Key Benefits of OLI Courses

Course materials are based on leading-edge research.

Our course development teams include learning scientists who are developing and testing new theories about student learning. Their research is integrated into our courses which, in turn, collect data on student performance. This student data is used to improve our courses and to these evaluate theories about learning. View our publications >

Instructors can see which course topics are most difficult for students and what misconceptions they may have.

OLI courses provide targeted feedback to students and capture data about student learning. This data, along with helpful tools for interpreting the data, are given to instructors. This information helps instructors to tailor their classroom lectures and activities to the topics with which students are struggling. Use our Learning Dashboard tool to see student progress on a class-level, by student, and even by individual activity in the course. Learn more about our tools >

Students can come to class better prepared.

OLI focuses on helping students to assess their own learning and develop effective study strategies. Our courses provide clear learning objectives, many opportunities for self-assessment, and timely and contextual feedback on student progress. Learn more about how we help students >

Using an OLI Course in the Classroom

Hear from professor Oded Meyer, who made significant contributions to the development of OLI’s statistics course and who uses the course in his teaching. Meyer taught at Carnegie Mellon, but is currently a Visiting Professor at Georgetown University.

[styledBQ source=’Oded Meyer’]No machine in the world will ever be able to substitute for an enthusiastic and inspiring teacher. The advantage of OLI is that it does not replace the teacher, but works in conjunction with the teacher. With OLI, class time can be used by far more effectively.[/styledBQ]

Oded Meyer on Teaching with the Open Learning Initiative (OLI) from The Center for New Designs in Learning and Scholarship (CNDLS) on Vimeo.

Flexible Course Materials

Our courses are used at four-year universities, community colleges, high schools, and in home-schooling environments. Courses are created in a flexible and modular fashion, allowing educators to use the sections that apply to their situation. We are also currently developing course materials specifically to meet the needs of introductory community college courses.