Open University launches British Mooc platform to rival US providers

A UK-based platform for massive open online courses (Moocs) to rival established providers in the US has been launched by The Open University. Futurelearn will carry courses from 12 UK institutions (see list), which will be available to students across the world free of charge. It will follow in the footsteps of US providers including Coursera, edX and Udacity, which offer around 230 Moocs from around 40 mostly US-based institutions to more than 3 million students. The new platform will operate as an independent company, majority owned by The Open University, although details of other investors have yet to be confirmed. Simon Nelson, a key player in the development of BBC's online offerings, including the iPlayer, has been recruited to head up the new company. "There has been rapid and widespread growth in open online courses but until now UK universities have only had the option of working with US-based platforms," Mr Nelson said. The project has also been welcomed by government.

Top UK universities launch free online courses Eleven top UK universities are joining the Open University to launch free internet courses, in a bid to catch up with the elite US institutions that have led the way online. King's College London, along with the Universities of Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, East Anglia, Exeter, Lancaster, Leeds, Southampton, St Andrews and Warwick have partnered with FutureLearn, a company set up by the Open University that will offer free, non-credit bearing courses to internet-users around the world. The courses are modelled on the US phenomenon 'massive open online courses' (Moocs), which have attracted millions of users across the globe, and are especially popular in emerging economies – a key market place for UK universities. FutureLearn will promote UK institutions to international students, said Prof Martin Bean, vice-chancellor of the Open University. "At the moment foreign students' perception of UK universities is: wonderful history, great tradition, really good teaching, but a bit boring.

Future Learn | Tracking Innovation in Education urbangenie : My new role - leading this... UK universities embrace the free, open, online future of higher education powered by The Open University 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. It will:• Bring together a range of free, open, online courses from leading UK universities, that will be clear, simple to use and accessible; • Draw on the OU’s expertise in delivering distance learning and pioneering open education resources to underpin a unified, coherent offer from all of its partners;• Increase accessibility to higher education (HE) for students across the UK and in the rest of the world. Global demandFuturelearn has been warmly welcomed by UK government. Notes to Editors:1.

University Alliance comment on FutureLearn announcement | University Alliance A partnership of UK universities, led by the Open University, is launching an online project which aims to challenge US universities that have dominated this emerging market. They will aim to give the public access to higher education courses via computers, tablets or smartphones. In response to the FutureLearn announcement (14 December 2012) Libby Hackett, Chief Executive of University Alliance, said: “This is an incredibly exciting and important step being made by The Open University to help ensure that the UK remains a leading global educator of choice. The key strengths of UK higher education are quality and choice, with a diverse range of outstanding universities that are transforming lives. “Our recent University Vision report, What is your vision for universities, explored what universities might look like in 2025. For more information please contact Andrew Henry. inShare1 Tagged: Enterprise Universities, Growing Future Talent, innovation, Online, Open University

Leeds joins partners in offering free online access to education - University of Leeds The content will be delivered through what are known as Massively Open Online Courses, or MOOCs, bringing together a range of free, open, online resources from leading UK universities, in clear, simple to use and accessible ways. FutureLearn Ltd, an entirely new company being launched by The Open University (OU), will run MOOCs featuring content from Leeds, the OU, King’s College London and the Universities of Bristol, Cardiff, East Anglia, Exeter, Lancaster, Southampton, St Andrews and Warwick. “I’m delighted that Leeds is part of this exciting development. “And our current students will have access to a rich, interactive set of resources, from both Leeds and our partners. FutureLearn has been warmly welcomed by government. "The UK must be at the forefront of developments in education technology. “FutureLearn has the potential to put the UK at the heart of the technology for learning agenda by revolutionising conventional models of formal education. Further information

Futurelearn (Future_learn) sur Twitter Jisc welcomes the launch of Futurelearn Jisc welcomes the announcement by the Open University today to bring together a range of free, open, online courses from leading UK universities through MOOCs (massively open online courses). Professor Martyn Harrow, chief executive at Jisc, said: “The development of Futurelearn aligns with Jisc’s vision to make the UK the most digitally advanced education and research nation in the world. We are excited about the possibilities MOOCs offer and are looking forward to supporting the Open University and other education institutions in exploring their benefits.” 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. One recent example has been the development of the ‘open classroom’ model funded by Jisc at Coventry University - linking in with over 60 universities across the world.