THE BRITISH ARE COMING! MOOC fever has traveled abroad, where a new company, FutureLearn, announced it will offer free online courses from 12 UK universities in a manner similar to Coursera and edX. (FutureLearn is created--and funded--by The Open University, which has been in the "distance education" space since 1963.) No details yet on the business and revenue model and accreditation, but we expect that these should be figured out by the time classes start in the second half of 2013. Former BBC exec, Simon Nelson, is taking reins of the company. The Open University's vice chancellor Martin Bean (let's call him Mr. Bean) promises a "'distinctly British' twist." We surely hope includes afternoon high tea.
