“Social interaction is central to the FutureLearn experience, enabling people to learn actively by engaging in conversations around the learning material, or vicariously, by following discussions,” the company said.
“Learner profile pages” will allow students to create an online identity within FutureLearn, and they will be able to interact with and learn about other users on the platform. Like major social networking sites, students can “follow” other students, and be followed back.
The platform will also provide feedback and hints during quizzes to help ensure students are fully grasping the material and advancing through the course.
This open beta version of FutureLearn will run through early 2014, and it features courses from 20 universities that the platform has partnered with in the last nine months. The majority of institutions are from the England, but the company also has partnerships with Australia’s Monash University and Ireland’s Trinity College at Dublin.
The courses will cover a variety of subjects including literature, history, marketing, computing, and psychology. Students from more than 140 countries have signed up for the courses, according to FutureLearn.
“This will keep the U.K. ahead in the global race to deliver education in worldwide markets,” Willetts said.
If that global race is focused on MOOC platforms, however, then FutureLearn arrived fairly late to the starting line. The platform won’t be piloting paid-for certificates of completion until later this year. Coursera, arguably the largest MOOC provider in the U.S., has been offering its verified certificates since January.
Last week, the platform announced that its revenue had surpassed $1 million.
Follow Jake New on Twitter at @eCN_Jake.
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