Google Hangout nr.2. For all sessions (3 running at the time) on the new Coursera platform. The Hangout was on August, at 2 pm Eastern Time. Below you find a link to the video of the Hangout on YouTube and a short overview of the subjects addressed with the time slot that part of the discussion starts
There are close to 6,000 MOOCs from 600+ universities around the world. Class Central is a website with an overview of MOOCs and reviews by learners that have taken courses. Learners can reviews and make an informed decision weather a course suits them.
Class Central has made a list of Top 50 MOOCs of All Time to help potential learners for an online course . Thousands of reviews written by Class Central users form the foundation of that ranking.
Medical Neuroscience ranks in the top 13 science courses!
On March 12, 2016 the 2016 Prof. White received the Preclinical Golden Apple award. Prof. White is Associate Professor in the Doctor of Physical Therapy Division at Duke University. Prof. White is also the teacher of the MOOC Medical Neuroscience.
The Preclinical Golden Apple award for the recognition and appreciation of outstanding dedication to medical student education. The Golden Apple is the most prestigious teaching award given by the medical school student body. Three awards are given each year: one each to a preclinical faculty member, a clinical faculty member, and a house staff member.
The Learning Community of the on-demand course is taking shape.
Statistics
Learning Community statistics from July 4th 2016 (session June 6th – September 12th) are:
21,108 total visitors
9,857 enrolled learners
5,175 active learners
1,679 active learners in week 26 (last week)
71 individuals rated the course with an average rating of 4.9 of 5.0
2 individuals have already completed the course
74% of learners are outside of U.S. (India = 6.7%, Mexico = 4.3%, Brazil = 4.1%, UK = 3.8%, Canada = 3.4%, China = 3.0%, and further down the list is the Netherlands at 1.2%)
49% female
Age bin mode = 25-34 years old
30% are full time students; 58% are not
20% are PhDs or professional school graduates; 26% do not have a college degree
Specialization Neuroscience: Perception, Action and the Brain
Duke University has designed this specialization for advanced baccalaureate and prospective or current graduate students who are pursuing degrees in the brain sciences. Duke University has had one run of the Capstone project of this specialization on Coursera’s session based platform.
By Courtney Lockemer, Communications Manager for Online Duke
What does it take to make a MOOC?
What does it take to make a MOOC? Duke’s Center for Instructional Technology created a infographic that tells the story of one MOOC, Medical Neuroscience, taught by Duke professor Leonard White. The infographic illustrates just how much effort goes into one online course (196 videos, for example) and the many far-reaching impacts that come out of it.
Duke University was an early Coursera partner and has produced 31 MOOCs (and counting) for a total of over 2 million enrollments since 2013. Duke faculty who created and taught MOOCs often found the experiences personally rewarding and pedagogically transformative.
Prof. White recently participated in a unique interdisciplinary conference on humor at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. His talk and demonstration was entitled, “A Neurobiological Consideration of Humor”. In keeping with his Medical Neuroscience style, he brought human brain specimens to demonstrate to the diverse audience how the brain processes humor. The audience included, social scientists, psychologists, philosophers, humanists, feminists, humorists, television “sit-com” writers and producers, professional comedians, and students from a variety of disciplines. Several attendees gathered around the brains at the conclusion of the presentation for a closer look, to ask questions, and to hold a brain.
Coursera has been using a session based course platform in the past. Courses started at fixed points in time and students wanting to take the course at a time it was not scheduled had to wait for the next run of the course. That has changed, from now on you enroll and immediately start courses on the new on-demand course platform of Coursera
The first session of Medical Neuroscience was in 2013. The course is designed for people that are enrolled in a health professions curriculum or are preparing to do so. The intellectual challenge and content level of this course is comparable to what first-year students in the graduate-level health professions would experience and the course is expected to require 16-20 hours per week of effort.
During all the sessions there good, lively and instructive discussions on the Discussion Forum.
Prof. Purves et al. are currently working on a new edition of ‘Neuroscience’, the course textbook . For the sixth edition of a lot of new images are being added to make the neuroscience concepts even more clear.