Massive Open Online Course (MOOC)
Molecular Dynamics for Computational Discoveries In Science
- Features the first Adaptive MOOC technology
- Enables students to be taught according to individual learning strategies
- Open to anyone with an internet connection, at no charge
If you’ve ever been in a course and struggled because you just aren’t “getting it,” the reason might be less your ability than the way in which the material is being presented.
New technology is now allowing online course environments to analyze how individual students learn, customizing instruction to individualized learning strategies. The College of Advancing and Professional Studies (CAPS) at the University of Massachusetts Boston has teamed up with Synaptic Global Learning (SGL) to use the new learning management system, Adaptive Mobile Online Learning (AMOL), to deliver the first adaptive Massive Online Open Course (a-MOOC) ever offered. The course launches March 25.
“Molecular Dynamics for Computational Discoveries In Science,” will be taught by Nishikant Sonwalkar, a scientist, academician and adjunct professor of physics at UMass Boston. Sonwalkar, who teaches on both the graduate and undergraduate level, has a long history of success as an educational innovator. His company, Synaptic Global Learning, sought UMass Boston as a partner to leverage UMass Boston’s reputation for excellence in eLearning design and to extend UMass Boston’s mission as a public university.
“It is about eliminating the fear and frustration so many experience as they learn,” says Sonwalkar. “The course name alone might scare off some, but the MOOC assumes no prior knowledge and virtually will hold the students’ hands as they go through the materials, analyzing learning strategies then adapting a teaching approach to raise each student’s level of success. This accessible MOOC is the first of its kind.”
