University of Auckland to offer free online courses

The University of Auckland is the latest New Zealand institute to announce a move into the world of massive open online courses (MOOCs).

It will partner with FutureLearn, a UK-based consortium founded by the Open University to develop and deliver MOOCs, and will join universities from the UK, Republic of Ireland and Australia, along with resource partners the British Museum, British Council and British Library on the FutureLearn platform.

The University will contribute courses and work with other partners in developing pedagogically-driven innovation in blended learning.

Professor John Morrow, University of Auckland deputy vice-chancellor says the FutureLearn membership will provide the sole focus of the University’s engagement with MOOCS in the near future.

“We welcome this important global collaboration which will increase our reach and make our high-quality content and courses available to anyone worldwide,” he says.

“Our membership of the FutureLearn consortium provides exciting opportunities for collaboration with leading educational institutions committed to utilising learning technologies to enhance educational outcomes.”

FutureLearn CEO, Simon Nelson, says this collaboration is great news for learners globally as they will have access to an even broader selection of free, high-quality, online courses from some of the world's best educators.

The University's first MOOCs will launch on FutureLearn in 2014.