Massive open online course (MOOC) providers Coursera and edX have announced big expansions in their free online courses. Both websites are expanding heavily into international course content by partnering with universities outside the United States. MOOCs are revolutionizing higher education by providing online learning opportunities from top-tier universities to millions of people.
Coursera announced that it has partnered with an additional 29 universities to nearly double its current total of 33 universities. Over half of the new university partners are located outside the United States, making Coursera a global education opportunity. Some of the new courses will be offered in foreign languages, including Italian, Spanish, Chinese and French. In the press release announcing the new partnerships, Andrew Ng, the co-founder of Coursera, said, “With the addition of so many new courses across a wide range of disciplines, languages and academic approaches, we are now able to meet the needs of a more diverse student body.” Coursera currently has 2.7 million students registered for at least one of its 220 courses.
EdX, which was founded by Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and has enrolled a total of 700,000 students, is adding six institutions and 25 courses. Five of its newest school partners are based outside the United States – in Australia, the Netherlands, Switzerland and two in Canada. EdX’s vision is to complement traditional education by building a network of world-class universities that can work together to improve education both online and offline. EdX stated that it will also use the data it collects from its free online courses to research student learning behaviors.
The MOOC platforms encourage students to participate in forums to communicate with their peers and professors. Classes are highly automated to allow for larger student enrollment. The vast majority of courses offered by MOOCs do not provide degree credit. However, this may change in the future after the American Council on Education recommended credit for five courses offered through Coursera.
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