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What Are Your Experiences With Meditation?

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What Are Your Experiences With Meditation?

Find all our Student Opinion questions here.

Do you have any effective ways to protect yourself from the distractions and stressors of daily life? Or to quiet your mind? Have you ever tried meditating or practicing mindfulness?

In “My Week of ‘Noble Silence,’” Caren Osten Gerszberg writes about her experiences at a silent retreat where she wasn’t supposed to use a phone, read a book or even make eye contact for a week:

We woke at 5:30 a.m. to the clang of a brass bell for the day’s first sit at 6 a.m. All meals were eaten in silence, save for the clanking of silverware and unavoidable sneezes and coughs.

Talking was permitted only in a few instances: during small-group meetings scheduled with each teacher; after each evening’s dharma talk — delivered by a teacher on a specific Buddhist teaching or practice — when time was allotted for asking questions; and during one hour of “mindful open time” on the retreat’s final afternoon.

She explains some of the rules participants observed during the retreat and their intended effect:

Not speaking to the other yogis was easier than I’d expected. We were asked to keep “noble silence,” which in addition to verbal quiet meant not reading (I cheated on this one), not journaling, and averting our eyes when passing others to give them a sense of spiritual refuge. Exceptions were made, for people whose kitchen jobs involved interaction with others.

Being together but silent forms a “tremendous community,” said Sharon Salzberg, a meditation teacher and co-founder of the retreat center. “There’s an intensification with silence, where you don’t have to present yourself as interesting or funny, and there’s a lot of freedom or joy in that.”

Finally, she reflects on what she sought from the experience, and what she feels she attained:

Did a week of silence change my life? I hadn’t come on retreat in search of that kind of epiphany (I have a therapist for that). I came rather seeking an adventure, and a deeper knowledge of the power of meditation that only extended time can give. The week had given me a sort of spalike experience for my mind, protected from the distractions and stressors of daily life.

Students, read the entire article, then tell us:

  • Have you ever tried mindfulness or meditation — practices that focus on the present moment and being aware of your thoughts, feelings and bodily sensations? What was the experience like for you? Is meditation or mindfulness a practice you hope to include in your daily life? Why or why not?

  • Did Ms. Osten Gerszberg’s description of a silent retreat appeal to you? Would you be interested in doing something similar, perhaps for a few hours, a whole day or even a week?

  • The article mentions again and again the role and importance of silence. Do you feel you need silence at times? If so, when? Would your life be better with more quiet time? Why or why not?

  • Do you think schools should teach meditation or mindfulness? Should the practice become a core part of the curriculum, like math, science, language arts and social studies? Why or why not?

Students 13 and older are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public.

3 people who didn’t let their ATAR define them

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3 people who didn’t let their ATAR define them

If you spent the majority of the year fretting about your ATAR score, this article is for you.

It’s likely that you’ve heard a range of advice throughout your final year of high school. From “it’s just a number!”, to “you’ve only got one shot at this!” – the words of others can make Year 12 stressful, no matter the good intentions.

While you may not want to entertain the thought that you “shouldn’t worry” about the ATAR you’ve been working so hard for, it’s healthy to remind yourself that your options won’t be stunted by the number you receive.

Don’t believe us? Take these stories of OUA students as proof.

Daniel

On ATAR release day, Daniel was one of many Year 12 students across Australia in no mood to celebrate.

“I thought all of my hard work didn’t really equate to the mark that I received back” he says.

With a strong desire to be the first person in his family to complete university education, Daniel started researching. That’s when he found the Open Universities Australia (OUA) website and realised his options weren’t limited, they were limitless.

Through OUA, if you don’t have the required ATAR to enter a full degree, you can become eligible by passing a few undergraduate subjects first. That’s exactly what Daniel did. Today, he’s a Graduate Analyst for the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. A dream start to his career.

Man walking outside holding coffee cup.

Carmen

With three qualifications through OUA under her belt, Carmen wasn’t one to let a number hold her back.

 “When I received my [high school] results, I didn’t have high enough marks to get into university” she recalls.

It’s the reason she chose OUA– to follow her dream of working in the criminal justice system.

Since then, Carmen has completed a Diploma, Graduate Certificate and a Master’s degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice – all through Griffith University and OUA.

