3.091x Introduction to Solid-State Chemistry MITx on edX Course Report - 2012 Fall

Abstract

This report describes 3.091x: Introduction to Solid State Chemistry, one of the first 11 courses offered by MITx on edX, a platform for delivering massive open online courses (MOOCs). Offered in the Fall of 2012, 3.091x covers chemical principles explained by examination of the properties of materials, and follows the curriculum of a first-year course which has been offered at MIT for several decades. The report describes the course structure, in terms of the number of basic e-text, auto-graded problems, and video components. Following a methodology established for analysis of the first 17 HarvardX and MITx courses (Ho et al, HarvardX and MITx: The first year of open online courses), course registrants are described in terms of viewed, explored, and certified sub-populations, together with demographics. The diversity of student activity in the course, and the persistence of student interactions with the courseware, are addressed. The report concludes with descriptions of special features in 3.091x, including its use of web-browser based interactive chemistry simulations and randomized questions.

Keywords: MOOC, Massive Open Online Course, MITx, HarvardX, edX, online learning, distance learning