News from e-Learning companies
Coursera: Coursera Update: Striking a Balance with Start Dates and Deadlines
If you’ve started exploring Coursera’s new Specializations, you’ve probably noticed that we’ve reintroduced start dates and soft deadlines for some courses on our new platform. We’ve received some great questions about this change, and you’ll find a few answers below - along with a little Coursera history lesson. The philosophy: Why do we need start dates and deadlines? Coursera’s earliest courses followed a standard academic schedule, with weekly deadlines and quarterly or annual sessions. As our community grew, however, our learners and partners pushed us to challenge traditional structures. In 2014, we began rebuilding our platform to cater to a wider range of teaching and learning styles. The first courses on the new platform offered content “on demand,” with no deadlines and or fixed schedules. While this flexible format had many benefits, we lost something, too. Tools like forums and peer grading weren’t as effect…