Are you on the hunt for a free, open source platform that will let you deliver free online courses? We’ve already told you about one option: Google Course Builder. Now here’s another: Stanford’s Class2Go. The platform is open, meaning that you can grab the code base for free and run it on your very own server. Class2Go is also portable, giving schools the ability to move documents and media to other platforms if they so choose. The Stanford platform is interoperable in the sense that it builds on existing software (MySQL, Github, Piazza, MySQL, Python Django, etc.). And, unlike some other platforms, Class2Go gives educators immediate access to valuable data, allowing them to make refinements to the educational experience.
Although still under development, Class2Go is ready for action. In the fall, Stanford offered two MOOCs through Class2Go (Computer Networking and Solar Cells, Fuel Cells, & Batteries). And it has a new MOOC getting started today: Introduction to Databases taught by Jennifer Widom, the Chair of Stanford’s famed Computer Science department. (Watch her intro above.) You can take the course for free and learn all about database development. Or you can use it as an opportunity to see Class2Go up close.
In the coming months, Class2Go will be deployed at the University of Western Australia. If you’re tempted to do the same at your own university, you can get the Class2Go code here.
Related Content:
A Complete list of MOOCs and Certificate Courses from Leading Universities
650 Free Online Courses from Top Universities (a huge trove of video/audio lectures)
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