BLENDING MODELS

While edX has taken a number of different approaches to expanding its scope online and at a domestic level, perhaps its most significant growth has been through its international presence.

As of December, 71 percent of edX students come from outside the United States, and nearly half of all students are from developing countries, according to information sent by an edX associate director of communications. Among non-U.S. countries, India leads the pack with 12 percent of enrollments.

Part of the reason for the growing popularity of online education worldwide may be the universal applicability of a learning model that blends both virtual and in-person elements.

“Student outcomes are better when students work with teachers in a blended setting on campus,” said Anant Agarwal, president of edX. Because of this phenomenon, “the blended educational model is really mushrooming” in the campus education setting, Agarwal added.

Paul Francis, astrophysics professor at Australian National University, first introduced online elements to his classroom two years ago by requiring students to use webcasts to check their work. According to Francis, the percentage of students who completed their work in the 300-person class rose from four percent to 60 percent that year.

“Online learning has been more effective for us than face-to-face learning,” Francis said. Francis added that younger students may have a different way of learning, which can be difficult for academics his age to appreciate or fully understand.

This February, ANU officially announced its participation in the edX consortium, and Francis’s astrophysics class will be one of two new courses offered on the platform for the 2014-2015 academic year.

Given the success of his decision to implement webcasts in the classroom, Francis and his colleagues decided to make the move to edX in order to further explore the possibilities of online education applied in the classroom.