Moocs on FutureLearn to be revealed next month

Specific details of the first Moocs to be made available are thin on the ground, although Futurelearn has confirmed that they will cover topics including literature; history; social sciences; computing and IT; and physical science, and be designed to work on mobile devices.

Times Higher Education revealed in December last year that the University of Warwick’s Business School was planning to offer a behavioural science Mooc on Futurelearn, although it has not been confirmed that this will be one of the first courses to go live.

Simon Nelson, chief executive of Futurelearn said: “Our partners have developed a wonderful range of high-quality courses to launch the service and I have no doubt that our learners will find the content compelling.”

There will be a launch event in mid-September, when full details of the platform’s first Moocs will be announced. From this time, learners will be able to sign up for a selection of the courses, the first of which will commence in October, although some course numbers will initially be limited while final “open beta” testing is completed.

“During the open beta period, we will be listening closely to the feedback from our users and using that to tailor Futurelearn into a uniquely engaging learning experience,” Mr Nelson said.

Futurelearn was created in December 2012, and is currently wholly owned by the Open University, which is also overseeing the design of the Mooc platform’s website. Its 26 partners comprise leading UK and international universities and cultural institutions including the British Library, British Museum and British Council.

chris.parr@tsleducation.com