The Times and The Sunday Times have launched The Times Academy; online short courses created by academics and experts, which makes it easy for subscribers to stay well informed on the topics that interest them.
The Times Academy allows learners to study at their own pace. Topics include history, politics, health, and the arts. The courses are delivered through short videos, discussions, and Q&A’s with Times and Sunday Times journalists including Daniel Finkelstein, Oliver Moody and Nancy Durrant. The courses are structured through a series of video talks, hosted by The Times and The Sunday Times journalists and experts on the topics and subjects at hand. The sessions also feature discussion boards, quizzes to test the acquired knowledge and reflection materials. This combination will help to create an engaging and interactive learning environment. At the end of each course a certification of completion issued by The Times Academy will be available.
Each course is designed to take approximately 20 hours to be completed. The modules give users plenty of freedom and instead of following a ‘weekly’ schedule, courses can be accessed at any time giving a fully flexible learning experience. Online learning is a powerful resource and a growing trend in education, and with this initiative The Times aims to extend its potential to those people who are looking to simply increase their awareness and knowledge about today’s world, whether it is about politics, history, health or culture.
Online learning is an effective way of opening access to education for a large number of people, and we strongly believe this platform will give many the resources to gain a wider comprehension of the cultural and political landscape.
– Jeremy Bradley, InterActive Pro
Chris Duncan, Managing Director of TNL, said: “We are delighted to be launching The Times Academy. It’s a great way to offer our subscribers and readers an opportunity to go deeper behind the subjects we cover every day. We know our readers want to stay well informed and we can support their journey of lifelong learning with this unique learning platform.”
The platform has been conceived as a ‘Netflix’ for learning, where the goal is to share information and knowledge, and the programmes don’t require accreditations. The Times Academy courses are designed to provide an alternative way of learning and gaining expert knowledge about topics that are particularly relevant for different individuals, respecting everybody’s different interests. The idea is to widen access to experts’ knowledge and insights, encouraging people to learn beyond the traditional boundaries of education, and give them the opportunity to do so at their own pace.
Jeremy Bradley, Executive Director at InterActive Pro, said: “We’re looking forward to working with The Times on such an important project. Online learning is an effective way of opening access to education for a large number of people, and we strongly believe this platform will give many the resources to gain a wider comprehension of the cultural and political landscape.”
All courses have been created by a team of experienced online education professionals at InterActive Pro, who create courses for universities, colleges and corporate partners. The Times Academy launched in October 2018, with nine courses available to those who subscribe to the new service. New programmes will be added to the initial selection every two weeks, aiming to expand and improve the portfolio with new and updated content.
The service costs £10 a month for monthly access, £7 a month for annual subscription, or £5 a month for Times subscribers.
