Duke’s first Coursera MOOC, Bioelectricity: A Quantitative Approach which launched on September 24 wrapped up last week. Congratulations to Dr. Barr and his students from all of us at Duke University! We won’t have a complete analysis of this MOOC available until January – we’re still collecting feedback and reviewing data. In the meantime, in response to popular demand, here are a few quick details about the course from a preliminary review.
The numbers of students who participated in various ways in Bioelectricity:
Expressed an interest by registering: 12,461
Watched at least one video: 7593
Answered at least one question correctly on both Week 1 quizzes: 1267
Earned at least one point on the final exam: 358
Earned any certificate (basic + with distinction): 313
Earned a distinction certificate: 260
Ultimately, 25% of students who earned at least one point on the quizzes during Week 1 successfully completed the course requirements.
Duke University will begin offering courses free on the Internet, school officials said Tuesday. Doing so will extend Duke’s expertise to a broader global audience while using technology to enhance the classroom experience for its students on campus, officials added.
Duke will accomplish this through a partnership with Coursera, a California-based education company that provides a platform for universities to deliver online courses. Coursera was founded in 2011 with four partner universities: Stanford, Michigan, Princeton and the University of Pennsylvania.
The American Council on Education has announced that five Coursera MOOC courses have earned credit recommendations. Two of the courses – Mohamed Noor’s “Introduction to Genetics and Evolution” and Roger Barr’s “Bioelectricity: A Quantitative Approach” – are part of Duke’s Coursera effort.
The ACE’s process includes faculty reviewers who consider creditworthiness, content, pedagogical approaches, technical issues, student-faculty interaction and security of assessments. Duke’s two courses have earned credit recommendations from ACE.