Anuar Andres Lequerica is Class Central’s analyst. MOOCWatch is a monthly digest of everything related to MOOCs. Subscribe.

The MOOC world continues to expand with new offerings and tools. Computer tutors are being incorporated into MOOCs, and some online tutors are making hundreds of thousands of dollars per month. Last month, we reported on Georgia Tech using a computer TA without students noticing it. Education is increasingly shifting towards digital delivery. Digital tutoring (by both humans and computers) might become more prevalent in the future.

Coursera is launching a new program for refugees, and MIT has plans for two new MicroMasters on edX. Meanwhile, Udacity is opening an office in Germany and announcing new Nanodegrees; Udemy has just raised $60 million for its international expansion; and TU Delft is launching a MOOC for kids.

IBM’s Big Data University initiative has now reached 400,000 students, and Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona has hit the milestone of half a million enrollments on Coursera.

Plus, there are new MOOC studies and surveys.

Find all these stories and more in this month’s MOOCWatch.

Please share MOOCWatch with your colleagues in the online learning field.

TOP STORIES

COURSERA WILL SHUT DOWN ITS OLD PLATFORM via Class Central
Coursera is shutting down its old platform. Many old courses are moving to its new platform, but a few aren’t. Our article explains how to download the old MOOCs.

INDIA’S OFFICIAL MOOC PLATFORM via Class Central
An update on India’s ambitious MOOC platform called “SWAYAM.”

COMPUTER TUTORS IN MOOCS via Columbia
A study on incorporating computer tutors into a Columbia University MOOC.

CANON PLATFORM via Digital Trends
Canon has launched an online learning platform with paid courses on photography and printing.

CREDITS & TUTORS via EdSurge
The credit-granting edX/ASU initiative known as Global Freshman Academy added a college algebra MOOC. It has a computer tutor.

CREDIT FOR REFUGEES via InZone
The University of Geneva will grant academic credit to refugees who complete a MOOC at its learning center in the Kakuma Refugee Camp.

TEN MOST POPULAR MOOCS via Class Central
The best new courses starting in June 2016.

Islam Thru Its Scripture named top 10 popular MOOC in June by @classcentral. Up next: Hinduismhttps://t.co/GDBR4E56zx

— HarvardX (@HarvardOnline) June 24, 2016

MOOC GRADUATION CEREMONY via Class Central 
The University of Michigan held a graduation ceremony for more than 1,000 graduates of its Python Specialization on Coursera.

COURSERA PAID-ONLY COURSES via Class Central
Coursera tests the waters with all course content behind a paywall for some courses; it will examine the resulting data to decide future plans.

VIRTUAL TUTORS via TechCrunch
Varsity Tutors, an online platform with over 20,000 human tutors, has launched its app.

STAR TUTORS via Bangkok Post
A number of online tutors in China and South Korea have millions of students and are making hundreds of thousands of dollars per month.

MOOCS FOR CREDIT via Class Central
Our updated guide of all the ways to get academic credit by taking MOOCs.

COURSERA SPONSORSHIP via Coursera
Software company Atlassian will sponsor 50% of the cost of all of Coursera’s CS MOOCs for a limited time.

Wow: @Atlassian covering 50% of the cost to take select #MOOCs on @Coursera https://t.co/ImnQ4910V8 #Education #MOOC pic.twitter.com/QHjrVz9lbT

— Jonathan Kroll (@krollja) June 16, 2016

SKILLSHARE AND UDEMY RAISE MILLIONS

Skillshare, a platform similar to Lynda.com (but where anyone can post lessons), raises $12 million in funding.
Skillshare Scores $12 Million Series B to Grow Video Learning Library via EdSurge

Udemy raises another $60 million dollars to fuel its international expansion. Udemy also launches on Apple TV.
Partnering With Naspers To Expand Our Global Reach via Udemy
Introducing Udemy for Apple TV via Udemy

UDEMY DEMOGRAPHICS via Udemy
Udemy has released an infographic of the learning trends and demographics of its eleven million students.

MOOC REPORT
A report defining and summarizing the current MOOC field.

EXTRA CREDIT STUDY via HBR
Giving students a very small amount of extra credit significantly increased the amount of work they completed in an online course.

