Open University Course T189

I completed this distance learning course last year and found it quite helpful.  A lot of the course material can be learnt from buying one or two good quality books but the addition of online help and small study groups of peers to critique your work really helps.  The following is taken from the Open university website:

Course content

The course is designed to be studied over a ten-week period, with approximately ten hours of study each week. There are two pieces of work that must be submitted during the course, however, to get the most out of the course we advise that you also take part in the weekly photo assignments (not assessed), and if you miss a week, that you are able to find time to catch up (for example, spend 20 hours the following week).

The course is a creative mix of practice, learning, sharing and reflection:

• Practice: each week you do a practical photographic activity that broadens and strengthens your photographic experience. Together these activities form the basis of your portfolio that you’ll draw upon for your end-of-course assessment.
• Learning: each week you learn about different aspects of photographic techniques, as well as relevant aspects of the technology behind digital photography.
• Sharing and reflection: each week you share your work within the T189 online community of photographers. You’ll steadily develop your ability to reflect upon your own and others’ work, and to write about your increasing visual awareness.

The course will:

• teach you the key principles of capturing digital images and manipulating these with Photoshop Elements for PC
• equip you with basic skills to navigate technological developments in digital photography
• teach you how to critically evaluate your own and others’ work in the spirit of continuous technical and artistic improvement
• encourage you to experiment with the principles of digital photography and imaging as part of a supportive online community
• help you to develop a portfolio to be proud of.