WATCH: The University of Alberta’s open online Dino 101 course is taking to the skies with JetBlue. Emily Mertz explains.
EDMONTON – An open online course on dinosaur paleobiology from the University of Alberta will be offered as part of JetBlue’s in-flight entertainment.
Dino 101 was one of ten Coursera courses selected by the American airline as part of its new on-board entertainment and education.
“JetBlue decided they were going to offer some of these online courses on their airlines,” says Jonathan Schaeffer, dean of the U of A’s Faculty of Science.
“They approached a company called Coursera … Coursera has almost 1,000 courses, and they whittled it down to 10 high-quality courses that they thought people on these planes would enjoy watching, and we’re one of the 10.”
In a news release, JetBlue says, in addition to offering passengers free on-board Wi-Fi, the new entertainment options will suit every kind of client.
“We are now taking it to the next level and provide endless hours of entertainment whether you want to read, learn or just relax watching a TV show. To make this a reality, we have partnered with some of the most respected content providers, with plenty more to come in 2015,” says Jamie Perry, JetBlue’s director of product development.
That new content includes e-books and learning videos from Coursera.
WATCH: The University of Alberta’s Dino 101 – Dinosaur Paleobiology
The U of A’s Dino 101 became Canada’s first MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) September 2013. As a MOOC, the course can be accessed, for free, by anyone in the world online. It is also available for credit to U of A students or to other students for a fee.
READ MORE: U of A joins the world of open online education with free dinosaur course
But, Dino 101 is not your average online course.
“We have engaging on-screen illustrations, real fossils, on-location shooting at real dinosaur digs – that’s actually the most popular part of the course – how many people have really gone on a dinosaur dig? Here, you can watch it and see what the real palaeontologists are doing out in the field.
“We’re trying to make it something that you want to pay attention to.”
So far, close to 55,000 people have taken the course in over 100 countries.
“If you take all the courses I’ve taught in my 30 years and you add up all the students that have ever gone into my classes, it’s less than 20,000. And yet, within one year, we’ve taken one course, developed it, and reached over 50,000 people. It’s amazing.”
Schaeffer is thrilled the JetBlue offering will allow even more people to experience Dino 101.
“The U of A, we produce, here in the faculty of science, outstanding research, do outstanding teaching. Maybe, we’re a well-known Canadian secret, and what this does is just amplify our brand internationally. I want to go to the world and brag about just how good we really are.”
He says the school chose showcase the strengths of U of A and the province.
“We have a world-class palaeontology team, we’re here in Alberta, we have the Badlands of Alberta, the building next door here… has almost 100 years worth of fossil collecting.”
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