TORONTO – Another Canadian university is joining the world of massive open online courses (MOOCs), offering an introductory course on dinosaurs.
The University of Alberta will offer Dino 101: Dinosaur Paleobiology, starting Sept. 4, through Coursera. It’s the university’s first foray into the ever-expanding world of open online education.
Coursera, which offers free online courses from leading international universities, was part of the group that took the education world by storm in 2012.
Along with Udacity, edX and others, Coursera offers free online courses, open to anyone with an Internet connection.
Over a 12-week period, Dino 101 will teach students about the non-avian dinosaurs that roamed the Earth, some 250 to 65 million years ago, during the Mesozoic Era.
It’s the first time a Canadian institution has offered a MOOC that will count for credit. Students also have the option of a non-credit stream.
The course will be led by Dr. Phil Currie, professor and Canada Research Chair in Dinosaur Paleobiology at the University of Alberta.
Many of the course lessons will be delivered from dinosaur dig sites. The course also boasts unique digital tools, including virtual fossil collections.
Dozens of universities and millions of students worldwide have jumped on the MOOC bandwagon.
The phenomenon began with free, not-for-credit courses, but recently some universities began exploring and adopting for-credit courses, at a fraction of the cost of a traditional university course.
In February, the American Council on Education announced it was recommending that students receive a college credit for five undergraduate courses offered by Coursera, saying they met ACE’s standards for college credit recommendations.
In May, Udacity announced the first-ever fully accredited and open online Master’s Degree in Computer Science.
The program – a collaboration between Udacity, AT&T and the Georgia Institute of Technology – will begin in January 2014 and total tuition will amount to $7,000 (an estimated 80 per cent cheaper than a similar degree offered in a traditional format).
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