VISAKHAPATNAM: Andhra University has rolled out 12 massive open online courses (MOOCs) in several subject areas.
Only a few state universities of Andhra Pradesh have jumped onto the bandwagon that is MOOCs.
According to experts, these courses break the traditional barriers of age, location, gender and culture. The courses offered by Andhra University range from ‘global business environment and economics’ and ‘information technology for business’ to ‘finance for non-finance professionals’ and ‘job readiness modules’. Andhra University vice-chancellor Prof PVGD Prasad Reddy said due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, learning management systems have moved online and further into the MOOCs domain.
“The objective of this initiative is to nurture student competencies in online learning according to their choices and as per the National Education Policy. Andhra University has designed 12 need-based MOOCs in the first phase. The MOOCs can facilitate online learning from different universities in various countries,” said Prof Prasad Reddy. The vice-chancellor added that each of these MOOCs offered by Andhra University contains a minimum of 30-hour online instruction with relevant e-learning resources.
“Enrolment into these courses is being offered at free of cost to enrich student knowledge, apart from their regular course of study. Upon completion of the course, the university will conduct an online examination and issue certificates to eligible students. The courses selected from this list of 12 will be recognized as a part of the postgraduate student’s mandatory MOOCs course requirement, and they will be awarded two credits,” said Prof Prasad Reddy. According to academicians, the pandemic has accelerated the adoption of digital technologies in educational institutions. For the last two years, several institutions have depended on the online mode of instruction to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