But Carmen’s not stopping there. She’s now completing Griffith University’s Graduate Certificate in Human Resource Management. It really goes to show that a lower-than-expected ATAR certainly doesn’t stop you from university education.

Woman accepting certificate.

 Taylah

“Teachers always told us that exams were important… (that) you need to get a high ATAR score or you won’t have many options,” Taylah recalls of her Year 12 journey.

While Taylah didn’t score high enough for the degree in forensic science that she first had her eyes on, she soon discovered OUA.

An OUA student advisor explained to Taylah that she could still qualify for entry despite her ATAR, if she passed a few of the degree’s core subjects first.

Taylah did just that – proving herself capable, and getting accepted into a degree that she was excited about. The subjects she completed were even credited towards her degree, so it took her no extra time to progress to where she is today.

Young woman with dog.

No ATAR, no worries

Prefer not to let your ATAR lock you out of your dream course? Through Open Universities Australia (OUA), you don’t need amazing results to get into uni.

A number of subjects available through OUA have no entry requirements. Start with one of these, and you may be able to enter into the degree of your choice. Better yet, you can choose from a range of leading Australian universities.

Need help understanding your options? Fill out the form on this page, and a friendly student advisor will get in contact. You can also reach them on Messenger, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp or SMS. They’re here to help with your future.

Word + Quiz: corollary

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Word + Quiz: corollary

1. (logic) an inference that follows directly from the proof of another proposition

2. a practical consequence that follows naturally

3. something that follows or provides a parallel

_________

The word corollary has appeared in 29 articles on NYTimes.com in the past year, including on Sept. 4 in “The Endless Intensity of Rafael Nadal” by Kurt Streeter:

You’d think that on a day like this, an off day, a rest day, Nadal would relax.

Not even close.

He has never let up on a tennis court, whether it’s a final on Arthur Ashe Stadium or a session on Practice Court 5, the last in a row of dedicated warm-up courts at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, with looming stands constructed so anyone with a general grounds pass can easily view the players preparing for their matches.

No Grand Slam tournament makes it easier to view competitors in this kind of setting. There is also no real corollary at this level of sports. Imagine getting to see the Golden State Warriors run through their paces — working on their zone defense — in the middle of an N.B.A. finals series. Or going to batting practice at Yankee Stadium, only the Yankees are playing an intrasquad game and your ticket lets you sit 20 feet behind home plate.

_________

Are Comic-Book Movies Ruining Film?

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Are Comic-Book Movies Ruining Film?

Find all our Student Opinion questions here.

Do you like comic-book movies — such as “Black Panther,” “Joker” or the Avengers series?

Recently, the Academy Award-winning film director Martin Scorsese called these movies “theme parks” and “not cinema,” sparking a heated debate throughout Hollywood and on social media. He also said, “It isn’t the cinema of human beings trying to convey emotional, psychological experiences to another human being.”

Scorsese and his films, including “Raging Bull,” “Goodfellas” and “The Departed,” are often ranked among the greatest in movie history.

Is there truth in his criticisms? Or do they miss the value of what many comic-book inspired films can offer audiences?

In the Opinion essay “I Said Marvel Movies Aren’t Cinema. Let Me Explain,” Mr. Scorsese writes:

When I was in England in early October, I gave an interview to Empire magazine. I was asked a question about Marvel movies. I answered it. I said that I’ve tried to watch a few of them and that they’re not for me, that they seem to me to be closer to theme parks than they are to movies as I’ve known and loved them throughout my life, and that in the end, I don’t think they’re cinema.

Some people seem to have seized on the last part of my answer as insulting, or as evidence of hatred for Marvel on my part. If anyone is intent on characterizing my words in that light, there’s nothing I can do to stand in the way.

Many franchise films are made by people of considerable talent and artistry. You can see it on the screen. The fact that the films themselves don’t interest me is a matter of personal taste and temperament. I know that if I were younger, if I’d come of age at a later time, I might have been excited by these pictures and maybe even wanted to make one myself. But I grew up when I did and I developed a sense of movies — of what they were and what they could be — that was as far from the Marvel universe as we on Earth are from Alpha Centauri.

For me, for the filmmakers I came to love and respect, for my friends who started making movies around the same time that I did, cinema was about revelation — aesthetic, emotional and spiritual revelation. It was about characters — the complexity of people and their contradictory and sometimes paradoxical natures, the way they can hurt one another and love one another and suddenly come face to face with themselves.

