Virtual Learning Environment: A Case Study of edX MOOC Platform

The interference of information and communication technology in the field of education has entirely changed the traditional concept of dissemination of knowledge. It has revolutionised the age old methods of teaching and learning. The methods of teaching have changed from one to unlimited persons at the same point of time being a matter of just a single click. The virtual learning or e-learning has overcome the barrier of money, geographical border and many others that existed in physical environment of learning. The birth of MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) like Alison, Coursera, Swayam etc. has changed the regime of distant learning in an e-environment providing the suitable habitat for satisfying the thirst of knowledge. The present study is an attempt to evaluate edX. The main aim of edX is to provide education without walls to everybody. The present study explored that about 2000 courses are present across the globe with 195 participating nations and more than 14 million users worldwide with Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Google+ web 2.0 tools in use. In the subject category, Computer Science (584; 24.8%) major courses are present, followed by Business and Management (448; 19.0%) and Engineering (324; 13.7%). Linguistic diversity shows that English (1966; 83.4%) dominates the scene followed by Spanish (195; 8.3%) and Chinese (58; 2.5%). With regard to the level of courses, only three categories are present: Introductory (1161; 43.9%), Intermediate (757; 32.1%), and Advanced (282; 12.0%). Keywords: MOOCs, edX, online learning, information and communication technology (ICT) Cite this Article Asifa Ali, Rabiya Mushtaq, Showkat Ahmad Wani. Virtual Learning Environment: A Case Study of edX MOOC Platform. Journal of Advancements in Library Sciences . 2019; 6(1): 118–122p.