Jisc has welcomed the announcement by the Open University to bring together a range of free, open, online courses from leading UK universities through MOOCs (massively open online courses). Jisc has been supporting activity within online learning across the UK to enhance the learner experience and open up access to education and learning for over 20 years.
Students from the UK and around the world will have free access to some of the country's top universities thanks to Futurelearn Ltd, an entirely new company being launched by The Open University (OU). The universities of Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, East Anglia, Exeter, King's College London, Lancaster, Leeds, Southampton, St Andrews and Warwick have all signed up to join Futurelearn. Futurelearn will be independent but majority-owned by the OU.
The MOOC is a photography module which is being run with fee paying students as well as virtual learners. The benefits are already being realised as the larger class size means international contacts can be made, renowned and higher profile speakers and lecturers are secured and learners gain a wider variety of peer reviews from around the world.
This announcement by the Open University is an important step in allowing UK education to be at the forefront of the next generation of MOOCs – helping to build an online community for learners.
