Opinions are still split on whether Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are a revolution in higher education learning, but universities are confident that the open online learning modules can now provide them with much needed revenue streams. Sara Custer reports.
The Dutch Minister of Education, Culture and Science has committed €1 million a year to stimulate the development of open education resources in higher education institutions in the Netherlands saying they are the "business cards" of Dutch universities.
Evolving recruitment channels in international education will be a hallmark of 2014’s legacy. From developments in the agent debate to expanding MOOCs, booms in TNE and new models of direct interaction with students, key trends this year will centre around nuanced ways in which educators are finding, attracting and enrolling international students, reports Sara Custer.
Veduca, a Brazilian education tech company, has launched the world’s first open online MBA in Engineering and Innovation. Content will be delivered in Portugese through video classes from Brazil’s leading engineering schools while also offering a certificate programme for those who wish to pay.
Crowd learning and gaming are the latest e-learning trends to make an impact in the burgeoning MOOC culture that is gaining attention in the education industry. These predicted shifts in teaching and learning are set to change education in the next two to five years, according to a report from the OU.
The online education platform WizIQ is to launch a language learning Massive Open Online Course—a sign of a growing trend for MOOCs to be used in the language space. The US firm is offering a 4-week teacher-training course free online.
The University of Edinburgh has compiled the most comprehensive data to date on the MOOCs sector, revealing the study choices, motivations and nationality of participants in its six Coursera-backed projects. Among the findings, 45% of respondents said their course completely met their expectations while 32% said it exceeded them.
FutureLearn, the UK’s first massive open online course (MOOC) platform has announced a further five partners. The project, launched by the Open University in December 2012 from 24 UK universities and other organisations, is backed by the government which believes it could leverage British university brands around the world.
