Weston High behind new online learning initiative

"EdX, the online learning venture founded by Harvard and MIT, recently announced a new high school initiative – 26 MOOCs (massive open online courses) in a wide variety of subjects geared to high school students around the world." continues Wicked Local Weston. 

Three of the selected 26 MOOCs were developed by Weston High School and are featured on edx.org, among courses developed by other leading high school and university institutions like MIT, University of Texas at Austin, Rice, University of California at Berkeley and more.

Covering subject areas that range from mathematics to science, English and history, and even college advising and AP onramps, edX high school MOOCs will provide students within the U.S. and around the world the opportunity to pursue challenging, advanced coursework.  

To identify the best courses for this new initiative, edX issued a request for course proposals, offering seed funding of up to $50,000 per course and support services.

Weston High School submitted course proposals, and three courses were selected out of 75 proposals from high schools and universities across the country.  

Two of the courses are open for enrollment, and the third course will open in the coming months.

Photo: Mary Liu

Mary Liu, a biology teacher at Weston High and an edX student herself, incorporated edX materials into her classroom following her positive experience learning with MOOCs. 

"I organized mini-lessons students could watch on their own time in my 10th-grade biology class," said Liu. "These videos integrated with a few check-in questions changed both class time and homework." 

By utilizing online content in her curriculum and within the classroom, Liu developed a blended class. 

Studies show that nearly 60 percent of first-year U.S. college students are unprepared for postsecondary studies. This readiness gap between college eligibility and preparedness is costly for both students and their parents, and the new edX high school initiative is aimed at addressing this gap.
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Source: Wicked Local Weston