Distance Learning | News
University of Oklahoma Launches Online Learning Platform
The University of Oklahoma has launched its own online interactive learning community called Janux.
The university will use the Janux open platform to offer some of its courses online. Students enrolled at the University of Oklahoma will be able to take the online courses for credit, while anybody else in the world can access the course content for free, but not for credit.
The site went live on Monday, October 21 with six courses. Current course offerings include Law and Justice; General Chemistry; Severe and Unusual Weather; Understanding the Global Community; Philosophy and Human Destiny, East and West; and Social Statistics. Next spring, the university will add 14 more courses to Janux, including Introduction to Computer Programming, Administration of Adult and Higher Education, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, Introduction to Sociology, and Chemistry of Beer, bringing the total number of courses to 20 within the first year.
The university developed Janux in partnership with NextThought as part of its initiative to improve the student experience and increase access to academic content through technology. Courses offered through Janux feature short video lectures and online quizzes. Other Janux features, such as the interactive whiteboard, enable students to communicate and collaborate. Students can also share notes, form groups, live chat, and interact with other students and professors throughout the duration of the course.
Janux "meets digital natives where they live, bringing the power of social networks to the education space," said Kyle Harper, senior vice provost at the University of Oklahoma, in a prepared statement. "This is how our students want to learn. They learn by interacting and collaborating with one another — no matter the distance — one concept at a time."
The University of Oklahoma is a public research university located in Norman, OK serving approximately 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students.
Further information about the Janux Interactive Learning Community can be found at janux.ou.edu.
About the Author
Leila Meyer is a technology writer based in British Columbia. She can be reached at leilameyer@gmail.com.