Coursera announced yesterday that they've raised an additional $43M. Part of their focus going forward will be to bring Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) to the developing world. Coursera currently works with 83 universities (including Stanford and Yale) to offer free video lectures to anyone with an Internet connection. However, only 7% of their courses are offered in a non-English language.
Because Coursera's content is based on university lectures, their courses generally have specific start and end dates and include homework, quizzes, and exams. For an additional fee (typically $50), some courses offer a verified certificate of completion (called Signature Track). These certificates are not transferrable for college credit yet, but it's something that Coursera is working on.
I recently heard one of the founders, Daphne Koller, speak at an education conference. She was an inspiring speaker. Some of her key insights were:
I can imagine a future where university lectures are available from Coursera, and the bricks-and-mortar experience is more focused on group discussions, research, grading, and certification. Even though the MOOC format is not ideal for everyone, it's certainly a wonderful thing for learners to access free lectures from top universities around the world.