Online Distance Learning
Online distance learning offers a flexible way of learning. The University of Edinburgh, School of Law distance learning programmes have been developed to enable students to access teaching and learning via the Internet.
Benefits of online learning
Students enrolling in these programmes value the many benefits of online distance learning:
- study when it's convenient for you
- become part of a rich and varied online community of people in your field
- choose to study over 12, 20, 24, 32 or 36 months
- earn a qualification from a university that is recognised worldwide
- learn the latest developments from faculty who work at the leading edge in your field of study
The innovative nature of our virtual learning environment - eSCRIPT, has enabled us to attract students from all over the world, at all stages of life, from policy making, professional practice, business and industry.
Flexibility and community
Delivered online & available on a part time basis over 20, 24, 32 or 36 months, our postgraduate Masters programmes are ideal for those people who wish to gain a world class award from a high quality University whilst maintaining busy professional and personal commitments. Your classroom is accessible 24/7.
Learning and teaching within eSCRIPT happen 'asynchronously'. This means that you have the flexibility to log in at any time that suits you, contribute your views and respond to others. You can fit your studies around work and other commitments, study at times and in places convenient to you, and still maintain a sense of community with your fellow students across time zones.
Students on our programmes may be working at a distance, but we go out of our way to ensure that they never feel isolated. Our teaching approach emphasises and supports participation in learning activities. Tutors are present in the online discussions, and are contactable directly or via a dedicated distance learning support team. eSCRIPT has a café area where students, tutors and other staff can 'meet' and chat.
A sense of supportive community is essential to a successful distance learning environment, and we work hard to achieve this.
Access
Our distance learning courses are delivered via eSCRIPT - our flexible online learning environment developed by the University. Through
eSCRIPT you will access learning materials and interact with your tutor and fellow students.
eSCRIPT is accessible from any computer via the internet. A fast connection is an advantage, but you do not need any special equipment, applications or plug-ins to use
eSCRIPT.
The eSCRIPT learning environment is designed to be highly user-friendly. We provide detailed orientation information, a user guide, and online support by email. However, students tend to dive straight in and very quickly master
eSCRIPT's navigation, features and functions. eSCRIPT is hosted and maintained within the University of Edinburgh IT infrastructure. It is secured by password protection, with your unique log-in details supplied before teaching begins.
Mobile access with MeScript
We have recently implemented a mobile-friendly version of eSCRIPT to offer our students greater flexibility in their learning choices. We will continue to respond effectively to future opportunities and developments in mobile learning.
MeScript enables you to access your programme material from a mobile device such as a smartphone whilst you are on the move.
Initial feedback from our other programmes includes:
"Very useful resource - makes the material a lot easier to read on one screen and
good that we can access the pdfs""Great job guys and nice to see access options keeping pace with technology"
Learning in eSCRIPT
Our mantra for distance learning programmes is: the more you put in, by way of active participation, the more you get out. What do we mean exactly by participation? Well, in a typical week on our distance learning programmes, you will:
- read about a particular subject
- reflect on the questions and issues raised
- post your responses and comments in online discussions
- read and respond to contributions from fellow students and your tutor.
We strongly believe that students in our programmes can learn a great deal from each other. Our students welcome the exchange of views and experience, and value the different perspectives and diversity of fellow students. The more you can engage with other learners and your tutors, the more productive and enjoyable your learning will be.
Online discussion is clearly at the heart of our distance learning programmes, but we regularly offer a variety of other learning activities to accommodate and reinforce different learning styles. You will find many examples in the programme pages, but examples include: multiple-choice quizzes; voting in an online debate; annotating short sections of text; role play activities; and more.
Teaching in eSCRIPT
While a strong focus of our programmes is on students' active learning, the tutor role remains key.
Our academic tutors are all experts in the fields they are teaching. They have the in-depth knowledge and understanding of their discipline, but they are also experienced teachers - in the online environment and on-campus.
You will meet them regularly in eSCRIPT, where they will be stimulating discussion, answering questions, and helping to weave individual contributions into coherent new directions. Sometimes their role may actually mean staying out of the discussion - to allow space for students to develop their own ideas.
From time to time, we also involve specialist guest tutors, who come in alongside the regular tutors to lead a focused discussion on a particular topic.
Programme content
As a common theme throughout our teaching, we explore how the law is responding to technological innovation and broader societal change. The programmes are therefore highly topical and have been described by as 'aggressively up to date'.
One of the advantages of disseminating knowledge online is that the content can be updated in seconds, making the programmes highly responsive to new developments and topical issues.
This, and the fact that the academic tutors are among the foremost researchers in their fields, ensures that our programmes meet the highest academic standards and function as excellent conduits for knowledge transfer.
