The newest version of the edX platform, released on September 18th, includes a very useful feature, although it might go in the opposite direction of the open education trend: it hides YouTube and non-YouTube videos' URLs. However, the author of the course can allow students to download them. CUSTOM SINGLE SIGN-ON [Update: OpenID 2.0 for Google accounts is going away on April 20. OpenID 2.0 has been superseded by OpenID Connect.] NEW DEMO COURSE On the other hand, there is a new version of the edX demo course, which is interesting for new students and course designers.
Sef Kloninger, one of the leading engineers of the Stanford Open edX initiative, has left this organization to join a start-up called Wavefront. "I've heard the siren's song of the startup", is the only explanation he provided regarding his departure from Stanford University –although he will continue as a member of the EdX Technical Advisory Board. What does it mean for the edX community? Mr. Kloninger, a gifted developer and technology visionary, built the Class2Go platform and contributed many features in the edX code (i.e. theming, course email and instructor analytics, etc) along with an engineering team from Stanford. One of his main achievements was to convince key people in Stanford University and MIT and Harvard in Boston to make the edX platform open source software. So, in a way, he is one of the fathers of Open edX. He reflects on his website: "I've spent a lot of my own time helping to make sure the Open edX project a healthy open source project. It's not enough to just open up the code, to have a thriving community you have to conduct your development out in the open. Beyond helping other institutions get up and running I've worked to drive the open-source agenda overall." The edX universe is moving fast and new people with different views and agendas are emerging. The first Open edX conference, taking place this November 19 in Boston, will be an opportunity to picture the future.
Today we have launched our first adwords campaign through Google. "What a news story", you may think. Does it even deserve a post? It does. So far, in 18 years on the Internet software business, we have done no digital advertising for our company. Last month we launched the first Open edX guide under the most permissive Creative Commons license; we did it as service to the community. Yesterday we got a Google coupon of $75 (which is available to anyone), and suddenly we decided to try Google ads. And we are enjoying the experience!
We have finally launched "The Ultimate Guide To Open edX" ebook. It is free to download, it doesn't require registration, it contains no ads, and it is released under a Creative Commons license. It will be continuously updated –just check the version number on the second page. You can download it through our webpage wherein we will comment on developments. This book is the first guide related to Open edX disruptive technology. Created by MIT and Harvard, and supported by Google, Stanford and 45 international universities, Open edX is a global success: It powers the edX.org educational portal of more than 2.7 million users. Stanford University uses it for on-campus students and distance learners. Top universities and organizations in France, China and the Middle East have embraced it, along with the World Economic Forum, the International Monetary Fund, Johnson and Johnson and many other businesses worldwide. Innovative universities such as George Washington are using this technology to launch groundbreaking open education initiatives. The eBook, written by education and media entrepreneur Michael Amigot, is divided into the following sections: 1. INTRODUCTION 2. MOST-EXCITING SAMPLES 3. TWO EXCELLENT DEMO COURSES 4. OPEN-SOURCE INITIATIVE 5. THE PLATFORM 6. COMPONENTS 7. ADDITIONAL AUTHORING TOOLS 8. WAYS TO EXTEND OPEN EDX 9. CREATING COURSES WITH EDX STUDIO 10. TEST PLATFORMS 11. DEVELOPERS’ CORNER 12. NEWS STORIES AND VIDEOS 13. ABOUT IBL STUDIOS EDUCATION / 14. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
"We can learn how students learn by mining the big data of learning". For instance, the big data analysis found that between 6 and 9 minutes is the ideal length of time for an educational video. Anything longer and students begin to drop off.
