Home University of Edinburgh Library Essentials
December 5, 2024
The University of Edinburgh has been an early adopter of MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) and offers courses through both the Coursera and FutureLearn platforms. Library services need to constantly respond to changes in the provision of research and learning activities of their institutions. MOOCs are one such area where libraries are currently exploring their role.
In my role as Head of Research and Learning Services within the Library & University Collections division of Information Services I get to think about these challenges daily. However, as with many aspects of life, there is no better way to learn about something new than to roll up your sleeves and have a go! As such, at the end of 2013 I enrolled on my first MOOC!
MOOC name: An Introduction to Operations Management
Institution: The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
Instructor: Christian Terwiesch
I chose this particular course as it isn’t directly relevant to my role in the library, however it addresses issues such as identifying bottlenecks, optimising workflows, calculating waiting times, and generally improving the operations of a business. All of these are applicable to one area or another of the library. It was also nice to study something a little different and in a domain that I knew nothing about.
The introduction video for the course gives a good overview of what it covered:
Below is a list of thoughts about the course:
The course also had a ‘Signature Track’ option. This requires a payment of about £30, and requires you to upload a photo of yourself holding your passport photo page (to prove it is you), and to take a typing pattern recognition test. After each exam, you had your photo taken by webcam, and had to re-take the typing test. These were to prove that it was actually you who took the exam. This is not infallible, of course, but a good basic level of verification.
In return for being on the Signature Track, you also get a shareable course record that can be used to show you completed the course. Mine can be seen at: https://www.coursera.org/records/FxQQn8nWmW9eeNkc
Overall the course was good fun, I felt I learned a lot, and the process of learning via a MOOC worked well. I didn’t really interact with anyone else on the course forums, and don’t know how many other students were on the course, or completed the course.
You’ll have noticed that the title of the blog is ‘My First MOOC’. I really enjoyed the experience, learning something quite different, and I’m sure I’ll be signing up for another sometime later this year!