ddavid 149 Posted September 22, 2014 Report Share Posted September 22, 2014 Some of you will have heard of FutureLearn, an off-shoot of the Open University, who run on-line courses on a wide range of subjects. I did one last year on the - don't laugh! - the Higgs Bosun, and it was excellent. Anyway, as you can see from the post subject, they're doing a course on how aircraft developed during the first World War, which looks quite interesting. Here's some blurb: Hello David, There is now one month to go until the start of 'Aviation Comes of Age' and I am looking forward to welcoming you to the course. From 20 October, we will be looking at the fascination - tinged with apprehension - of flight before, during and after the First World War. We will be exploring how aviation sparked the imagination of the public, engineers, entrepreneurs and, of course, the military. As with other courses on this platform, the course will take place online and will consist of a variety of videos, articles and discussions. Unlike most courses offered, this course is a collaborative effort, produced by the University of Birmingham in association with the BBC and the RAF Museum. Throughout the course we will be looking at some of the myths and legends that have grown up around aviation and attempting to get to the bottom of what happened and why the myths grew. In the first week we will examine the early days of flight and how the early pioneers taught themselves to fly, and to achieve increasingly impressive results from their primitive machines. We will also start exploring military interest in aviation and how this was viewed in the services at the time. As the course progresses will look at military and technological innovation and see how the war in the air was matched by an arms race in the laboratories and factories. We will also examine how much the resulting arms race changed forever the society in which we live and the impact on civilians generally and women in particular - they had all become workers and targets at the same time as warfare became ‘total’. In the meantime, you may find it helpful to start thinking through just how you think of aviation from its birth to the mid 1920s - what images come to mind and where did they come from? Please also feel free to read around the subject looking at published works, material online and anything on the experiences of early aviators and the people who supported them. There is still time to invite friends and colleagues to enrol on the course and take part alongside you. Having the support of people you know can really enrich the experience of studying online. As a reminder, the course page where they can enrol can be found here: https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/ww1-aviation There will be plenty of opportunity to interact with other learners once the course begins, if you wish. In the meantime, feel free to use the hashtag #FLaviation for any discussions in social networks. The course is due to begin on 20 October and I hope you are looking forward to it as much as I and my colleagues here at Birmingham are. We will contact you again a week before the course starts, and will also send a welcome note as soon as we get underway. If you have any queries or feedback in the meantime, I won’t personally be able to field them, but please take a look at FutureLearn’s extensive FAQs: https://about.futurelearn.com/faq/ Best wishes, Dr Peter Gray Senior Research Fellow in Air Power studies University of Birmingham Anyone can join FutureLearn's courses and you do the course at your own speed. There's plenty of discussion - not quite like our Forum, but very interactive - so you can hear other participants' views and express your own, if you wish. Anyway, have a look and see if you might like the course. I'm hoping to do it - but don't let that put you off!! Cheers - Dai. Link to post Share on other sites
mutley 4,487 Posted September 22, 2014 Report Share Posted September 22, 2014 Superb Dai, that looks like a really interesting and absorbing course and what an era to explore! Link to post Share on other sites
allardjd 1,853 Posted September 22, 2014 Report Share Posted September 22, 2014 Looks interesting, Dai. Is there coursework required beyond reading assignments? I wouldn't object to an exam or two but am not likely to be signing up for anything that requires putting together a research paper or anything in the nature of a project like that. John Link to post Share on other sites
ddavid 149 Posted September 22, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 22, 2014 John, the most one needs to do is answer a few multiple choice questions - there are mini tests associated with the sections of the course. No formal report/essay writing, but some potentially interesting dialogues with other course members and the teaching/support team members. Cheers - Dai. Link to post Share on other sites
brett 2,284 Posted September 22, 2014 Report Share Posted September 22, 2014 Do they know that a ringer is signing up for their course. Looks like an interesting course, I checked into the site last time you mentioned it and it seems like a simple and interesting way to learn many subjects in-depth. Link to post Share on other sites
J G 927 Posted September 24, 2014 Report Share Posted September 24, 2014 There are a few courses I would like to join at this site..I have joined the WW1 aviation course to see how it goes. Link to post Share on other sites
Corsaire31 419 Posted September 24, 2014 Report Share Posted September 24, 2014 World War 1 ? can't miss this one ! Registered... thanks for info ! I will pass on the info on my World War 1 sim forum. Link to post Share on other sites
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