Issue 22 - Island Waves - Texas A&M University Corpus Christi

PAGE 5 FEATURES/ ISSUE 22
FREE...college courses?
Online college courses offered through Coursera
KATHLEEN RAMIREZ
features editor
With over 1.6 million course enrollments
under its belt, online learning platform Coursera
provides students the opportunity to enroll
in any of the 123 free courses it offers.
Based out of Mountain View, California,
Coursera was officially launched on April 18,
2012 as the brainchild of two Stanford professors,
Daphne Koller and Andrew Ng. Since
its initial launch, Coursera has attracted over
one million students from 196 countries, and
has translated lectures into more than 20
languages.
Partnered with 16 universities, including
Stanford, Rice, Duke and Princeton, Coursera
offers non-credit courses ranging in topics
from algorithms, organic chemistry, poetry,
philosophy and world music to “A Beginner’s
Guide to Irrational Behavior,” “Fantasy and
Science Fiction,” “Contraception: Choices,
Culture and Consequences” and “Computational
Photography.”
While students are unable to receive college
credit for completing a course, they are
able to receive a certificate of completion
given by Coursera and the instructors.
Coursera’s method of teaching focuses
on four points: the importance of retrieval
and testing for learning, mastery learning,
peer assessments and active learning in the
classroom. Teaching styles include interactive
practice exercises and videos, immediate
feedback, re-attempts at homework, and grading
rubrics to determine a student’s grade.
The way students are taught on Coursera
is through lecture videos that have been recorded
by the professors. Courserians learn
at their own pace, watching interactive videos
that test students’ knowledge of a subject
and having them master a certain subject before
moving on with the lesson.
One unique aspect of Coursera is the fact
that it is all completely free and open to anyone
in any location of the world who has access
to a computer and internet. The main
goal of Coursera is helping students learn the
material quickly and effectively while partnering
with the top universities in the world
to ensure students are receiving the best
education possible.
According to the Coursera website,
Coursera’s mission statement is to “envision
a future where the top universities are
educating not only thousands of students,
but millions…giving everyone access to the
world-class education that has so far been
available only to a select few.”
In a recent survey conducted by Coursera,
studies showed that after the United States,
students in Brazil, India, China, the United
Kingdom and Canada use Coursera the most.
Countries such as Bangladesh, Estonia, Kazakhstan,
the Dominican Republic and Uruguay
are among the list of countries that use
Coursera the least.
Anyone is able to signup for courses offered
on Coursera, provided they are at least
18 years of age, or 13 with parental consent,
and are willing to abide by the Coursera
rules. Registration for Coursera is easy and
takes no more than a few seconds.
Courses on Coursera range in length from
four to 12-weeks, and include an online library
with course material, video lectures,
quizzes, discussion forums and homework
assignments. There is also no limit to the
number of courses a student can enroll in, and
classes start periodically throughout the year.
Visit coursera.org to register for classes,
or to learn more about Coursera.
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