Review FutureLearn

Free online courses

Paul Morris

Active Member
I have to say that I have found FutureLearn hugely disappointing. As a graduate of the Open University (my first degree was earned with them) I had high expectations of the MOOC platform before its release--especially given their 40+ years experience in distance learning. In practice I have found the platform poorly designed and executed and the courses fragmentary and often shallow.

FutureLearn have clearly wanted to combine multiple media types within courses rather than relying entirely on video lectures (in the same way as edX's strip-based navigation allows videos, readings and exercises to be seamlessly embedded). Unfortunately, the way it is implemented just seems terribly clumsy and doesn't give a coherent feeling to a course rather leaving an impression of a disjointed cluster of materials.

I have started about 5 or 6 courses on FutureLearn but completed none.

I feel that FutureLearn is also misguided in the question of certification. Firstly, the refuse to issue electronic certificates 'because they are insecure' then they impose steep fees for the anachronistic issue of paper copies. To make such steep demands for certificates on short, unaccredited courses does not seem reasonable.
 
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