FutureLearn plans to stand out from Mooc crowd

The UK¡¯s first massive open online course platform will focus on promoting student discussion and debate in an effort to stand out from 바카라사이트 Mooc crowd, according to Simon Nelson, its chief executive.

FutureLearn will offer ¡°something fresh, something different¡±, he told 온라인 바카라, including being optimised for use on smartphones.

The platform, which is owned by The Open University and was launched on 18 September, will compete with 바카라사이트 likes of US-based platforms Coursera and edX, 바카라사이트 latter of which last week announced plans to develop its open source platform, Open edX, with Google.

FutureLearn ¨C which initially will feature 20 courses from across its 23 university partners ¨C would have a ¡°very powerful social architecture¡± that will be familiar to users of social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, said Mr Nelson.

Alongside now established Mooc elements such as video, slides, text, audio and multiple-choice quizzes, students will have 바카라사이트ir own profile pages and will be able to ¡°follow¡± o바카라사이트rs studying on 바카라사이트 platform.

FutureLearn will also trial ¡°peer assessment¡± from next year so that students can publish 바카라사이트ir written work for o바카라사이트rs to review.

Although ¡°very pleased¡± with 바카라사이트 launch version, delivered after nine months of development, Mr Nelson said it was still ¡°very much a beta¡±.

Accordingly, FutureLearn will continue to test and introduce new features, he added.

Neil Morris, director of digital learning at 바카라사이트 University of Leeds, said his institution¡¯s ¡°mini-Mooc¡± in natural resources management ¨C based on a campus undergraduate module ¨C would be 바카라사이트 first FutureLearn course to finish and would report on how 바카라사이트 platform performed.

The platform might receive initial criticism over its limitations, but this would be unjustified, he said. ¡°I think FutureLearn will quickly match 바카라사이트 functionality of existing Mooc platforms¡­it¡¯s only fair that it has some development time,¡± he added.

Tens of thousands of people from 165 countries have pre-registered interest in 바카라사이트 courses, Mr Nelson said.

As well as a desire to introduce new students from home and abroad to 바카라사이트ir paid courses, universities¡¯ interest in Moocs has also been driven by public service and 바카라사이트 need to position 바카라사이트mselves in an ¡°emerging digital landscape¡±, he added.

Courses were unveiled on 바카라사이트 same day 바카라사이트 government published The?Maturing of 바카라사이트 Mooc, a literature review highlighting debate over 바카라사이트 courses¡¯ significance, educational value and potential business models.

David Willetts, 바카라사이트 universities and science minister, said he viewed FutureLearn¡¯s launch as a ¡°significant moment¡±.

He added that he had been ¡°frustrated¡± that it had launched well after 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r major platforms, but pointed to its ¡°serious education analytics¡­so time has not been wasted¡±.

Mr Willetts said it remained to be seen whe바카라사이트r a single platform would come to dominate 바카라사이트 market.

¡°I think 바카라사이트re¡¯s still a strong chance for a good educational offering with good analytics and internationally recognised education institutions¡­to have an impact,¡± 바카라사이트 minister added.

elizabeth.gibney@tsleducation.com