Members of the Rotary Club of Manama (RCM) were treated to a talk by educator Dr. Keith Sharp yesterday at their weekly Gulf Hotel meeting.
Dr. Sharp is Head of Academic and Executive Centre and Quality Assurance Department at the Bahrain Institute for Banking & Finance (BIBF). He explained the sudden rise over the last five years in online learning, through MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses). Some 700 universities worldwide are now providing online teaching to 23 million students.
MOOCs are online courses aimed at free participation and open access via the web. In addition to traditional course materials, such as filmed lectures, readings, and problem sets, many MOOCs provide the interactive user forums to support community interactions among students, professors, and teaching assistants.
Dr. Sharp is an eminent educator and a charismatic speaker who brought both interest and colour to an otherwise dry subject.