It was about confronting the unexpected on the screen and in the life it dramatized and interpreted, and enlarging the sense of what was possible in the art form.

And that was the key for us: it was an art form. There was some debate about that at the time, so we stood up for cinema as an equal to literature or music or dance. And we came to understand that the art could be found in many different places and in just as many forms — in “The Steel Helmet” by Sam Fuller and “Persona” by Ingmar Bergman, in “It’s Always Fair Weather” by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen and “Scorpio Rising” by Kenneth Anger, in “Vivre Sa Vie” by Jean-Luc Godard and “The Killers” by Don Siegel.

Mr. Scorsese continues:

Many of the elements that define cinema as I know it are there in Marvel pictures. What’s not there is revelation, mystery or genuine emotional danger. Nothing is at risk. The pictures are made to satisfy a specific set of demands, and they are designed as variations on a finite number of themes.

They are sequels in name but they are remakes in spirit, and everything in them is officially sanctioned because it can’t really be any other way. That’s the nature of modern film franchises: market-researched, audience-tested, vetted, modified, revetted and remodified until they’re ready for consumption.

Another way of putting it would be that they are everything that the films of Paul Thomas Anderson or Claire Denis or Spike Lee or Ari Aster or Kathryn Bigelow or Wes Anderson are not. When I watch a movie by any of those filmmakers, I know I’m going to see something absolutely new and be taken to unexpected and maybe even unnameable areas of experience. My sense of what is possible in telling stories with moving images and sounds is going to be expanded.

He concludes:

The situation, sadly, is that we now have two separate fields: There’s worldwide audiovisual entertainment, and there’s cinema. They still overlap from time to time, but that’s becoming increasingly rare. And I fear that the financial dominance of one is being used to marginalize and even belittle the existence of the other.

For anyone who dreams of making movies or who is just starting out, the situation at this moment is brutal and inhospitable to art. And the act of simply writing those words fills me with terrible sadness.

Students, read the entire article, then tell us:

  • Are comic-book movies ruining cinema? Why or why not? In what ways are superhero films more like “theme parks”? Is that necessarily a bad thing?

  • What is the difference between cinema and comic-book movies, according to Mr. Scorsese? Do you agree with his distinction? Can a superhero movie be cinema or art? Give examples from comic-book movies and other films you have seen to support your argument.

  • Mr. Scorsese writes, “I grew up when I did and I developed a sense of movies — of what they were and what they could be — that was as far from the Marvel universe as we on Earth are from Alpha Centauri.” What made the films of Scorsese’s childhood so wildly different from Marvel? Do you agree with his analogy?

  • Mr. Scorsese states:

Cinema was about revelation — aesthetic, emotional and spiritual revelation. It was about characters — the complexity of people and their contradictory and sometimes paradoxical natures, the way they can hurt one another and love one another and suddenly come face to face with themselves.

What does Scorsese mean by “revelation”? Have you seen films that have felt revelatory to you? If yes, what made them so? Are there comic-book based movies you’ve seen that also fit this description? If yes, pick a film or a particular scene as an example and explain why.

  • One of the big themes of Mr. Scorsese’s essay is the changing nature of the economics — production and distribution — of films in the last two decades. Do you worry that big, expensive, audience-tested Marvel and D.C. franchise films are driving out smaller, more original movies from the marketplace? Do you worry about the future of film?

  • Does Mr. Scorsese’s argument make you less likely to see the next comic-book movie? Does it make you want to see some of the films and filmmakers he mentions in his essay?

Students 13 and older are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public.

Global education market insights: TEQSA Conference

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Global education market insights: TEQSA Conference

Learning Designer, Monty King, attended the Tertiary Education Quality Standards Association (TEQSA) Australia conference in Melbourne last month, and gave a ‘Lightning Talk’ presentation on ‘The Trends Impacting Universities Today and the Role for Collaboration’ citing a number of our partnerships with education providers.

