The University of Iceland has partnered with edX, the leading non-profit online learning platform founded by Harvard and MIT. Through the collaboration, the University of Iceland wants to increase access to dynamic and exciting study programmes, promote the University's work on an international level, and further develop teaching methods in line with rapidly changing technologies and society.
Highly respected universities worldwide are now part of the powerful collaborative network edX, which offers an abundance of open and exciting online courses, called MOOC or Massive Open Online Courses.
"EdX is one of the primary platforms for open courses available internationally to the general public. The network is particularly known for offering good and interesting courses through a great many of the most prestigious universities in the world", said Jón Atli Benediktsson, Rector of the University of Iceland, when the University's participation was launched today.
"It is a great honour for the University of Iceland to to participate in edX. The collaboration allows us to further develop our teaching methods, both with regard to distance and on-campus learning. Becoming a part of edX means that the University of Iceland has become part of an exciting development, and the University can use this collaboration to develop its teaching methods", said Jón Atli.
"We are delighted to partner with The University of Iceland to bring the school’s expertise in Icelandic society, industry and history to the global community of over 13.8 million edX learners. This partnership is an exciting step in furthering our joint missions to increase access to high-quality education to all learners, everywhere", said Anant Agarwal, CEO of edX and MIT professor, about the University of Iceland's participation in the network.
The first course offered by the University on edX, will be a course in Medieval Icelandic Studies, called The Medieval Icelandic Sagas. The course will present the Icelandic family sagas in HD, with all their wonders, exciting events, riveting retorts and the various nuances of life in the Middle Ages. The course is open for enrolment today and will begin on March 1, 2018.
"The number of participants in edX online courses of this kind can go up into the tens and even hundreds of thousands", remarks Hjalti Snær Ægisson, the supervisory teacher for the course. "To date, one of edX’s most popular courses is an English grammar and style course, with almost half a million people who have accessed the course online."
"Being a part of edX brings along many benefits for the University of Iceland, its employees, and students. With the advent of ever advancing technologies, higher education is changing. By participating in edX, the University has the opportunity to showcase our teachers' talent on an international stage, offer courses to groups who so far had no access to them, and strengthen the use of information technology for teaching at our institution. At today's opening and in the future, we will show teaching staff and students how to use open online courses to support and promote the study programmes we already have on offer", says Steinunn Gestsdóttir, Pro-Rector of Academic Affairs and Development at the University of Iceland.
Jón Atli, Rector of the University of Iceland, explains that more and more students at the University call for more variety in teaching methods. Some teachers already use open online courses and model their teaching methods on these courses. "Participating in edX gives the University of Iceland the opportunity to gain a better overview of what is happening in advanced online education and to use the experience and knowledge available in the network to make things even better here at home", said the Rector.