In early September, Google announced its partnership with edX to develop MOOC.org, a website that will allow anyone to build their own MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) and make it available to the public. MOOC.org will be powered by the Open edX platform, which is still under development.
As Cali Morrison, manager of communications at WICHE Cooperative for Education Technologies, points out: MOOCs have always been “open” to all students around the world, and the new platform will allow MOOCs to be “open” from the provider’s perspective as well. With the Open edX platform, anyone can create their own online or blended course – whether they are a teacher, aspiring teacher, or involved in a business, government, or academic institution.
This wider range of MOOC-builders is important for the future of online education because it will stimulate creativity and generate innovative forms of online teaching.
According to Anant Agarwal, president of edX, joining with Google will allow the two companies to “shape the next generation of open education and learning.”
Last year, Google launched a Course Builder, which has been used to create numerous online courses. While Google does plan to maintain the Course Builder, the company will now shift its focus toward developing the Open edX platform.
In addition to developing the Open edX platform and MOOC.org, Google and edX also plan to continue researching topics related to online education. (For some of Google’s research findings, see Google’s Research Blog.) The creation of MOOC.org will help further this goal because more opportunities for MOOC development translates into more opportunities for MOOC research.
MOOC.org is set to launch in early 2014.
Sources:
- Google MOOC site: ‘More of the same’? by Jake New, Assistant Editor of eCampusNews.com
- EdX Announces Partnership with Google to Expand Open Source Platform on MOOC.org
- We are joining the Open edX platform on Google’s Research Blog
* The MOOC.org logo is the sole and exclusive property of Google and edX.