This has proved to be a collaborative, exciting and positive experience for all involved. We look forward to continuing to deliver more high quality online courses to an even larger global audience of learners in the future.
London, UK (PRWEB UK) 4 November 2013
91% of respondents rated their experience as ‘Good’, ‘Very Good’ or ‘Excellent’ in a post-course survey of the massive open online courses (MOOCs) offered by the University of London International Programmes on the Coursera online platform.
The four free online courses offered, which began in June this year, were: Creative Programming for Digital Media & Mobile Apps, English Common Law: Structure and Principles, Malicious Software and its Underground Economy: Two Sides to Every Story, and The Camera Never Lies.
An impressive 210,000 students signed up to the courses from countries all over the world, including the United States, India, Brazil, Spain and Canada, among many others.
The MOOCs took the format of video lectures, assessments based on automatically-graded multiple choice questions or peer reviews, and forums allowing the students to interact with the content, each other and course teams. Twitter chats and live video sessions were also used as part of the English Common Law MOOC. Of the 210,000 total registered students, 90,000 of them went on to participate in the courses as ‘active’ students, with 8,843 completing a course in full, to receive a Statement of Accomplishment.
Mike Kerrison, Director of Academic Development for the University of London International Programmes, said: “Although the total number of students receiving a Statement of Accomplishment is lower than the initial enrolment figures, by looking at the number of ‘active’ students, the courses have proven to be very successful. Considering that the courses are free and allow students to do as much or as little work as they like, the number of students engaging in the course materials is considerable.”
An ‘active’ student is considered as a unique user who has ‘turned up for class’, for example by viewing or downloading a lecture, attempting a quiz, posting on the forums or registering after the MOOC start date.
MOOCs have been highly beneficial for a number of reasons. They have widened the opportunities for student participation, as well as offered students a free and flexible introduction to a course from a top-rated university.
Due to the success of the initiative, plans are in place to complement the International Programmes’ existing MOOC offering. Mike Kerrison explained: “Our experience of offering four University of London International Programmes MOOCs through Coursera has proved to be a collaborative, exciting and positive experience for all involved. We look forward to continuing to deliver more high quality online courses to an even larger global audience of learners in the future.”
Notes for editors
This survey is part of a full report entitled Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) Report 2013, which is available on request.
University of London
- The University of London is a federation of 18 world-renowned Colleges, comprising of multi-faculty Colleges, smaller specialist Colleges, Institutes and other academic bodies.
- Examples include: UCL, Heythrop College, the School of Advanced Study, the University of London Institute in Paris and the University of London International Programmes.
- The University was established by Royal Charter in 1836.
- The University was the first to offer degrees to students irrespective of religion, political belief or gender.
- In 1878 the University of London became the first university in the UK to admit women to study for its degrees.
- The University was also first to offer flexible distance learning, with the establishment of the External System in 1858, now known as the University of London International Programmes.
University of London International Programmes
- The University of London International Programmes is the world’s oldest provider of degrees through distance and flexible learning.
- The International Programmes has been instrumental in the formation of British higher education – all English and Welsh universities founded between 1849 and 1949 offered University of London degrees before obtaining Royal Charters to award their own degrees.
- Today, the University of London International Programmes is a unique global network of more than 54,000 students in 180 countries, on 100+ study programmes.
- Famous former students and alumni include seven Nobel Prize Winners: Sir Frederick Gowland Hopkins; Professor Ronald Coase; Wole Soyinka; Derek Walcott; former President Nelson Mandela; joint Nobel Prize winner Charles Kao; and joint Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr Rolph Payet.
- To find out more about the University of London International Programmes, visit our website: http://www.londoninternational.ac.uk.
Coursera
- Coursera’s mission is to educate millions of people by offering classes from top universities and professors online for free.
- Coursera’s comprehensive online education platform combines mastery-based learning principles with video lectures, interactive content and a global community of peers, offering students from around the world a unique online learning experience.
- Coursera has partnered with top-tier universities to provide courses across a broad range of disciplines including medicine, literature, history, and computer science, among others.
- Coursera is backed by leading venture capital firms Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Bayers, and New Enterprise Associates. For more information visit http://www.coursera.org.