Oxford University to launch their first online 'Mooc' course - Sean Coughlan, BBC

Oxford University has announced its first "massive open online course" - or so-called Mooc - in a partnership with a US online university network. These free online courses have grown in popularity with hundreds of universities and millions of students. But until now Oxford has not offered such Mooc courses. It is going to run an economics course partnered with online platform edX, set up by Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The emergence of Mooc courses in recent years has been a major phenomenon in higher education, particularly in the United States. Their supporters argued that putting courses online would make them more accessible and affordable - while sceptics doubted that teaching and the exchange of ideas in seminars could be replicated on the internet. http://www.bbc.com/news/education-37975359