OpenLearn

I managed to get across the stage alright for my graduation yesterday with my hurt ankle for my two seconds of glory, but more importantly I learned of a fascinating new initiative from the Open University during the Vice Chancellor's speech that others might also be interested in.
OpenLearn is a resource being developed by the OU where they put learning resources up on their website. I checked it out as soon as we got home and expected it to be just a random set of resources available for browsing, but it is much better than that. They have put up a series of mini-courses that anyone can access for free. So if you have an interest in something and want to learn about it in a structured way but don't want to commit to a full course you can undertake these courses.
They are learning for its own sake, there are no qualifications to be gained, but to be honest this is just what I want. I am missing the learning from my degree and was toying with the idea of another course, but the time and money commitment needed are off-putting at the moment. These small courses are perfect to satisfy the learning bug. They would also be good as a taster for anyone unsure if the OU is for them and thinking of signing up.
The courses are at different levels, from Introductory to Masters, and I am sure more will be added over time. I have signed up for an introductory one of twelve hours (which you do as and when you want) with Kate's poetry challenge in mind, What is Poetry? There are many more that look very interesting and I'm sure more will be added to my learning list. I think I might even try some introductory level science ones. You can access them without registering or signing up, it is very easy, but registering gives you access to some additional facilities.
I am looking forward to studying this but have gone straight into student mode and am procrastinating rather than studying, having taken about six internet tests in a row (among other things I've found out I'm a sociopath (personality defect test), and Sofia Coppolla would direct the film of my life -although presumably not if I ever let loose the sociopath).
In other news, if you have missed the Serial Comma blog over the past few months, Rob's back! He's blogging at The Fiction Desk Blog now, so pop along there for some very interesting posts on writing and books.