Frequently Asked Questions

Course FAQs

• How does a Consultants-E online course actually work in practice?

  Each of our online courses has one group of maximum 15 participants - the course takes place entirely online in Moodle, and has a workload of 5-8 hours per week (depending on the course).

  During the first week, you work with all your colleagues on the course, finding out about them, introducing yourself, and learning how to use the virtual learning environment (VLE) called Moodle, we use. Don't worry if you have no experience of VLEs or online learning - most of our course participants have little or no experience of this. From the second week, you will do a little bit of pair work (ie work with one other colleague on the course, via email to complete short tasks) - and you do more pair work with various course colleagues throughout the course. From Week 2 on, typical tasks include, for example, short reading tasks (or watching a short video clip), posting opinions and ideas to Forums, and also collaborative tasks in pairs and small groups. So basically you work with the whole group of colleagues and with the tutor all the time, but also with individuals (in pair work) and others (in small group work), throughout the course – you get to know the others in the course pretty well by the end of the course!

• What does a Consultants-E online course look like?

  View presentation

• When do I have to be online to do my course work?

  When you do the course work is decided entirely by you. Pairs and groups usually communicate via email, although you can also arrange to meet up in the VLE's chat room at certain times to do your pair/group work - some people do this, and some don't - it's up to you and your task partners. You need to complete a series of tasks by the end of each week (deadlines are usually on the weekend). Some people do tasks little by little during the week, some do everything in one day - it's up to you how you organise your time for the tasks during each week. The only time you need to log on at a certain time is when we have a chat (and these are not obligatory) - we always negotiate the chat times (each chat lasts approx one hour – we hold them regularly throughout each course) to suit everyone. Note that participants on our courses are usually practising teachers, with full teaching or training workloads, so we are very much aware of the need for flexibility with workloads, and are here to help with any issues that may arise with having to travel unexpectedly for work, etc.

• Why should I take a course with The Consultants-E?

  We have been involved in online teacher training since the mid-1990s, and have trained up hundreds of teachers worldwide, entirely online, using a constructivist model of pedagogy, that includes plenty of online pair and group work, and reflection on practice. Our tutors are extremely experienced online and f2f teachers trainers, and several of them are award-winning coursebook and methodology book authors (see Publications and Awards). Apart from taking advantage of our experience in online teacher training, and working with outstanding professional trainers by doing a course with us, you will be taking a course in Moodle, one of the fastest-growing VLEs currently in use by educational institutions worldwide.

  See feedback from our past participants to see what they thought of our courses!

• Who are the tutors and participants on The Consultants-E's online courses?

  Our online tutors are highly-skilled and fully trained E-moderators with years of experience in both online tutoring and online materials design and development. You'll find detailed information on all of our tutors here.

  We have trained hundreds of participants from over 40 countries to date. Our participants are teachers and trainers from all over the world. Many are language teachers (English, French, Spanish, German…), and some are trainers from other disciplines (such as journalism, nursing …) interested in online learning in their contexts. 

  Check out our participant map to see where our clients have come from to date.

• How do I enrol?

  If you'd like to join any of our upcoming online courses, you will need to sign up via our website – go to our Courses page , click on the course you would like to join, and then click on the ‘Enrol' link. This will take you to a safe online credit card payment page.

  Course fees can also be paid by bank transfer or Euro cheque – please contact our Admin department directly for details about this.

  Past participants on our courses are entitled to a 10% discount on the following courses: E-moderation Skills, WebQuests, VLE Starter and VLE Smarter, mLearning in Practice. There are also group discounts available for two or more participants from the same institution on all of our courses. Please contact our Admin department about how to take advantage of discounts.

  And finally, don't forget that we offer regular fully funded scholarships on some of our courses - check out our Scholarships for more on that!

• What happens if I need to defer?

  If during your course you find that you need to defer due to special unforeseen circumstances such as bereavement, illness, or relocation, you may apply for a deferral on your course. This will mean joining a later course, and having the work you have already done validated. Note however that a deferral fee of 20% – 50% will apply, depending on how much of your course you have already completed prior to deferral. In the case of the Trinity-validated Cert ICT, and Cert IBET, the Trinity College London moderation fee will also need to be repaid in full in the case of a deferral.
  
  The deferral fee needs to be paid within one month of a deferral being granted. You then have up to one year (12 months) in which to take the course  again. If more than 12 months elapse between your deferral and enrolling on the course again, you will need to pay the full course fee, and start the course from the beginning as a new participant. Previous work will not be validated in this case.
  
  In the case of seeking a deferral, you need to contact your course tutor, and copy in admin@theconsultants-e.com so we can deal with the administrative issues involved in a deferral.
  
  If you need to defer before your course starts, no deferral fees will apply apart from the bank costs incurred by the initial fee payment, whether via PayPal or bank transfer.