Every year, we submit a report that shares the highlights of our unit activities at MIT. For a number of years now I’ve been the primary author of this “record” of our collective work. Drawing nearly verbatim from this report, below is a list of the major activities I was involved with for the last fiscal year (running July-June). You can also look back on reports from 2017-2018, 2016-2017, 2015-2016, 2014-2015, 2013-2014, 2012-2013 and 2011-2012.

Open Learning Projects – July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019

Projects supports initiatives between MIT and other universities, foundations and trusts, non-governmental organizations, and national governments in their efforts to advance and transform educational opportunity through digital learning. Through these initiatives, MIT is furthering its mission to advance learning worldwide.

Summary and Highlights

In FY19 (2018-2019), Projects focused on four international projects that [I was involved with] that shared MIT’s expertise and approach to teaching and learning with K-12 students and teachers, university students and faculty and lifelong learners. Projects promoted MIT’s unique approaches to learning with these international audiences:

• For the Connected Learning Initiative (CLIx) in India, Projects supported the design and development of curriculum modules in English, Math and Science; developed an assessment platform, interactive tools and a standalone curriculum delivery platform; and co-designed and participated in learning outcomes and adoption studies and other research. Over the four-year period of the project, CLIx reached 478 schools, for 60,000 students, and 2,500 teachers in four states (Rajasthan, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, and Mizoram).
• With the Open Learning Scholars program of the Al-Ghurair Foundation for Education, Projects supported the Foundation’s efforts to increase the use of online and digital learning in the Arab World. Projects supported MITx Digital Learning Scientists and staff working with faculty from the American University in Cairo and the American University of Beirut to blend MITx course materials (7.00x, 18.03x and 6.00x) into local courses for more than 850 learner seats to date.
• With CoLAB, a collaboration of primarily Centro Ceibal and the Universidad Tecnológica del Uruguay (UTEC) in Uruguay, Projects identified and supported a new project to support UTEC’s students who are concurrently enrolled in a UTEC Master’s degree program and MITx’s MicroMasters® Program in Statistics and Data Science. The initial generation (cohort) of 58 learners participated in a workshop and received extra course support in the form of project-run recitation sessions accompanying MITx Statistics and Data Science courses.
• For SRM University, AP Amaravati in India, Projects supported SRM University faculty in using course materials from eight sub-licensed MITx courses (6.00x, 6.002x, 6.004x, 8.01x, 8.02x, 18.01x, 18.03x, and 2.01x) with their first two batches of students. Over the two-year period of the project, MIT Open Learning supported approximately 1,300 individual learners in 4,842 learner seats.

Goals

For FY 19, Projects’ broad goals were to:

• Execute on existing projects: Connected Learning Initiative, Open Learning Scholars and SRM University, AP-Amaravati
• Identify (and execute) new digital learning projects, including CoLAB, in support of the Abdul Latif Jameel World Education Lab, MIT Open Learning, and the Institute
• Integrate findings from science of learning into project activities

Accomplishments

CoLAB Program in Data Science

CoLAB is a project between MIT and a collaboration of primarily Centro Ceibal and the Universidad Tecnológica del Uruguay (UTEC) in Uruguay to create a community of data scientists in the region and build the capacity to teach data science at UTEC and other Uruguayan universities. Projects is focused on providing support for generations (cohorts) of learners concurrently enrolled in a UTEC Master’s degree program and the MITx MicroMasters in Statistic and Data Science program. The project involves workshops focused on data science, entrepreneurship and study strategies, as well as MIT-led recitation sections to support individual learning in the courses that make up the MicroMasters program.

FY 2019 key accomplishments [I was involved with]:

• Launched the project with a symposium and workshop in May 2019.
• Supported the first generation (cohort) of 60 learners in the first Statistics and Data Science program MITx course.

SRM University, AP-Amaravati

Projects supported eight sub-licensed MITx courses for use by SRM University, AP-Amaravati, along with providing training sessions for their faculty. The training sessions incorporated key findings from the science of learning, as well as principles of instruction, advocated by MIT Open Learning.

In FY 2019, Projects completed the two-year project with SRM University.

FY 2019 key accomplishments [I was involved with]:

• Provided one in-person training session for thirteen SRM University faculty to become familiar with and utilize 2.01x, 6.002x, 6.004x and 18.03x course materials in their courses.
• Supported SRM University faculty teaching with MITx course materials from 6.00x, 6.002x, 6.004x, 8.01x, 8.02x, 18.01x, 18.03x, and 2.01x for 4,181 learner seats.

Open Learning Scholars (OLS)

OLS is a collaboration between MIT and the Abdulla Al Ghurair Foundation for Education aimed at expanding access to and use of digital learning environments in STEM for learners worldwide. The goal is to make some of the best STEM education in the world available to Arab youth through innovative online and blended learning offerings.

OLS is engaged with:

• Leveraging digital (online) learning in the Arab world, especially for displaced populations, with an initial focus on the professionally focused MIT MicroMasters program.
• Supporting educational transformation and capacity building through blended learning utilizing curriculum from MITx courses.

FY 2019 key accomplishments [I was involved with]:

• Supported the American University in Cairo in using course materials from 18.03x with 290 students and from 7.00x with 36 students, and supported the American University of Beirut in using course materials from 7.00x with 46 students and 6.00x with 254 students.
• Supported the Al Ghurair Foundation’s efforts to provide scholarships for MITx Supply Chain Management and Data, Economics and Development Policy MicroMasters learners from the Arab world.

Connected Learning Initiative (CLIx)

The CLIx (Connected Learning Initiative) is a bold and innovative collaboration between the Tata Trusts, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences’ Center for Education Innovation and Action Research and MIT. Its goal is to improve the professional and academic prospects of high school students in underserved communities in India. Over the four-year period of the project CLIx reached approximately 478 schools, for 60,000 students, and 2,500 teachers in four states (Rajasthan, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, and Mizoram).

At MIT, Projects is collaborating with Prof. Eric Klopfer and his team in The Education Arcade to support curriculum teams in India, design and develop modules and interactive tools in English, Science and Mathematics for Grades 8 and 9.

FY 2019 key accomplishments [I was involved with]:

• Participated in the end of the initial phase of CLIx meeting in April 2019.