In May Harvard and MIT launched the third major MOOC (massively open online course) player, EdX.
FORBES: Education Finally Ripe For Radical Innovation By Social Entrepreneurs
In another piece of news, MOOC provider edX, a collaboration between Harvard and M.
The edX alliance, launched this year, already includes MIT, Harvard and the University of California, Berkeley.
The coming technical disruptors (EdX, Udacity, and other online education providers) are experimenting with new business models.
FORBES: Growing Gap Between What Business Needs and What Education Provides
At this point, EdX and other MOOC providers hand out certificates of mastery to those who finish courses.
The history scholar said edX is well-received in the region, citing a biostatistics and epidemiology course that had 8, 000 students from India.
EdX, a MOOC affiliated with six schools including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has teamed up with Pearson Vue, a test-proctoring company.
Companies including Udacity ( udacity.com), Coursera ( coursera.com) and edX ( edx.org) are partnering with schools or independent instructors to offer online classes.
The University of Texas (UT) System is joining the edX online platform project set up by Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
There are also universities offering courses both through Coursera and edX.
In another announcement yesterday, edX, a collaboration between Harvard and M.
Coursera, set up by Stanford academics, and edX, set up by Harvard and MIT, have registered more than 3.5 million students within a year of launching.
Officials encourage students to complete their education independently through online courses, which have grown in popularity through efforts by companies such as Coursera, edX and Udacity.
EdX, originally backed by a grant from Harvard College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has joined with community colleges in Massachusetts and McGill University in Montreal.
The rival edX online university project on the US east coast has been funded by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard and is not for profit.
EdX, the nonprofit joint venture started last year by Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, offers university-level classes free online and already has attracted more than 700, 000 people.
Like edX, Coursera is working to challenge that assumption, and today the online course provider announced partnerships with ten public university systems that'll integrate lessons from Coursera into the classroom.
As a result, badges are now offered by an increasing number and variety of credible schools and programs, including the Kahn Academy, Carnegie Mellon, and, yes, MITx and edX.
Now a full-blown race to become the dominant MOOC is well underway, with Coursera, World Education University, Udacity, edX and many others competing for critical mass and first-mover advantage.
FORBES: Distance Learning Has Been Around Since 1892, You Big MOOC
Gene Powell, chairman of the UT System Board of Regents, said the partnership with edX is intended to help them reach a "wide range of students, raise graduation rates and cut the cost of higher education".
In the last year, MOOCs have been growing fast, with several start-ups, including Udacity, founded by Sebastian Thrun, a German-born Google vice president and part-time Stanford computer science professor, edX, a collaboration between Harvard and M.
Dr. Faust called edX a startup "in every sense of the word, " adding that the site is searching for its business model, which could involve licensing course content and charging for certain offerings, such as executive business courses.
In recent weeks, faculty at Duke and Amherst have voted against elements of expanding MOOCs on their campuses, and 58 Harvard faculty last week called for a new university committee to consider ethical issues related to Harvard's participation in edX, a MOOC-producing consortium led by Harvard and MIT.
应用推荐