Learning designed
to engage your mind
Our course format
Six-week courses are structured using this model -
- Students receive a course calendar with timelines, textbook readings, assignments, handouts, slide decks and links to various resources that support each lesson module.
- Instructor video clips introduce and guide learners through each week of their studies.
- Live meetings with the instructor are held once a week.
- Each course includes other voices from working professionals who share their experiences during interview sessions. All are accessible to answer questions.
- Assignments, quizzes and a final exam are included with each course. These are evaluation tools that indicate your level of understanding.
Our curricula
We designed and organized each of the six courses with learning outcomes that focus on learners' results and goals. For example:
- Definition: A learning outcome is a statement of achievement—what learners have actually demonstrated or achieved after instruction.
- Focus: It’s learner-centered and reflects the results of learning.
- Nature: Assessed after instruction to measure effectiveness.
- Example: “Students can accurately describe and analyze the political and economic causes of World War I in a written essay.”
- Goals: Centred around skills needed in the workplace today, goals also influence teaching methods that help make learning compelling.
Our storyboards
No matter what course you sign up for, even the free Career Planning micro course, you will receive a storyboard poster that shows you each step of that course's learning process.
We love visuals at Kwriter Academy because they can teach information faster than written lessons or spoken words. These posters are also teaching tools that will help you in a variety of ways.
The storyboard shown here is for the Professional Writing course featuring a process that has been taught at universities since the 1950s. This process has lasted so long because it works. Same goes for our other five storyboards; they are proven models of efficiency and a helpful guide to keep learners unstuck.
Our content selections
Criteria was established at the start to define what learning resources would be used for all courses. The intent to use mostly Canadian content was based on our target audience of Canadian learners. Previous curriculum was reviewed, assessed, and updated. New research was conducted to bring forward the best information that works in business and government today. In some cases, as with the storyboards, new resources were built to enable and engage learners in specific ways.
Lastly, open textbooks were chosen because they are of high quality, written and published by faculty and students through colleges and universities, and are designed to serve as a helpful teaching and learning tool.
While the primary motivation behind open textbooks is to significantly reduce the financial burden on students (most of whom have stopped buying textbooks due to cost), a new model has emerged where "a community can grow around a textbook." Faculty can openly share, collaborate, and revise materials in these published texts, which leads to continuous improvement and more up-to-date content.
Open Textbooks - Open Minds
In 2019, Open Education Week was celebrated at the University of Toronto with a discussion on Open Education Resources (OER). Librarians, learning directors, students and professors from various Ontario universities and colleges shared their experiences and accomplishments using OER. Of interest, this informal exchange points to new possibilities for making higher learning more accessible to all. LINK
Learn how to create your own Open Textbook - UofT Open Education hub.