The conference theme was ‘Partnerships Driving Quality’, which provided an opportunity to start the presentation highlighting the synergies between the visions of FutureLearn and our co-investors SEEK and The Open University. Examples of partnerships driving quality included our work with the Institute of Coding to meet their goal of widening access to coding courses for young people in the UK, Accenture’s portfolio of Digital Skills courses for young people Not in Employment, Education or Training (NEET), and the work of the Partnership for Digital Learning and Increased Access (PADILEIA) project led by King’s College London.

Elsewhere, discussions about microcredentials and the implications for the HE sector in Australia featured prominently, though the focus was primarily on face-to-face study and quality of on-campus student experience. One of the final keynotes was presented by the former Vice Chancellor of Deakin University Professor Jane den Hollander, who reflected on her role as leader of a university in a regional Australian town- Geelong- experiencing an economic downturn. She cited the partnerships created with the local hospital, professional sports and light industry as examples of how Deakin was able to create employment for the local community and help it through a difficult time. The challenge for FutureLearn is to build partnerships which create value in the form of education and training opportunities with the flexibility and modularity that online learning offers.

Tertiary Education Quality Standards Association Conference 2019 – a summary by Monty King, Learning Designer at FutureLearn

Category Research insights

Get ready to launch a career in IT Support with Google and CompTIA

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Get ready to launch a career in IT Support with Google and CompTIA

The Google IT Support Professional Certificate has been helping learners launch new careers in IT since it launched two years ago. Now, there are even more ways to show employers that you have the skills needed for entry-level IT support roles. 

Google recently teamed up with CompTIA, a nonprofit trade organization that’s widely recognized in the IT industry, to offer a new dual credential. Now, if you successfully complete the Google certificate and pass the CompTIA A+ certification exams, you’ll be awarded a joint Google/CompTIA badge that demonstrates your accomplishment. This badge can be posted on LinkedIn to make your profile stand out to employers and is aimed to help open the door to IT support roles. 

If you complete the Google certificate by March 2020, you’ll be eligible for a 20% off discount on the CompTIA A+ certification exams! Discount details will be emailed to you upon completion of the Google certificate.

The Google IT Support Professional Certificate aligns with the objectives covered by the newly updated CompTIA A+ certification and allows learners a flexible and convenient way to study.

Get started by enrolling in the Google IT Support Professional Certificate on Coursera today!

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EdX’s 2019: Year in Review

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EdX’s 2019: Year in Review

edX Homepage Screenshot

In 2019, edX got a new co-CEO, gained more learners than in 2018, and a couple of the platform’s instructors won a Nobel prize.

The total number of learners on edX grew to 24 million, up from 18 million last year. Before that, edX was gaining 4 million learners a year.

As usual, edX launched more courses, microcredentials, and online degrees (though fewer than last year; they even lost a degree). edX’s paywall, announced last year, was expanded to more courses.

For Class Central‘s complete analysis of edX’s 2019, keep reading. For our previous years’ analyses, follow the links:

By The Numbers

2016201720182019
Master’s Degrees01910
Courses1290182022752650
Learners10 million14 million18 million25 million
Microcredentials118174233292

Courses

The number of active courses on the platform increased to 2,650 (up from 2,275 last year). Data collected by Class Central shows that edX has launched around 410 online courses in 2019.

According to edX, the following courses received the most enrollments between July 2018 and June 2019 (edX’s calendar year):

  1. CS50’s Introduction to Computer Science via Harvard
  2. IELTS Academic Test Preparation via University of Queensland
  3. Introduction to Computer Science and Programming Using Python via MIT
  4. Introduction to Python: Absolute Beginner via Microsoft
  5. Introduction to Data Analysis using Excel via Microsoft
  6. TOEFL® Test Preparation: The Insider’s Guide via ETS
  7. Data Science: R Basics via Harvard
  8. Analyzing and Visualizing Data with Power BI via Microsoft
  9. Python for Data Science via University of California, San Diego
  10. Introduction to Linux via Linux Foundation

Three of the courses from the list above (#1, #3, and #9) are also part of Class Central’s Top 100 online courses of all time.

Microcredentials

Currently, edX lists 292 microcredentials (up from 233 last year) of 4 different types. The table below shows how each microcredential type has grown over the years.

2016201720182019
XSeries45322940
MicroMasters20435156
Professional Education53646273
Professional Certificate03591123
Total118174233292

In our research, we also found that certain courses are part of multiple microcredentials. EdX’s most popular course, CS50x, is part of three different Professional Certificates. We also discovered a Microsoft course which is part of two Professional Certificates and one XSeries.

