Once you have completed Unit 0 you will be ready to start the main part of the Archaeology for Amateurs: the Mysteries of Crete course. This lesson describes how the main part of the course is structured and what your study programme will involve. Please take time to read this section as it will help you plan your study time.
By the end of the course, students will have:
This short course has five units. Unit 0, which you are currently working through, is an introductory overview to prepare you for the main four units of the course. The course proper begins Monday 21st October and consists of four units, over a period of 8 weeks. The anticipated study time commitment is 4-6 hours per week. The course will remain open for one month after completion.
As the course relies on discussion amongst the students, we suggest that you progress through the material at a similar pace, and that you check the Discussion Forum regularly for updated student discussion.
Scattered throughout the course are numerous Pause and Reflect activities, which are aimed at consolidating your understanding of the course content. Sometimes these activities will require you to enter a response, and then cut and paste this to the Discussion Forum (this facility is introduced in the next session). Don’t worry, as we will take you through this procedure, using a tutorial animation to guide you through the process. To view the animation, click on the following link:
TutorialGroup discussion forms a central part of the learning of this course—weekly online discussions, focused around a question or topic posted at the beginning of each unit, give you the opportunity to discuss what you’ve read and heard, raise questions, and gain insight and direction both from your tutor and your peers. Discussion with your fellow students forms an important part of the online experience.
In every unit there will be a Discussion Topic which is the starting point for your participation, using the Discussion Forum. You will find that the Pause and Reflect segments of the course will feed into these discussions.
Please don’t miss your course discussion section – we hope that you’ll find it the most rewarding component of this course. You may find that your response changes as you progress through the unit. But don’t let this stop you from posting your initial thoughts – remember, there is no such thing as a stupid question.
During the study of the course, you will be introduced to much new terminology. A glossary of all new terms is provided for you to print out and refer to. This is available as a PDF document from the Resources section. This glossary also contains keywords, words which are of importance throughout the course. In each lesson, a keyword will appear in bold in the first instance, so that you may refer to the glossary should you wish to. We recommend that you download this document when you reach the Resources section.
You may find throughout the course there are links to external Web pages. These links will appear in a new window once clicked. Don’t worry, you haven’t lost your original window! To return to the course material proper, simply close the new window which appears. This is a proven e-learning technique, and one which enables the student not to get lost in the extracurricular material.
At the end of each unit, all the further reading suggestions are gathered together in one place, for ease of reference. Whilst none are essential for the study of the course, we hope you find them of interest, and can take the time to look at a selection for your own enjoyment.
These pages are from a course designed for the Alliance for Lifelong Learning Web site, with an associated online discussion forum, and other functionality, and any references to these should be ignored.