Politics Prof. Larry Sabato announced last week that he will make his massive open online course entitled “The Kennedy Half-Century” available on iTunes, free of charge.
The course was previously set to only be available through Coursera, an educational website that partners with the University to provide MOOCs at no expense.
Sabato said making the course available on iTunes helps both potential students and the University. He also indicated that iTunes will not earn revenue from his course.
“The goal of the MOOC is to reach as many people as possible with quality, free instruction that bears the brand of the University of Virginia,” Sabato said in an email. “This platform [on iTunes] broadens our reach, supplementing the Coursera platform.”
Sabato said University students should not be concerned about professors offering free content, because the online course is not similar to a classroom experience.
“Because of the large numbers [of viewers online] involved, there is very little personalization,” Sabato said. “It would be impossible for any instructor to answer questions from 10,000 or 100,000 students.”
Sabato noted that quality online courses require a substantial investment of faculty time and University money, with no revenue stream available.
“The revenue stream from a MOOC is zero,” Sabato said. “Ask news organizations how giving away their intellectual capital for free has worked out for them.”
The course consists of 40 10-20 minute lessons, according to a Center for Politics press release last week.
“The course begins with the early legislative career of John F. Kennedy and progresses through the 50 years since Kennedy’s death, focusing on how each president, Lyndon Johnson through Barack Obama, has used JFK to craft their own political image,” according to the press release.
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