Screenshot: edX courses part of multiple microcredentials

Online Degrees

In 2019, edX announced just two master’s degrees as opposed to eight in 2018. edX announced its first online MBA, offered by Boston University.

Purdue University became the 7th edX partner to launch a MOOC-based master’s degree with the company.

Besides its master’s degree in electrical and computer engineering, Purdue plans to launch two other online degrees on edX in 2020:

  • An online master’s degree in mechanical engineering
  • An online master’s degree in civil engineering

The civil engineering degree will be developed from the ground up. By contrast, the other two will be based on master’s degree programs currently offered by Purdue on its own online education portal, where they cost $40k. On edX, the degrees will cost less than $25k.

Interestingly, a MOOC-based degree seems to have been either canceled or postponed: edX’s Data Science Master — offered by the University of California, San Diego — isn’t listed on the provider’s page anymore.

Below is a list of all the current degrees announced by edX. Detailed information is not yet available for another 13 upcoming degrees.

Degree NameUniversityCost
Electrical and Computer EngineeringPurdue$22,500
Leadership: Service InnovationUniversity of Queensland< AUD $25,000
Master’s in Business AdministrationBoston University$24,000
Master’s Degree in IT ManagementIndiana University$21,000
AccountingIndiana University$21,000
CybersecurityGeorgia Institute of Technology$9,920
AnalyticsGeorgia Institute of Technology$9,900
MarketingCurtin UniversityAUD $25,850
Supply Chain ManagementArizona State University$19,080
Computer ScienceThe University of Texas at Austin$10,000

Other 2019 Highlights/Milestones

New Co-CEO

Photo of Anant Agarwal and Adam Medros, edX's co-CEO

EdX announced the appointment of Adam Medros as co-CEO. He will lead the company alongside the founder and CEO Anant Agarwal.

Adam joined edX back in October 2017 as COO and President. He came from a 13-year stint at Tripadvisor (it’s like Class Central, but for travel) where he was Senior Vice President of Global Product and a member of the executive team.

Paywall for Graded Assignments

edX course screenshot describing how long the course is accessible

Last year, edX announced a paywall for graded assignments. Under this policy, graded assignments will be available to learners who purchase verified certificates. The learners who don’t pay will only be able to access the content for a limited amount of time.

Not all courses follow this policy, but in 2019 many more do. The policy is very similar to FutureLearn’s paywall, but unlike FutureLearn, the transparency is missing: you find out if a course has a paywall and limited-time access only after you enroll. On FutureLearn, this information is right on the course pages.

Leadership

In 2019, edX added three people to the leadership team: Lauren Holliday (presumably taking over from Mark Haseltine, Chief Product Officer), Stephanie Brocoum, and JP Beaudry. Long-time edX’er Johannes Heinlein expanded his role to include Chief Commercial Officer.

Here is how the edX Leadership currently looks:

  • Anant Agarwal, Founder and co-CEO
  • Adam Medros, President and co-CEO
  • Johannes Heinlein, Chief Commercial Officer and Senior Vice President of Strategic Partnerships
  • Stephanie Brocoum, Chief Marketing Officer
  • Nell Ma’luf, Vice President and General Counsel
  • Kathy Pugh, Vice President of Services
  • Lee Rubenstein, Vice President of Business Development
  • JP Beaudry, Vice President of Engineering
  • Peter Brau, Vice President of Finance
  • Lauren Holliday, Vice President of Product
  • Nina Huntemann, Senior Director of Academics and Research

Global Freshman Academy

The Global Freshman Academy from Arizona State University has been scaled back and largely replaced by the non-MOOC (neither open nor free) Earned Admission program. Theories about why conversions are low from MOOCs to actual college credit continue to be proposed.

Nobel Prize in Economics

In October 2019, two edX instructors — Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo — were awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics for their research in helping fight poverty. The two MIT professors are behind the MicroMasters in Data, Economics, and Development Policy. Duflo is also an instructor in the Statistics and Data Science MicroMasters.

This article is just one of our 2019 MOOC Roundup Series. Find the whole series here. You’ll discover everything about MOOCs in 2019 — from the most popular classes, to overviews of MOOC platforms developments, to looking at the future of MOOCs.

