Google Partners with EdX for MOOC Platform Development and Research

Posted by Kenneth Ronkowitz on

New stories that EdX has partnered with Google to develop the nonprofit MOOC provider's learning platform, called Open edX, further convinces me that Google is very interested in moving into education in a much bigger way.

The two will operate MOOC.org, a new site for non-xConsortium universities, institutions, businesses, governments and teachers to build and host their courses.
"We support the development of a diverse education ecosystem, as learning expands in the online world," Google Director of Research Dan Clancy wrote in a blog post about the partnership. "Part of that means that educational institutions should easily be able to bring their content online and manage their relationships with their students. Our industry is in the early stages of MOOCs, and lots of experimentation is still needed to find the best way to meet the educational needs of the world. An open ecosystem with multiple players encourages rapid experimentation and innovation, and we applaud the work going on in this space today. "
"We have long admired Google's commitment to open access to information, and we believe they will be a perfect partner to work with as we shape the next generation of open education and learning," said Anant Agarwal, edX president, in a prepared statement. "Google shares our mission to improve learning both on-campus and online. Working with Google's world-class engineers and technology will enable us to advance online, on-campus and blended learning experiences faster and more effectively than ever before."

EdX differs from some of the big names in MOOCs (like Coursera) in that it is a non-profit founded by Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It was started in May 2012 and has 28 global educational institutions. Their self-stated focus is on "on transforming online and on-campus learning through groundbreaking methodologies, game-like experiences and cutting-edge research on an open source platform." 

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