News from e-Learning companies
Coursera: Cap sur la francophonie (Setting the course for French speakers)
My first moments after crossing the Ghana-Togo border shocked me; in 20 short meters, I had lost the ability to communicate with virtually anyone. How much more difficult must it be for my teacher, who spoke little English, to think of approaching the bastions of higher education in a world that seems to demand English at every turn? We’re now beginning to lower this barrier to global participation with the first ever MOOCs of their kind. On February 18, EPFL will officially launch Analyse Numérique (Numerical Analysis), followed later by four computer science courses. These will bring tears to the eyes not only of math-lovers, but also of the culturally and linguistically-minded: they will be taught in French. Expanding Coursera offerings into different languages brings us closer to our ideal of accessibility as a standard and education as a basic human right.The most exciting developments are set to happen in Africa, the region that bears the high…