FutureLearn’s 2019: Year in Review

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FutureLearn’s 2019: Year in Review

In 2019, FutureLearn received £50M ($65M) in funding and launched Unlimited, an annual subscription for its entire catalog.

The total number of learners on FutureLearn’s platform grew to over 10 million, up from 8.7 million in 2018.

On average, each learner has enrolled in 2.5 courses. 35 million comments have been posted on FutureLearn since the first courses were released in 2013. According to FutureLearn, 60% of their learners are women.

For Class Central‘s complete analysis of FutureLearn’s 2019, keep reading. For our previous years’ analyses, follow the links:

201720182019
Courses1578736883
Programs132235
Academic Certificates271417
Degrees241823
Learners7.1m8.7m10m

Courses

The number of active courses on FutureLearn increased to 883 (up from 736 last year). Class Central lists more than 1,200 courses, but some were not offered in 2019. While most courses require learners to pay for an upgrade or join FutureLearn Unlimited to receive a certificate, an investigation by Class Central discovered 17 courses that offer a free upgrade and certificate.

All-Time Most Popular Courses

According to FutureLearn, these are the most popular courses by enrollment numbers since their first release:

  1. Understanding IELTS: Techniques for English Language Tests (British Council)
  2. Exploring English: Language and Culture (British Council)
  3. Inside IELTS: Preparing for the Test with the Experts (Cambridge Assessment English)
  4. English for the Workplace (British Council)
  5. Mindfulness for Wellbeing and Peak Performance (Monash University)
  6. Start Writing Fiction (The Open University)
  7. A Beginner’s Guide to Writing in English for University Study (University of Reading)
  8. Introduction to Cyber Security (The Open University)
  9. Understanding Language: Learning and Teaching (University of Southampton)
  10. Exploring English: Shakespeare (British Council)

Many have run two or three sessions per year since 2015 or 2016. Apart from Mindfulness and Cyber Security, all the courses explore various aspects of the English language. One course, Inside IELTS, was not available at all in 2019, but managed to maintain its position at number three. FutureLearn didn’t share actual enrollment numbers.

This list has few changes compared to last year, with a slight reshuffle of positions and only three new courses displacing three from last year’s top ten. The British Council leads the list with four courses. A further two are from The Open University. Only one (Mindfulness from Australia’s Monash University) is from outside the UK.

Two of the courses from the list above (#4 and #5) are also part of Class Central’s Top 100 online courses of all time.

2019 Most Popular Courses

Here are the top ten courses released in 2019, by enrollment numbers, according to FutureLearn:

  1. Teaching English: How to Plan a Great Lesson (British Council)
  2. The Tudors (University of Roehampton)
  3. Ideas for a Better World: Leading Change Through Policymaking (British Council)
  4. Understanding ADHD: Current Research and Practice (King’s College London)
  5. Caring for Children Moving Alone: Protecting Unaccompanied and Separated Children (University of Strathclyde)
  6. English Pronunciation in a Global World (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)
  7. Diplomacy in the 21st Century (The Open University)
  8. Becoming a Better Music Teacher (The Association Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM))
  9. Cognitive Behavioural Skills to Treat Back Pain: The Back Skills Training (BeST) Programme (University of Oxford)
  10. The IB Extended Essay: Managing your Research Project (University of Leeds)

Two of the top three courses of 2019 were produced by the British Council. The other eight come from eight different institutions, including one from the Netherlands. This list shows more subject diversity than the all-time most popular courses list above.

Programs and Microcredentials

In December 2019, FutureLearn introduced three microcredentials which tie in with the European Common Microcredentials Framework. These microcredentials are single courses of 10-12 weeks which confer university credits (from The Open University) towards a degree or can be used as a stand-alone certificate. Two are postgraduate. The other is undergraduate level. Microcredentials cost between $600 and $900.

FutureLearn also has series of 2-8 courses called Programs. Most also have a final assessment. Final assessments are often tutor-marked and cannot be joined for free. The individual courses may be joined for free, but you must pay if you want a certificate or credit.

Three types of Programs are offered:

  • 12 Programs that can give you credit towards a degree at the relevant university;
  • 15 Programs with a FutureLearn Award as proof of your achievement; and
  • 5 Programs with professional accreditation (for example, a Professional Certificate from the New York Institute of Finance).

