UI edX course on sheep grazing among the best 2019

The online course about sheep grazing in Iceland organised by the University of Iceland in collaboration with other domestic institutions, has been listed among the top 30 Best Online Courses of 2019, according to Class Central, the main search engine for free online courses.

The course is entitled Sheep in the Land of Fire and Ice and is a five-part Massive Open Online Course (MOOC). The course is part of EdgeX, a learning platform provided by the University of Iceland through the partnership with edX. The course is organised by the University of Iceland, the Agricultural University of Iceland, the Soil Conservation Service of Iceland and the United Nations University Land Restoration Training Programme .

The course is in five parts and addresses the cultural, historical and economic relevance of sheep grazing in Iceland, as well as current issues, initiatives and approaches. Participants explore some of the theory that has shaped the application and management of grazing resources. The teaching staff in this course consists of Iceland's main specialists in the field from the University of Iceland and elsewhere. The course language is English and thus open to students all over the world. Over 700 have registered for the course since it opened a little over a year ago.

The course is one of four UIcelandX courses offered since the University of Iceland joined edX in 2017, the leading non-profit online learning platform founded by Harvard and MIT. By joining the University of Iceland wanted to increase access to dynamic and exciting study programmes, promote the University's work on a global scale, and further develop teaching methods in line with rapidly changing technologies and society.

Class Central is, as stated above, the largest search engine for online courses with special emphasis on open online courses such as university MOOCs within platforms like edX. Class Central has in recent years published a list of the best online courses based on the evaluation and rating from students. It says on the Class Central website that more than 2,400 courses were offered for the first time in 2019, so the competition is fierce.

The Class Central's Best Online Courses of 2019 can be found on their website.