1. What are the technical requirements to take a TechChange course?
Courses are delivered completely online and as such require a consistent connection to the Internet. We have optimized our courses to be accessible in low-bandwidth environments. We recommend the following browsers: Chrome Firefox and Safari. We work with participants ensure that course content is accessible regardless of one’s context. Please don’t hesitate to contact us with questions at info [at] techchange.org.
2. How do I apply?
Participants must complete our brief online application and will be notified within 2-3 business days as to the status of their application. Early registration dates and discounts are indicated on the application pages. Admitted students will then be sent a secure link to choose their payment option.
3. How do you accept payment?
Participants can pay for courses through PayPal, Credit Card, or by sending a check to TechChange. Our address is 218 D St SE, 3rd Floor, Washington DC, 20003.
4. Are Scholarships or Financial Aid available?
TechChange will work with participants who face demonstrable need to enable them to enroll in our courses. Email us with questions at info [at] techchange.org.
5. Can I get a refund?
Unfortunately, we aren’t able to offer refunds for participants who cannot take courses for whatever reason when they are offered. We will however allow participants to apply their tuition to future TechChange courses.
6. Who teaches the courses?
TechChange staff and advisory board members facilitate all courses and curate the external content which provides a broad understanding of the topic. All participants are also placed into small groups with an expert moderator who serves as the point person for all questions and guidance and who hosts a series of live conversations. Additionally, subject matter authorities indicated in the course descriptions participate in live discussions regarding areas of their expertise. TechChange has a Participant to Facilitator ratio of 5:1.
7. How are courses taught?
TechChange courses are designed to be flexible and self-paced with a handful of simultaneous activities. This is done so that participants can engage with course content at different times from different locations. Each course is its own dynamic, interactive and social learning ecosyststem. Activities and materials are designed to be innovative and incorporate a variety of online teaching approaches, including discussions, case studies, group exercises, and simulations. TechChange courses also make extensive use of multimedia.
8. What is the time commitment of the course?
The total time commitment is a minimum of 7-9 hours a week. The course is designed to be highly interactive and social, but we also work hard to ensure that the majority of content can experienced in a self-paced manner. We do feature real-time interactions each week such as live discussions, live expert interviews, and live simulations. In order to accommodate busy schedules of learners from around the world we’ve set up a learning environment where participants have plenty of options and can choose the ones they’d like to be involved with depending on their availability and interest. Participants can also access all course content up to three months after course completion so if you get pulled away at the last minute for part of the course you can still revisit the material afterwards.
9. Will I receive a certificate upon successfully completing the course?
TechChange uses a point system called TechPoints to keep track of participation. Participants must earn a minimum number of points to receive TechChange certification for each course that is successfully completed.
10. Can I earn credit for the course?
We are working on to be able to offer credit to interested participants. We currently have a partnership with the National Peace Academy. Some of our courses can be taken as part of NPA’s National Peacebuilding Peacelearning Certificate Program, a program designed to make learning for peace accessible, available and affordable for all. The program allows participants to pursue an individualized course of study that will help them achieve depth in knowledge and skills they need to achieve their personal and professional goals and interests in peacebuilding and peace education. For more information please visit the NPA website or feel free to reach out to us if you would like to receive NPA certification or are interested in more information.