Dear ART 101 learners,

Welcome to the ART 101: Artistic process and visual language course (art101), hosted at the OERu. This course gives a basic understanding of how art is defined and the different ways it functions in societies and cultures. It explores the artistic process and the art industry surrounding it. Students will be introduced to artistic principles: the means by which the elements in a work of art are arranged and orchestrated. The course also help students learn the “language of art” through a structured approach to terms and examples used to describe and analyze any work of art.

During this introductory session you will familiarise yourself with the art101 course site and meet the course facilitator(s). Make sure you bookmark the art101 homepage. You will also establish your personal learning environment and introduce yourself using the general course discussion forum or your personal blog. Refer to the Start Here page with orientation tasks that should be completed prior to the start of the course. Here are some other important links you should review as soon as possible:

Note: The OERu is a charitable collaboration of international institutions committed to widening access to more affordable education opportunities for all. For more information about the OERu, please view our promotional video on Youtube. Please share the gift of knowledge and help us by completing the optional OERu new participant survey. This information will be used to assist the OERu with the future design of free courses with pathways to achieving credible credentials. The OERu envisions a world where all learners will have more affordable access to higher education.

The OERu international network is launching a free first year of study. art101: Artistic process and visual language is one of the courses being offered as part of the 1st year of study. Your participation in this course will help us refine our technologies to provide free learning opportunities based entirely on Open Educational Resources (OER) and open source software with pathways to achieving formal academic credit towards recognised credentials.

This is a pilot offering of this micro-course and we hope that you find it useful and enjoyable. We are trialling a few new technologies and you may encounter a few teething problems. We thank you in advance for your understanding and feedback to help us improve our open technologies. Thank you in advance for your understanding and gift of time to help us improve.

Welcome aboard and we look forward to seeing you online!