A new massive open online course, (MOOC) designed to teach learners to build, test and deploy a complete mobile-ready website, is being launched by the University of London International Programmes on the Coursera online platform.
The launch makes the University of London, the first UK University to launch a work related specialisation programme with Coursera, which already offers 34 such ‘high-demand’ Specialisations to date.
The MOOC, called Responsive Website Development and Design has six component courses with the final one culminating in a project. This requires the student to develop and design a website through the learning that has been acquired by completing the first five courses.
The Specialisation is designed to enable learners to understand and develop all the technical layers found in a typical website. These range from the familiar interface text, through to the several layers of technology, right down to the underpinning database structure.
‘We have a very distinct approach to teaching computing, which is both highly creative and deeply technical, with the capability of producing the next generation of programmers for the creative industries.’
Goldsmiths, University of London, have led on developing this specialisation following a successful bidding process undertaken by Coursera to add new ‘high demand’ courses to its portfolio of 34 such specialisations.
Michael Kerrison, Director of Educational Innovation and Development, University of London said: “Not only will the course enable learners to master a skill and acquire expertise in web design and development but it will also make them more attractive to any prospective employer, regardless of whether they chose to go into a technical job or an unrelated area. It is an exceptional skill to have that is seen as added value by many employers.”
Professor Mark D’Inverno, Pro-warden for Research and Enterprise at Goldsmiths, said: “We have a very distinct approach to teaching computing, which is both highly creative and deeply technical, with the capability of producing the next generation of programmers for the creative industries. Our experience also extends to the undertaking of a large scale European project, which supports advanced peer feedback and social learning analytics – all of which have been built into this specialisation for Coursera”.
Anyone interested in the MOOC, should register their interest at: https://www.coursera.org/specializations/website-development