posted on 2020-04-24, 12:08authored byAndrew F. Parsons
A massive open online course (MOOC),
Exploring Everyday Chemistry
(eeDc), was delivered four times between 2017 and 2019, attracting
a worldwide audience of over 15 000 learners from a wide range
of backgrounds. This 4-week course was designed to show a variety
of everyday applications of organic chemistry, targeted at high school
students seeking to study a chemistry-related degree at university.
A mix of video, text, polls, quizzes, and practical activities was
incorporated with material designed to build on high school studies,
highlighting aspects of university-level teaching and research, as
well as showcasing some career opportunities for chemistry graduates.
We monitored student attitudes toward this course, finding a consistent
enthusiasm for the approach and selection of material. The impact
of the course was evident from the significant number of students
who mentioned it positively in their university applications.