Penn State open online course 'infects' learners, causing a 'virtual pandemic' - Katrina Voss, Penn State

In a free new online course, "Epidemics: the Dynamics of Infectious Diseases," offered by the Eberly College of Science at Penn State, students and members of the public will learn about how infectious diseases spread by playing a real-time epidemic game -- a "virtual apocalypse," which instructors will run in parallel with the more traditional lessons. The course, which begins Oct. 15 and continues for eight consecutive weeks, is part of the leading massive open online course (MOOC) platform Coursera, which makes it possible for the University to provide courses on a vast scale, opening higher education to hundreds of thousands more students than was previously possible. "Our course is unique. It differs from all the other massive open online courses out there because we offer our students the opportunity to participate in a virtual pandemic," said Marcel Salathé, an assistant professor of biology and leader of a team of eight faculty members teaching the course. "I can't think of a more engaging way to learn about how epidemics unfold and how they can be controlled than to be in the middle of it, even if only virtually. http://news.psu.edu/story/268568/2013/03/14/academics/penn-state-open-online-course-infects-learners-causing-virtual