Chronicle of Higher Education (05/21/13) Jeffery R. Young
EdX announced that 15 additional universities have agreed to offer free massive open online courses, bringing the total membership to 27 institutions. The new partners include five universities in the United States, six in Asia, three in Europe, and one in Australia. EdX, a nonprofit provider of MOOCs founded by Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, aims to help colleges use technology to rethink campus education and deliver online courses. "What we hope to get out of our partnership with edX is actively learning from and building upon each other’s educational innovations," says Kyoto University professor Toru Iiyoshi. Several professors recently have raised questions about the implications of free online courses, especially as colleges run pilot projects in which they ask students to watch edX video lectures and use edX professors. "It’s a good thing that people are debating and discussing all the issues of this transformational technology," says edX president Anant Agarwal. "The way we look at it is this is increasing choice." Agarwal notes there currently are more than 900,000 people enrolled in edX programs.
EdX announced that 15 additional universities have agreed to offer free massive open online courses, bringing the total membership to 27 institutions. The new partners include five universities in the United States, six in Asia, three in Europe, and one in Australia. EdX, a nonprofit provider of MOOCs founded by Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, aims to help colleges use technology to rethink campus education and deliver online courses. "What we hope to get out of our partnership with edX is actively learning from and building upon each other’s educational innovations," says Kyoto University professor Toru Iiyoshi. Several professors recently have raised questions about the implications of free online courses, especially as colleges run pilot projects in which they ask students to watch edX video lectures and use edX professors. "It’s a good thing that people are debating and discussing all the issues of this transformational technology," says edX president Anant Agarwal. "The way we look at it is this is increasing choice." Agarwal notes there currently are more than 900,000 people enrolled in edX programs.
