UCT MOOCs in the top 200 – again

Five University of Cape Town (UCT) massive open online courses (MOOCs) have been included on the 2020 Class Central Best Online Courses of All Time list, which ranks the top 200 online courses from across the globe.

This list is based on more than 125 000 learner reviews globally. Currently there are more than 15 000 MOOCs from almost 1 000 universities worldwide, and the Class Central top 200 list features courses from about 100 universities in 23 countries.

MOOCs provide an opportunity for UCT’s academics and researchers to share their knowledge with a global audience while allowing the university to showcase its array of intellectual and teaching resources.

Janet Small, the course development manager at the Centre for Innovation in Learning and Teaching (CILT), who is part of the team that supports UCT academics to create MOOCs, said: “During the global lockdown, there has been a surge of interest to learn through MOOCs. We have seen a doubling in the number of people completing our MOOCs in these last six months compared to the total since the first UCT MOOC was launched in 2015.

“We are delighted that so many more people have signed up for and continue to enjoy our courses. It is a testament to the passion of our teaching staff and the dedication of our production team who aim for nothing but the best.”

The UCT MOOCs that made the list are: Medicine and the Arts: Humanising healthcare, What is a Mind?, Extinctions: Past and present, Education for All: Disability, diversity and inclusion and Understanding Clinical Research: Behind the statistics.