Coursera's Signature Track
Students taking MOOCs have always been interested in expanding the opportunities for getting some type of credit or recognition for completing courses. Coursera and others have been looking at working with ACE on credit equivalency because they recognize that there is a percentage of MOOC participants (certainly not all - and probably not a majority) who want to apply their learning to other institutions or employers.
This is also a path that providers (for-profits - and I include colleges in that group for MOOCs) want to go down as they create business plans to use MOOCs.
And so, Coursera has announced Signature Track. This option will give students in some select classes the opportunity to earn a "Verified Certificate" for completing their Coursera course. It links your coursework to your identity and allows for identity verification (You can create a special profile to link your coursework to your photo ID and unique typing pattern.) It will also offer "Verified certificates" which are official recognition from universities and Coursera for your work done. You can also share your electronic course records with employers, educational institutions, or anyone else through a secure URL.
Some of the first courses to be selected for Signature Track (offered in January 2014) will be Introduction to Genetics and Evolution, Microeconomics Principles,Nutrition for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, Computational Investing Part I, and Clinical Problem Solving.
On Coursera's blog, Peter Lange, Provost of Duke University says, “When we started offering our courses on Coursera, we aimed to extend the reach of our university’s intellectual strengths beyond our own halls, to a global classroom, now, we hope that these credentials, while they will not contribute directly toward a degree, will afford students around the world, of all ages, backgrounds and resources an opportunity to have a legitimate credential for their work in order to advance their career or fulfill themselves personally.”
This is also a path that providers (for-profits - and I include colleges in that group for MOOCs) want to go down as they create business plans to use MOOCs.
And so, Coursera has announced Signature Track. This option will give students in some select classes the opportunity to earn a "Verified Certificate" for completing their Coursera course. It links your coursework to your identity and allows for identity verification (You can create a special profile to link your coursework to your photo ID and unique typing pattern.) It will also offer "Verified certificates" which are official recognition from universities and Coursera for your work done. You can also share your electronic course records with employers, educational institutions, or anyone else through a secure URL.
Some of the first courses to be selected for Signature Track (offered in January 2014) will be Introduction to Genetics and Evolution, Microeconomics Principles,Nutrition for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, Computational Investing Part I, and Clinical Problem Solving.
On Coursera's blog, Peter Lange, Provost of Duke University says, “When we started offering our courses on Coursera, we aimed to extend the reach of our university’s intellectual strengths beyond our own halls, to a global classroom, now, we hope that these credentials, while they will not contribute directly toward a degree, will afford students around the world, of all ages, backgrounds and resources an opportunity to have a legitimate credential for their work in order to advance their career or fulfill themselves personally.”
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