Besides these, FutureLearn offers 18 Graduate/Postgraduate Certificates and a Graduate Diploma, which are available to students who already have a bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) but do not want to undertake a full master’s degree. These qualifications are common in the UK and Commonwealth countries, but not in the US. They are listed on the FutureLearn Degrees page.

Online Degrees

FutureLearn’s stated purpose is to transform access to education as the global demand for adult education continues to rise.

32 listings are found on the degree page. Some offer a choice between a Graduate Certificate and a Master’s Degree. 23 are degrees, mostly masters’ degrees. 18 Certificates (called Postgraduate Certificates in the UK and Graduate Certificates in Australia) and a Graduate Diploma are also found on the FutureLearn degree page.

Degree NameUniversityDegree TypeCost
Bachelor of ArtsUniversity of Newcastle

(Australia)

BachelorsNA
BA in International Business (Top Up)Coventry UniversityBachelors£9,250 (UK/EU students)

£13,250 (International students)

 

MBA with Marketing SpecialismCoventry UniversityMasters£16,700
MSc End of Life StudiesUniversity of GlasgowMasters£11,800
MSc Global LogisticsCoventry UniversityMasters£15,800
Project ManagementAnglia Ruskin UniversityMastersNA
Digital Learning LeadershipDeakinMaster’sAUD $14,750
MBACoventry UniversityMasters£16,700
MBA (for the Cyber Security Management sector)Coventry UniversityMasters£16,700
MBA (for the Healthcare sector)Coventry UniversityMasters£16,700
MBA (for the Sustainable Tourism sector)Coventry UniversityMasters£16,700
MBA with Artificial Intelligence SpecialismCoventry UniversityMasters£16,700
MSc Business and Organisational PsychologyCoventry UniversityMasters£14,000
MSc Construction Management with BIMCoventry UniversityMasters£15,800
MSc Construction Project and Cost ManagementCoventry UniversityMasters£15,800
MSc Cyber SecurityCoventry UniversityMasters£15,800
MSc Disaster Management and ResilienceCoventry UniversityMasters£14,000
MSc Emergency Management and ResilienceCoventry UniversityMasters£14,000
MSc NursingCoventry UniversityMasters£14,000
Cyber SecurityDeakinMastersAUD $35,000
Sustainable Development and Humanitarian ActionDeakinMastersAUD $12,000
Information Technology LeadershipDeakinMastersAUD $18,850
LeadershipDeakinMastersAUD $19,250

You can find Class Central’s compilation of MOOC-based Master’s degrees here.

Other 2019 Highlights/Milestones

Fundraising

With a £50M investment, SEEK Group became a joint owner of FutureLearn with The Open University. The new partnership includes contractual arrangements to protect FutureLearn’s academic independence, teaching methods and curricula. SEEK Group also invested in Coursera in 2019.

FutureLearn Unlimited

For the cost of three or four individual course certificates, you can join FutureLearn Unlimited and earn certificates in almost every course in the catalogue for 12 months. I have joined Unlimited and am keeping busy trying to fit in as many courses as I can.

[1] The numbers represent the total number of courses offered in that particular year.

[2] Graduate and Postgraduate Certificates are listed under microcredentials, instead of under degrees.

This article is just one of our 2019 MOOC Roundup Series. Find the whole series here. You’ll discover everything about MOOCs in 2019 — from the most popular classes, to overviews of MOOC platforms developments, to looking at the future of MOOCs.

Lesson of the Day: ‘The Quinceañera, Redefined’

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Lesson of the Day: ‘The Quinceañera, Redefined’

Find all our Lessons of the Day here.

Featured Article: “The Quinceañera, Redefined”

In “The Quinceañera, Redefined,” Walter Thompson-Hernández and June Canedo document two different quinceañeras that challenge traditions and rituals to create unique and meaningful celebrations. In this lesson, we ask you to reflect on what coming-of-age means in your family and to think about which parts of your identity feel most important to celebrate.

Reflect in your journal or with a small group: What does coming-of-age mean to you? Is it about having more legal rights, like driving or voting? Or is your idea of coming-of-age connected to religious rituals such as being confirmed, wearing hijab or becoming a bar or bat mitzvah? Is it connected to a deeper understanding of identity through a conversation with a parent or coming out to family members? Do you and your family have the same understanding of what coming-of-age means, or do you have differences about what is important to celebrate?

