How to use FutureLearn guide

FutureLearn is a free, open, online learning environment, accessed by people across the globe. Anyone can register and access a course, so learning happens alongside people from a range of different age groups, countries and cultures.

To access FutureLearn, students will need a valid email address. School students should use their school email address. Students that access FutureLearn for the first time can follow the instructions below to set up their FutureLearn account and start learning.

1. Visit futurelearn.com and select Sign In.
2. Select Register and enter your profile details, including name and email address, and choose a secure password that you will remember.
3. Select Submit – you’re ready to go!

Once registered, students can browse all the Going to University courses on offer.

To find a specific course, students can use the search bar at the top of the page and type the name of the course. Alternatively, students can type in the search bar, 'University of Leeds' and this will take them to the university's profile, where they will be able to explore all of the courses we have available.

FutureLearn has guidelines specifically aimed at young people using its site, covering key guidance on how to use the Comment sections safely and responsibly, and how to report anything you find concerning. Please read these guidelines before starting.

From the day a student signs up to a course, they will normally be able to access it for free for four weeks (unless otherwise arranged). After these four weeks, free access to the course will expire and students will need to upgrade or start again the next time the course runs.

Each course has a To Do List, listing all the steps and activities in the course. This list will show students which steps they have completed, which they last visited, and whether the step is a video, article or exercise. This will be useful if you ask your students to complete a specific task or activity. To go straight to a specific step, a student has to simply select it from this list.

Each step has a Comments section at the bottom of the page, where learners can post their thoughts and ideas. Learners can also ‘like’ and reply to other learners’ comments. Remember the course is not only for your students, so there will be comments from a range of people from different age groups, countries and cultures. Ask your students to join in the discussion but remind them to be polite and respectful.

Every video will have a downloadable transcript and audio file if you need them, and all videos are subtitled. Some steps might include activities such as polls on the page, and some exercises will be links that will take learners to a separate page. You may ask your students to complete some activities separately, not on the FutureLearn platform, so be clear when letting your students know so that they don’t end up doing things more than once.

At the bottom of each page, you will see a button labelled ‘Mark as Complete’. When students finish a step, they can select this button. When they check the To Do List they’ll be able to see which steps they have completed. Students can check their progress on the course by selecting the ‘Progress’ tab at the top of the page.