For further information, visit: www.southampton.ac.uk/courses/free-online-learning.page
MOOCs – ‘Massive Online Open Courses’ – are massive in more ways than one. Massive in terms of participation. Massive in terms of inclusivity. Massive in terms of success. And massive by name. At Southampton, we’re setting the bar high for MOOC success – and reaping the rewards along the way.
ALL INCLUSIVE MOOCs are all about knowledge sharing – but on a massive scale. Hundreds of thousands of people all around the world have taken part in MOOCs delivered by teams from Southampton – on subjects from all five Faculties – since the first course in 2012. MOOC stands for Massive Open Online Course. There is no barrier to who can take part, they are open to anyone, and they are delivered online. The University’s MOOCs are short, focused courses that last between two and eight weeks, with about four hours of learning each week. Kate Borthwick is Director of Open Online Courses within the University’s Digital Learning team. She said: “There is no cost and no prior knowledge requirement to take part in a MOOC. Many of them are aimed at a particular audience, but there
is no prerequisite for joining. So, when you are designing such a course, you need to assume you may get a very large number of participants. You might get one, or you might get 100,000 – there is no limit. Also, as the course is open to anyone, you have to think very carefully about the tone and you cannot assume prior knowledge or prior level of education. You are creating a wonderfully inclusive course.” The University of Southampton is one of the founding partners of FutureLearn, which set up a MOOC platform in 2013. “With FutureLearn, we shared a vision of social learning and peer learning,” explained Kate. “The aim with any MOOC is to start a dialogue with the learners and encourage them to interact with it. The courses are very learner-centred – the content is open and the learner is in control of how, and with what, they engage.”
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