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Thanks Terry. I am currently doing 2 Futurelearn courses that started before 6 March so I probably won't get this email but it is of great interest to me. I liked the idea that I had continued access to Futurelearn resources after the course finished but now I am thinking that a bit of downloading might be in order (probably doesn't apply to streamed videos :). The course that I started last week is the first of these on this page https://www.futurelearn.com/partners/raspberry-pi As an OER enthusiast I was delighted to see that each page is CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/> licenced (but I am not sure if that applies to the streamed video). Raspberrypi.org CC license reosurces https://www.raspberrypi.org/resources/teach/ and it's interesting to think about the relationship between Raspberrypi.org and Futurelearn - what does each get from the other? BTW though I am committed to complete my two current courses, and am appreciating what I am gaining from them, I have no intention of paying for certificates. In the case of the Raspberry Pi course, if I needed certification I would be more interested in the https://www.raspberrypi.org/raspberry-pi-certified-educators/ route that follows a different path from certificate payment. It's complicated, isn't it? and that's why we need OE as well as MOOCs. Frances Bell You can also find me @francesbell on Twitter and at http://francesbell.com On 28 February 2017 at 16:45, Terry Loane <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Hello colleagues > > Below is the text of an email I received today as a FutureLearn student. I > ought to point out that at the moment both "unlimited access to course > content even after the course ends" and "access to tests" are free of > charge (although certificates and statements of participation are not). So > the forthcoming change represents a significant reduction in what is > offered for free. FutureLearn is clearly moving the freemium model up > several notches, and in doing so is becoming significantly less 'open'. (Of > course many may argue, with some justification, that FutureLearn has never > really been an example of open educational resources - but I take the view > that openness is a matter of degree.) > > My prediction is that over time FutureLearn will be squeezed even tighter, > offering less material for free and increasing the price of the paid > content. Which reinforces my belief that there is a need for those of us > who champion open educational practice to propose economic models of > learning provision that can work. > > Best wishes to all, and sorry for any inconvenience caused by cross-posting > > Terry Loane > _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ > > *Hi Terry,* > > *It looks like you're enrolled on one or more FutureLearn courses that > start on or after 6 March 2017. We want you to know that you will have the > option to upgrade these courses.* > > *What is upgrading?* > *You can upgrade any course to get a full range of benefits. It costs > between £24 and £69 and for that you’ll get: * > > * Unlimited access to course content even after the course ends, for as > long as the course exists on FutureLearn* > * Access to tests * > * A Certificate of Achievement or Statement of Participation when you > complete the course.* > > *Can I still take the course for free?* > *Yes! Don’t worry, you can still take any course for free. You will be > able to access all the content, except for tests, for the duration of the > course plus 14 days - regardless of the day you join. * > > *What if I join a course after it starts?* > *You will always get access to the course for its duration plus 14 days - > regardless of when you start. So if your course lasts four weeks, but you > join in the third week, you’ll get four weeks plus 14 days from the day you > join. * > > *Why are we introducing upgrading? * > *We want to give people all over the world access to great learning. > That’s what drives us, and why FutureLearn was created. But producing > courses and maintaining the FutureLearn platform costs our partners and us > a lot. To keep providing great learning to people all over the world, we > need to become financially sustainable - offering upgrading is one of the > ways we can do that. * > > *Want to know more? Have a look at our FAQs or read our blog post.* > > *Happy Learning,* > > *The FutureLearn Team* > >