Indian Institute of Management Bangalore has joined edX, a massive open online course (MOOC) provider and online learning platform, reports Business Standard. As part of the membership, the B-school will provide several of its courses on the edX platform for free. The courses from Indian Institute of Management Bangalore will become available on the edX platform within the year. IIM-Bangalore is also the first Indian B-School to join the non-profit MOOC platform. Several other Indian institutes -- including IIT Bombay and BITS Pilani already offer their video lectures and notes to edX. The edX, unlike other MOOCs, is a nonprofit platform. It offers free courses comprising video lectures, notes, assignment, and virtual labs. The enrolled students are given a certificate of successful completion at the end of the course, however, they do not get any course credit. The enrolled participants, however, may choose to opt for a “verified-certificate” which can act as a proof that they actually took the course. It should be noted that verified certificates, unlike the certificate of successful completion come with a fee. Over the last few years, the MOOCs have fueled several controversies. While many professors and teaching staff find this medium of education as a threat to their jobs, the platform itself is yet to prove how effective it is. Last year, San Jose State suspended its partnership with Udacity, another popular MOOC after half of its students failed in their final exams. Nonetheless, the edX -- much like other MOOCs -- is a platform that helps spread the quality education to wider audience --…
