The MOOC platform iMoox - Austria
The iMooX platform is an innovative online learning platform in Austria that offers Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). It was launched in 2013 and has gained recognition for its contribution to open access to information and promotion of educational technologies. It provides a diverse range of courses, including bridge courses for students transitioning to university and subjects on digital literacy. iMooX is supported by the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research and implemented by the Technical University of Graz in cooperation with the University of Vienna and many other MOOC producers as partners.
Why is this a good practice?
The iMooX platform was launched in December 2013 and has since been considered a break-through for scalable and mass online learning in Austria. In October 2014, UNESCO decided to give its patronage to the project, as it is not only an important contribution to open access to information but also to the promotion of information and communication technologies in the field of education.
Already the following year, the first course, accompanied by a MOOC, started at the Technical University of Graz. In the same year, the ‘free online learning’ course available on iMooX was awarded the Austrian State Prize for Adult Education in the category ‘Digital Literacy’. 2017 was followed by the first major system change with a major redesign under the keyword iMooX 2.0.
The TU Austria STEM MOOCs implemented in 2018 are considered as bridge courses between the school and the university. They include themes from informatics, mathematics and mechanics. To make it easier for students to enter their studies at the Graz University, the first courses in mathematics and computing started in 2019. They are intended to prepare starters for the future stage by means of online courses.
In 2020, the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research approves a project aimed at iMooX as a service for all Austrian universities. The aim is to further develop the MOOC platform, in cooperation with the project partner University of Vienna, and to make it available to all Austrian universities. After a major update in 2021, iMooX became a member of the European MOOC Consortium (EMC) in the same year, which is the leading platform for MOOCs in Europe.
MOOCs
MOOCs are offered either as self-learning courses or as supervised courses and usually consist of several lessons, followed by a brief knowledge review in the form of a quiz. Each course informs interested parties in advance about the duration and content of the learning offer and, if successful, provides a certificate of participation. Enrolment in courses is free of charge and straightforward and there is no limit on the number of participants.
Even though the MOOCs only take place in the online space, each course also has a forum where participants can connect and share with each other, and some MOOCs also offer webinars and/or accompanying groups. In addition to topics from human medicine or social sciences, iMooX courses can also be delivered directly as subjects on digital literacy. The offer of the courses is regularly extended.
