Terry thanks so much for this.
Interesting that Futurelearn, by implication, don't see tests as part of a course (as you have to pay for the tests, but they claim that the course itself is free). In other words, it seems they are moving to a point where anything other than bog standard text or video will imply a charge. I wonder if participants in the discussion boards can then make a re-charge back to Futurelearn for their own intellectual insight!
Thanks for the forewarning.
Regards
Roger
Roger Harrison MFPH (UK). SFHEA
Senior Lecturer in Public Health
Division Lead for Social Responsibility
Director of Studies for Postgraduate Education in Public Health (Online Learning)
Please note: I only work part time (Tues, Wed, Thurs) but will endeavour to respond as soon as possible
School of Health Sciences | Division of Population Health, Health Services Research & Primary Care | The University of Manchester | Room 2.548, Stopford Building | Oxford Road | Manchester M13 9PT
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________________________________
From: Open Education Special Interest Group [[log in to unmask]] on behalf of Terry Loane [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 28 February 2017 16:45
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: FutureLearn becoming less open?
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
