On Monday, June 17, Renton Technical College will offer its first Massive Open Online Course (MOOC). These courses are free for anyone to join.  The debut of MOOCs at RTC conjuncts with its deepened focus on eLearning, which allows students more flexibility.

This is a professional development course titled, “Hybrid Courses: The Best of Both Worlds” and is designed to give educators tips on organization, planning and tools to be successful in teaching technology. The course currently has over 600 students who have enrolled.  Curriculum and Technology Specialist Liz Falconer, who will be facilitating the MOOC, was the driving force behind bringing MOOCs to RTC. “The MOOC setup refocuses the student’s energies on learning.  “It is very much a ‘journey’ rather than the destination; since students are not graded in the traditional sense and sign-up with different goals and with a wide variety of backgrounds.  They can select the parts that are meaningful and important for their own purposes. With that being said, some MOOCs come with a certificate of completion, and I am offering that for people who want to do a final project in this course,” said Falconer.  MOOCs are a growing trend in higher education and many Ivy League schools such as Harvard, Princeton and Stanford now offer them.

The course runs from June 17 – July 15 and there is still space available to enroll in this class by visiting, www.RTC.edu.

Renton Technical College prepares a diverse student population for work, fulfilling the employment needs of individuals, business and industry.  The institution has the highest completion rate of any two-year college in Washington State.