UBC-EdX Partnership
– September 2014 update
UBC is conducting a pilot project with the EdX.org, using its version Edge edX. EdX.org and Edge edX are visually and functionally the same, but the content and purpose are different.
- edX.org hosts massive open online courses (MOOCs) from edX institutional partners. To publish courses on edX.org, you must have an agreement with edX and specific approval from your organization. Courses on edX.org are publicly listed in the edX course catalog and are open to learners from around the world.
- Edge edX is edX’s more private site. Courses on Edge are not published on edX.org. Any member of a partner course team can create and publish courses, including test courses, on Edge without receiving approval from edX or a partner institution.
- However, Edge does not have a course catalog, and courses cannot be found through search engines such as Google. Only learners whom you explicitly invite, or who have the URL for your course, can participate in your course on Edge. Note that you can invite an unlimited number of learners to participate in an Edge course.
Consider implementing a phpbb-like design solution for edX discussion board: making all the posts and responses readily visible (adopted from MITx:4.605x).
UBC edX pilot: “DIY+” model – individual instructors are provided with a Sandbox course shell to practice with the platform creating courses. EdX servers are in the US, a fact which, according to The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), limits the edX functionality, so that the student information including grades is not disclosed. EdX provides UBC with a technical platform and marketing support for UBC’s courses: UBC edX partnership: September 2014 update
UBC-CTLT personnel developed a tutorial for incorporating the elements of Edge edX in a BbConnect learning module. See Derek White: PPT presentation: Sept 2015 (PDF, Connect page) about EdX at UBC and the ways of integrating edX tools in Connect courses. See also the Blog post on using the university login to Edge.edX
EdX tutorial course: Creating an edX Course. The course covers the strategy for creating course content that is interactive, engaging, and accessible, and delivering a finished course.