flex Team works in partnership with module teams to develop online and blended modules. The process begins with a design workshop based on the ABC model from UCL. The design process ends with a detailed map of the module and a development schedule. The module team is then fully supported to develop the Learning Room, the content, and activities. Finally, each module is rigorously assessed against NTUs quality standards with any final updates made before the module launches.