Read the article, then answer the following questions:

1. Why did Jayla Sheffield call her 15th birthday celebration a “quincenegra”? What were some of the ways that she celebrated different aspects of her identity at her quincenegra?

2. What are some of the traditions and rituals associated with quinceañeras? Why might these traditions feel limiting to some teenagers?

3. Amina Sherif Hamza chose to incorporate multiple parts of her identity in her quinceañera. What were some of the different traditions that were important to her and her parents?

4. Helly Toscano, Amina’s family friend, had a personal reaction to some of the choices that Amina made for her quinceañera. Why did Amina’s celebration resonate with Helly’s experience of coming-of-age?

5. Stephanie Canizales, a postdoctoral scholar, made connections to the history of quinceañeras and their meaning to different young people today. How would you summarize what she described?

The article explores what it means to celebrate multiple parts of one’s identity when coming-of-age. In writing, respond to the following questions.

  • What parts of your identity do you think people immediately notice? What parts of your identity do you think often go unnoticed? What elements of your identity are most important for people to see or know about you?

  • Imagine your own coming-of-age celebration: Where would it take place and who would you invite? What rituals would you want to observe or create? How would you celebrate different parts of your identity? Is there music, food, dance, prayer or other customs that you would want to incorporate into the celebration?

How to make $29K more with your feelings

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How to make $29K more with your feelings

Emotions aren’t something we generally deem as money-makers. Sure, they’re part of our day-to-day, but they’re usually a result of circumstances – not drivers of value. But what if your emotions were something that could earn you more money? It’s possible. Keep reading to find out how. 

You might’ve heard of emotional intelligence (EQ) before but dismissed it as new age fluff. But, it’s a little more substantial than that. In fact it’s got some real monetary value behind it. USD$29,000 to be precise. 

So what is EQ and how can you use it to make it rain? 

What is EQ?  

While IQ is your ability to process information, EQ is your ability to process emotions – both your own and others. Luckily, you can strengthen your EQ fairly easily. Your IQ? That’s a lot more difficult. 

EQ is more than just a buzzword, it’s a tangible asset which Psychologist Daniel Goleman breaks down into five parts: 

  1. Self-Awareness 
  2. Self-Management 
  3. Motivation
  4. Empathy 
  5. Social Communication 

Self-awareness is the ability to understand your effect on others, knowing your strengths, and identifying your weaknesses. Self-management is controlling your emotions and mediating how you act. Social communication is your power to manage relationships positively.  And motivation and empathy? They’re self explanatory. 

Now consider your role in the workforce. Do you use these skills regularly? The answer is most likely ‘yes’. Now we’re getting somewhere. 

How much money can emotions make? 

A study of college students in the U.S found that of those who scored highly on emotional intelligence earned more across all industries over a course of 10 years. 

This study points to the networking skills of the participants with high EQ. Think of people who embed themselves in the social structure of company – keeping themselves well connected and placed. 

EQ skills make these successful individuals good at accepting and actioning feedback and improving their performance.

Travis Bradberry, co-author of Emotional Intelligence 2.0, recently helped conduct a survey with staggering results that hold true for employees in all industries, at all levels, in all regions of the world. He found that not only are 90 percent of top performers high in emotional intelligence, but they average a salary of USD$29,000 (which is around AUD$42,800!) more per year than people with a lower degree of emotional intelligence. 

Bradberry explains that every point on the EQ scale equates to an extra USD$1300 in salary. 

Alright, how do I increase my EQ?

Increasing your EQ isn’t so much about becoming more emotional. It’s about becoming more emotionally aware.

  1. Know yourself
    Practice self-awareness and notice when you’re stressed or annoyed. What triggers these emotions for you?
  2. Include others in decision making
    It may take some getting used to, but once you’ve learned to listen internally and externally, you’ll be surprised what you pick up.
  3. Try not to be offended when criticism is offered
    Instead harness what others are saying and take it on board. Ask from the situation, ‘what can I learn?’. 

By implementing these skills during your day-to-day working environment, you can maneuver yourself into a respected position. And when it comes to salary negotiations, that’s half the battle. This is the true value of EQ. 

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