EUROPE LIKES MOOCS
This survey of European universities shows a high level of interest in producing MOOCs.

We passed 5,000! Latest MDW Stats: 265,520 Visitors, 118,799 Learners & 5,015 Graduates! @ILDigitalMktg @coursera #MOOC #digitalmarketing

— Aric Rindfleisch (@aricrindfleisch) June 26, 2016

MOOC COURSE REPORT via Class Central
A list of 450+ free online courses starting in May 2016.

NEW ONLINE COURSES AND MOOCs via Class Central
The list of 114 new courses added to Class Central in April 2016.

ONLINE LECTURES via Cornell Daily Sun
Cornell University launches a new series of paid one-hour faculty lectures on different topics.

IBM UNIVERSITY via Forbes
IBM has a free online learning platform with courses on big data. More than 400,000 students have enrolled so far.

RELIGION MOOCS via Religion News
The Metropolitan Community of Churches launches an online learning portal with MOOCs and webinars on religious topics.

MORE MIT MICROMASTERS ON EDX via Project Syndicate
The Abdulla Al Ghurair Foundation for Education will fund the development of two new MIT MicroMasters on edX.

Wonderful event @CDUni with the #CharlesDarwin Fellows launching the #MOOC #CharlesDarwin again @CDUni_VC pic.twitter.com/rZOXjDCPHP

— Dr Aggie Wegner (@AggieWegner) June 24, 2016

MOOCS IN GERMAN

Udacity opens an office in Germany and announces three new Nanodegrees.

Udacity Launches in German Speaking Countries, Looks to Move Beyond Engineering
Your First Look At Our New Business Analyst Nanodegree Program!
Introducing: The Android Basics Nanodegree By Google!
DevOps Engineer Nanodegree

MOOCS FOR REFUGEES via Coursera
Coursera launches a program for refugees, including offering all of its MOOCS and certificates for free.

MOOC FOR KIDS
TU Delft launches a MOOC on edX to teach kids age 8+ how to program with Scratch.

MOOC EVENT #1
The Policy Forum on European MOOCs took place in Brussels on June 28.

MOOC EVENT #2
Udemy LIVE, a conference for instructors, took place in San Francisco on June 24–26.

https://twitter.com/paulbloomatyale/status/745135440550756357

MOOCS AND BOOTCAMP via MIT
MIT organizes an on-campus Global Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for the top students of its Entrepreneurship 101 and 102 MOOCs.

MOOC REFLECTION via EdSurge
A thought-provoking article on MOOC instructor diversity, authenticity, voices, and formats.

FROM DVD TO STREAMING via NYT
An article on how The Great Courses has adapted to the new online learning era.

MOOCS VS. BOOKS via Class Central
Two interviews with very popular instructors comparing their MOOCs to their books.

MOOC vs. Book: Complementary Learning Channels (Part 2 of 3)
MOOC vs. Book: Each Helps the Other (Part 3 of 3)

MOOCS VS. REGULAR ONLINE COURSE
This article discusses the similarities between MOOCs and regular online courses.

« Where Are Degrees Headed? »
My guest post on Class Central is available!https://t.co/scvIkOirfqhttps://t.co/34DDWkEW5B

— Mathieu Nebra (@m_nebra) June 20, 2016

MOOCS VS. CAMPUS via Class Central
This article discusses the similarities between on-campus degrees and MOOC degrees/credentials.

GRANTS FOR K-12 ONLINE LEARNING via the Moody College of Communication at the University of Texas at Austin
The Foundation for Blended and Online Learning is offering $10,000 grants to K-12 instructors.

JOURNALISM MOOCS GRANT via PR Newswire
The Knight Foundation gives the University of Texas a $600,000 grant to produce more online courses to train journalists.

About MOOCWatch

MOOCWatch is a monthly digest of information related to MOOCs meant for professors and administrators, or others who are involved in education and want to stay up-to-date in the MOOC space. In addition to broad coverage, MOOCWatch also contains unique data sourced from Class Central (such as course popularity rankings). To subscribe to MOOCWatch, visit classcentral.com/moocwatch

Anuar Andres Lequerica is Class Central’s analyst. He has a graduate degree in education policy and has taken at least eight online courses across all the different platforms.