FutureLearn, a massive open online course (MOOC) platform, is revealed by the Open University.
Introducing FutureLearn, the Open University's new massive open online course (MOOC) platform, giving UK universities the ability to offer free online courses! Announced back in December, this single platform will allow the OU's partners like Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, and Warwick to provide web-based learning opportunities.
Starting today, FutureLearn is open for beta testing, featuring 20 courses, such as an "Introduction to Web Science" from Southampton University and an "Introductory Programming Course" from the University of Reading.
The concept behind a MOOC is to offer free courses online, raising a university's profile to attract more desirable students, and, in some cases, replace traditional teaching methods.
Multiple universities have developed their own MOOCs, but FutureLearn stands out as a private company founded by the OU, designed to serve multiple partners.
According to the Open University (a distance learning institution with online course experience under its belt), FutureLearn boasts features like social community aspects, facilitating student communication, contextual feedback, and an analytics dashboard for universities.
As FutureLearn enters a competitive online learning market, competing with platforms like Coursera, edX, Udacity, and government-backed initiatives like the European Commission's OpenUpEd, it's worth noting that typical completion rates for MOOCs hover around 5-15%, with some platforms reporting average completion rates as low as 7-9%.
For example, Duke University's 12-week MOOC "Think Again: How to Reason and Argue" saw over 220,000 enrollments, but only 2.3% of students finished the course!
However, FutureLearn's design emphasizes social interaction, interaction, and strong community engagement, offering hope for better completion rates compared to other platforms.
It's important to remember that MOOCs face challenges in maintaining high completion rates due to factors like lack of personal interaction and varying levels of student engagement. But by focusing on these concerns, FutureLearn and similar initiatives could change the game for web-based learning. 🔥🚀📚🚀🔥
Technology and education-and-self-development intersect with FutureLearn, a new MOOC platform created by the Open University. Designed to boost universities' online presence and promote interactive learning, FutureLearn hopes to surpass typical MOOC completion rates by focusing on strong community engagement.
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