MOOCs: The Coming Revolution?

2012 may become known as the year of rise of disruptive change for higher education, or more simply perhaps the Year of the MOOC (Massive Open Online Course). Whether you believe the new online platforms and approaches to pedagogy seen this year are harbingers of a revolution in higher education, or only the next evolutionary addition to the 'toolkit' of our universities, one thing is clear: change is definitely happening. A significant entity changing the paradigm is Coursera - a social entrepreneurship company that partners with top universities in the world to offer courses online for anyone to take, for free. Coursera was founded on the dual principles of changing pedagogy by 'flipping the classroom' (students actively engaging to teach while they learn) and extending highest-quality education to millions of students for free - both through the effective use of technology. Key to this process is that partnership between Coursera and participating universities, and key to that is how these universities arrived at their decision to participate and engage in this partnership. This session will better inform attendees about Coursera and the impact it is having on online education and altering pedagogy, provide insights into how and why one university joined that partnership, and allow for extensive audience involvement in 'flipping' the session!