When Coursera co-founder Daphne Koller and a panel of MOOC enthusiasts spoke about the online courses at the University of British Columbia in June, some educators took note that the panel all but ignored the humanities.
It may, then, come as a surprise that interest in humanities MOOCs overshadows the majority of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) courses.
As Jon Beasley-Murray, an associate professor at the UBC, wrote in a blog about the June event, most of the minds behind the MOOC movement are not involved in the humanities.
“Not one of the contributors to the debate came from the Arts or Humanities,” Beasley-Murray wrote. “Not Koller herself, not the panel (which was chaired by the Dean of Sciences), not the introduction (by the provost, a chemist). All the questions from the floor were also by scientists, bar one from a member of the Faculty of Education.”
Coursera released these statistics as part of its announcement that the company, with the addition of 13 new partnerships, has now surpassed 100 institutions, 500 courses, and 5 million students on the platform.
“It is remarkable that such a powerful network has developed just 18 months since the official launch of our company,” Koller stated. “With so many countries, languages, and educational backgrounds represented, we are proud to be a part of a movement promoting lifelong education for everyone.”
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