Open2Study is an Australia-based MOOC provider that offers courses taught by instructors from Australian universities. The non-profit organization, backed by Open Universities Australia, was founded in 2013. All course offerings on Open2Study are available at no charge to the user.
Course Format:
All Open2Study courses are available at no cost to the user. The courses each last four weeks and often feature videos, readings, quizzes, transcripts, and assessments. Students are able to access their final grades and retrieve a certificate of achievement at the end of each course.
One of Open2Study’s defining features is its focus on online social interaction. Students are able to interact and collaborate with one another through the MOOC provider’s forums. Additionally, a member of Open2Study’s Social Learning and Community Team will make a posting on the website intended to encourage students to communicate amongst one another. Users are asked to create and modify their profiles which can subsequently be viewed by their classmates.
Accreditation:
Students who complete the online courses will receive a certificate of completion for their efforts. However, Open2Study does not currently offer any accredited courses. The organization does, however, link students to programs at their partner universities on their “Accredited” page. For example, the website recommends that students who take “Introduction to Business in Asia” consider pursuing a Certificate III in Business at the Open Training Institute.
Course Offerings:
Open2Study currently offers 49 free courses that are split between eight categories. Below is the list of course categories and a sampling of their related courses:
- Education & Training: Becoming a Confident Trainer, Early Childhood Education
- Science and Technology: Basic Physics, Chemistry – Building Blocks of the World,
- Marketing & Advertising: Big Data for Better Performance, Writing for the Web
- Business: Human Resources, Sports and Recreation Management
- Finance: Financial Literacy, Financial Planning
- Health and Medicine: Understanding Common Diseases, The Human Body as a Machine
- Management: Negotiation and Conflict Resolution, Management for a Competitive Edge
- Arts and Humanities: Sociology, The Art of Photography
Research:
Open2Study regularly posts research reports that offer information related to Massive Open Online Course development. The reported figures regularly include student enrollments and completion rates as well as a comparison of those details across different types of courses. Additionally, the reports also offer information on student engagement and the effectiveness of Open2Study’s teaching and learning platforms
Partners:
Open2Study currently collaborates with fifteen universities to offer courses through their platform:
- Curtin University
- Flinders University
- Griffith University
- International College of Management
- James Cook University
- Jordan University of Science and Technology
- Macquarie Graduate School of Management
- Macquarie University
- Massey University
- University of Tasmania
- RMIT University
- Swinburne University of Technology
- University of Newcastle
- University of Western Sydney
- University of Wollongong
Additionally, Open2Study has also partnered with five vocational and technical schools:
- Central Institute of Technology
- Open Training Institute
- Polytechnic West
- TAFE NSW – Sydney Institute
- TAFE SA
Finally, the MOOC provider has also joined with three industrial or professional organizations that have created courses related to the business world:
- E3Learning
- Enterprise Architects
- Gowrie Victoria