Baby Steps to Greater Things

THE first time you try anything will always be the hardest, and online learning is one of those things.

You want to try online learning, but you are unsure of how it works.

Try this: UOW Malaysia will let you experience it for free.

The place for you to take your online learning baby steps is at https://knowledgehub.uow.edu.my.

This is an option for people to upskill or reskill themselves but cannot commit to class schedules because they are busy building careers and, indeed, making ends meet.

UOW Malaysia makes it possible for anyone to take their first steps without making a financial commitment at the outset.

Many of the courses -- called micro-credentials -- are free, such as the Discussions at Work Made Easy course.

In your own time, at your own pace, learn how to excel and even lead group discussions at your workplace.

Learn strategies to thrash it out and negotiate with your group members so that discussions become productive and group decisions can be made.

This course requires 40 hours of learning, which you do at your own time.

Should you find that you do not understand any part of the syllabus, you have the option of emailing your questions to the course facilitator, said UOW Malaysia's School of Business programme leader Dr Jasmine Phan (盘雅娇).

After completing the 40 hours, you can choose to undergo an assessment phase to evaluate how much of the knowledge you assimilated.

"If, after completing any of the free courses, you then wish to be certified for it, you only need to pay a small certification fee," Dr Phan added.

Some of the free courses are short and highly specialised, such as the English for Nursing: Admitting Hospital Patients course.

This two-hour course is for intermediate English users in the medical and nursing care.

It is specifically designed to help admission nurses communicate effectively with patients in English to assess their condition for the appropriate care.

This course will provide various enriching learning activities to enhance their English communication skills, vocabulary and grammar. 

Other UOW Malaysia's micro-credential courses lead to progress in one's academic achievements.

The course called Micro-Credential in Contemporary Management: Theories and Practices, for example, is a course that costs only RM99, and it is actually part of UOW Malaysia's Future Booster modules for its Diploma in Business Management.

This course has quizzes, activities and end-of-module assessment, with no examination.

"If the participant chooses, they can pay a certification fee and be eligible for credit transfers from this course into the Diploma in Business Management programme if they choose to pursue it later.

"This means that when they are ready to earn the full diploma, they will save time and fees," Dr Phan said, adding that UOW Malaysia's Diploma in Business Management is available as a conventional course or as an open distance learning (ODL) programme.

There are even micro-credential courses which will help graduates who are now in the working society to acquire credit transfers that can eventually help them to earn a Masters in Business Administration degree from UOW Malaysia, also available as an ODL programme.

• ODL programmes are ways of learning remotely without being in regular face-to-face contact with instructors in classrooms and are crafted for students who cannot attend traditional on-campus classes due to work commitments, personal circumstances and other reasons.

• Micro-credentials, explained Dr Phan, are designed in accordance with strictly set parameters from Malaysian Qualifications Agency, meaning to say that those who are successfully assessed for such micro-credential courses will gain recognition.

For example, UOW Malaysia's Micro-Credential in Mathematics of Finance covers the Diploma in Business Management's modules in Basic Algebra, Linear and Quadratic Function, Mathematics of Finance, Matrix and Inequalities, and Differentiation and Inequalities.

Yet, this Micro-Credential in Mathematics of Finance course only costs RM49 to learn and RM19 to gain certification.

"Throughout the world, many people must enter the working society as soon as possible to earn a living.

"Such courses help members of the working society to attain new knowledge and accreditation while working.

"Many of the courses are free, and those for which you pay are usually less than RM100.

"They are designed in such a way that you can embark on your learning process on your own time while you are busy working.

"Learning is a lifelong process. You can take your time," stressed Dr Phan.

For more flexible ways to enhance yourself, visit www.uow.edu.my to learn more.

This article is provided by UOW Malaysia KDU

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.