Our short courses employ a tried-and-tested blend of pre-recorded lectures and live Zoom seminars.
Pre-recorded lectures
All courses include pre-recorded lectures; these are videos you can watch at a time convenient to you.
Each pre-recorded lecture is one hour long, and most are divided into several discrete parts. This format of lecture in bite-sized parts reduces screen-fatigue, and enables you to learn at your own pace, and at times convenient to you.
How many lectures do I receive and when will they be sent?
Copyright restrictions mean that we cannot make our pre-recorded lectures available indefinitely, but we aim to give you as much time as possible to view them.
There are 4 pre-recorded lectures for each online Study Tour, which we shall send you 10 days in advance.
All recorded lectures are removed at the end of your course; other course materials remain on the Virtual Learning Environment for the duration of a month.
Live Sessions
Each Study Tour online concludes with one extended live conversation on the Sunday, lasting around 90 minutes and, depending on student numbers in your course, this may be conducted in two sessions at 2pm and 4pm [London-time].
This session provides the opportunity for interaction with your tutor(s) and fellow students, for questions and comments and for the discussion of selected works of art to deepen the learning outcomes of the pre-recorded lectures.
All our live teaching is conducted on Zoom, a widely used and reliable software. For those unfamiliar with Zoom, we provide detailed step-by-step instructions to download, install and then use Zoom. In the week before each course, we shall conduct a Zoom ‘ice-breaker’ session, in which you meet your tutor and fellow students and which helps you familiarise yourself with the technology, if needed.
Accessing Zoom requires an internet-enabled device with a camera and microphone (these are often built into newer devices). Should you be unsure whether your device is capable or for other Zoom-related questions, please email short.courses@courtauld.ac.uk
Recording Zoom sessions
With the exception of the social ‘ice-breaker’, all live Zoom sessions are recorded and made available to you on our VLE. Please note that if you participate in the Zoom sessions, and do not wish to appear in the recording with your image, please turn off your camera.
Course materials on the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE)
On the VLE you will also find relevant course materials that are made available to you in two stages, before the start of your course. They include a course outline, pre-course readings and suggestions of contextual materials which may include selected literary works, music, or film; and handouts for the individual lectures.