article thumbnail

Elite Colleges Started EdX as a Nonprofit Alternative to Coursera. How Is It Doing?

Edsurge

Amidst the hype, two competing entities were formed within a few weeks of each other: One of them was Coursera, a for-profit startup backed by the biggest-name investors in Silicon Valley, who argued that they were building a billion-dollar company, a rare “unicorn,” as venture capitalists say.

Coursera 176
article thumbnail

MOOC Pioneer Coursera Tries a New Push: Selling Courseware to Colleges

Edsurge

Coursera started with a mission to give the general public free access to courses from expensive colleges. But in a new effort announced Thursday, called Coursera for Campus, the company will begin selling access to its complete library of courseware to any college to use, at around $400 per student.

Coursera 104
Insiders

Sign Up for our Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

article thumbnail

Coursera Raises $130 Million as Colleges Turn to Online Courses for the Fall

Edsurge

On Wednesday, CampusLogic, a provider of financial aid software to colleges and universities, raised $120 million. Coursera, which provides online courses to higher-ed institutions, businesses and government agencies, has raised $130 million in a Series F round led by NEA. Coursera for Campus launched last October.

Coursera 150
article thumbnail

How Blockbuster MOOCs Could Shape the Future of Teaching

Edsurge

After all, so-called MOOCs, or massive open online courses, were meant to open education to as many learners as possible, and in many ways they are more like books (digital ones, packed with videos and interactive quizzes) than courses. But both Coursera and EdX, two of the largest providers, do release lists of their most popular courses.

MOOC 163
article thumbnail

U. of Michigan Hints at Growth Plans for Office of Academic Innovation

Edsurge

Few other university “innovation” teams match the size of that at Michigan, says Michael Feldstein, partner at MindWires Consulting: “Obviously it signals a lot of ambition and maybe more of an emphasis on scale and on software development than you typically see at other institutions using that label.”

MOOC 135
article thumbnail

Should Online Courses Go Through ‘Beta Testing’? How One Provider Taps 2,500 Volunteers

Edsurge

He’s one of about 2,500 volunteer beta testers for Coursera , and part of an expanded quality-control effort the company started in the past year. In some cases he decides to eventually take the whole thing, and Coursera waives the usual fee for him to get a certificate if he finishes.

Course 162
article thumbnail

Online Learning's 'Greatest Hits'

Edsurge

The next big move came when instructional designers, as part of their skillset, turned to digital authoring systems, software introduced to stimulate engagement, encouraging virtual students to interface actively with digital materials, often by tapping at a keyboard or touching the screen as in a video game.