Massive Open Online Courses, better known as MOOCs, are getting some traction in the education community - and we’re not just saying that because Oxford Dictionaries online
added the term last week. The challenge to creating true MOOCs has been in the Open part of Massive Open Online Course: making all aspects of the course are freely available to students. Rupert Murdoch’s new Amplify MOOC is launching this year, providing schools and students with a credible AP computer science MOOC.
The AP CS MOOC is a two-semester course in which your assignments are graded individually and you receive an overall grade at the end of the class.
The AP CS MOOC, which is geared at high school students who are ready to take a college level class in
Java coding, lasts for two semesters. It’s free this school year, and it offers something most MOOCs don’t: local coaching. Schools who offer the AP CS MOOC can designate a coach who will receive materials that will help them work with the students who are taking the course. The coach program is designed to be accessible to teachers and other adults who are unfamiliar with coding, which ought to help schools find people to coach students. Check out this video for a close-up look, and explore additional course videos on Amplify's
YouTube channel.