MOOC

By the end of 2013, most top universities had started to offer some sort of MOOC (massive open online course). Now, we are starting to see the MOOC product move into both the corporate and the private realm. If you are considering a MOOC for yourself or your organization, you’ll first need to determine which tool you will use to build the course. The following is an assessment of five popular free MOOC platforms.

EdX is an open-source platform offered by edX.org. It is the same platform that universities such as Harvard and MIT use to offer courses to 100,000+ students. It was released as open source in March 2013, and the goal was to act as the WordPress for MOOC platforms, allowing users to use plug-ins to expand the core functionality. edX has a fast, modern feel, with the ability to accommodate large enrollments.

Moodle is an open-source learning management system (LMS) that allows users to build and offer online courses. It was built for traditional online classrooms rather than MOOCs, which attract a large number of students. It tends to be easier to install than edX, and there are hosted or one-click install options available.

CourseSites by Blackboard is an exceptionally robust platform. It has most of the features that Moodle has, including extensive teaching tools, reporting features and SCORM compliance. It is also cloud-based. You can set up a course in minutes and never have to worry about maintenance or upgrades.

Udemy is for individuals who want to easily build basic courses and monetize them. The platform is full of coders, photographers, designers and other specialists who offer their knowledge in the form of an online course. Udemy’s most distinct strength is its base of 2,000,000 registered students. When you build a course on Udemy, you are able to reach this pool of potential students.

Versal is an intriguing new platform. Its major strengths are a sleek, intuitive user interface and a robust drag-and-drop functionality. A user can sign up for free and then build a course that includes mathematical expressions, image drill-downs and many more widgets, all without any coding knowledge. Users can also embed their published courses on other websites, such as personal blogs.

Generally speaking, such services help people find something new in learning, and since it's free, there can be no disadvantages.