Serendipity35 - MOOC

A New AI Hub from Microsoft & The Open University

ronkowitz@gmail.com (Kenneth Ronkowitz) — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 16:20:00 +0000

This AI Hub from Microsoft & The OU is a collection allowing you to explore free, accessible courses designed to build your confidence and skills in artificial intelligence. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to deepen your knowledge, the AI Hub will support your learning journey with expert-led, trusted, easy-to-use resources created by The OU and Microsoft.

Not labeled as a MOOC (a term that seems to have fallen away in the past decade) it is a similar kind of open course, not for credit but for learning.

AI Fluency is a beginner-friendly learning path designed to build confidence and understanding in artificial intelligence. Through a series of practical sessions, learners explore AI fundamentals, generative AI, responsible AI principles, and the real-world impact of AI across work, accessibility, and society. The course also introduces Microsoft Copilot, showing how AI tools can support creativity, productivity, and everyday problem solving.
Suitable for students, professionals, and leaders alike, AI fluency helps demystify AI and equips learners with the knowledge to engage with AI technologies thoughtfully, responsibly, and effectively.

Work Smarter with AI is a 65 minute, one module, learning path to help you work better and unleash your creativity with Microsoft Copilot. In this learning path, you'll explore how to use Microsoft Copilot to help you research, find information, and generate effective content.
Prerequisites: Familiarity with Microsoft productivity applications, like Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint.

Podcasting and iTunes U

ronkowitz@gmail.com (Kenneth Ronkowitz) — Fri, 29 Aug 2025 10:06:00 +0000

Podcasts at Apple are turning 20 years old, but Apple officially discontinued iTunes U at the end of 2021. The platform, which launched in 2007, was designed to help educators distribute lectures, assignments, and other learning materials through the iTunes ecosystem. It was especially popular with universities and K–12 institutions - for a time.

As Apple shifted its focus to newer tools like Classroom and Schoolwork, which offer more interactive and integrated experiences for iPads and Macs, iTunes U gradually became outdated. Apple announced the phase-out in 2020, giving educators time to transition to an alternative platform. That was partially why there was a temporary bump up in schools participating in MOOCs.

I was at NJIT 20 years ago and spearheaded the university's inclusion in the initial "sweet 16" schools in iTunes U. It was important in its time, and I would update the new schools as they were added. I was disappointed in Apple's lack of support for the academic version of podcasting and was further disappointed when they dropped it after 14 years, but it had been losing its lustre. iTunesU (and iTunes itself) didn't really move forward, and the newer apps for educators allowed us to guide students through lessons in real time, share assignments, and track progress more efficiently.

I searched for some of those old Serendipity35 iTunes U posts. Very nostalgic in 2025.

These are some of the general online learning platforms where some of that content was repurposed.
Khan Academy – Free, nonprofit platform offering lessons in math, science, economics, and more. Great for K–12 and beyond.
Coursera – Offers courses from top universities like Stanford and Yale. Many are free to audit, with paid certificates available2.
Udemy – A massive marketplace for courses on everything from coding to photography. Often discounted and self-paced.
FutureLearn – UK-based platform with university-led courses and microcredentials.
Institutional Tools
Canvas LMS and Blackboard Learn – Widely used by schools and universities for managing coursework, assignments, and communication.
Moodle – Open-source learning management system used by many institutions worldwide.
Open Educational Resources
Wikiversity and Wikibooks – Free educational content created and curated by volunteers. Great for self-learners.
Classroom & Student Engagement
ClassDojo – Focuses on classroom behavior and communication, especially for younger students.
Remind - Helps teachers communicate with students and parents via messaging.
Lumio – Turns lessons into interactive, collaborative experiences.

Closing the Classroom Door on 2024

ronkowitz@gmail.com (Kenneth Ronkowitz) — Fri, 27 Dec 2024 08:08:00 +0000

The biggest EdTech stories of 2024 seemed to all revolve around the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence.

This use of AI in education can range from fears of students using AI to "cheat," to AI-powered personalized learning. Platforms using AI to tailor learning paths to individual student needs, and providing real-time feedback and then adapting content based on progress is an AI path that most educators would welcome.

I also saw some increasing interest in skills-based training and upskilling platforms.

A positive trend is the increased accessibility to education through immersive technologies like VR/AR. I also saw positive potential with platforms addressing mental health and wellbeing within the learning environment.

Students of all ages and levels continue to acquire formal AI skills & training online: Students and workers might say they use AI in their work, but it is less likely that a person is certified in AI use in some way. (More on that in my next post.).

AI in Online Learning

ronkowitz@gmail.com (Kenneth Ronkowitz) — Wed, 07 Aug 2024 15:16:00 +0000

.Coursera’s CEO, Jeff Maggioncalda, says leveraging AI in online learning is key to a more accessible, flexible education experience. Coursera is a major platform for free and paid, non-credit and credit learning opportunities. Remember MOOCs? The term isn't in as wide usage as it was a decade ago but Coursera was an early serious player in that space and still offers short-form training and master’s degrees from Ivy League institutions like the University of Pennsylvania.

While many in education have been worrying about how AI is and will impact teaching and learning, online providers and course designers have been more likely to embrace AI tools.

Generative AI is good at language translations and Coursera who now has 4,200 courses translated into 17 languages as AI has made the translations easier and more affordable. They have also experimented with using AI for a personalized learning companion (chatbot) named Coach where students can ask for help on a concept, to create practice problems, or summarize activities. It won’t give users the answer, especially during testing.

For course designers, it can create outlines, write learning objectives, and compile lessons into new courses.

Coursera works with partners who can make content available for free.

So You Want To Be An AI Prompt Engineer

ronkowitz@gmail.com (Kenneth Ronkowitz) — Tue, 21 May 2024 09:51:00 +0000

When I was teaching in a high school, I used to tell students (and faculty) that we were not preparing them for jobs. I was sure many of our students would end up in jobs with titles that did not exist then. There is a song by The Byrds from the 1960s titled "So You Wanna Be a Rock 'n' Roll Star." In 2024, it could be "So You Want To Be An AI Prompt Engineer."

The role of AI prompt engineer attracted attention for its high-six-figure salaries when it emerged in early 2023. What does this job entail? The principal aim is to help a company integrate AI into its operations. Some people describe the job as more prompter than engineer.

There are already tools that work with apps like OpenAI’s ChatGPT platform that can automate the writing process using sets of built-in prompts. Does that mean that AI will replace AI prompt engineers already? For now, the prompter works to ensure that users get the desired results. They might also be the instructors for other employees on how to use generative AI tools. They become the AI support team. AI can automate "trivial" tasks and make more time for work that requires creative thinking.

What kind of training leads to getting this job? You might think a background in computer science, but probably a strong language and writing ability is more important. People who write in the corporate world might justifiably fear AI will take their jobs away. Being a prompter might be an alternative.

Still, I suspect that there is a good possibility that a prompter/engineer's job might be vulnerable as software becomes better at understanding users’ prompts.

If you are interested in being an AI prompt engineer, I posted last week about some free online courses offered by universities and tech companies that included three courses that relate to creating prompts for AI.

AI Applications and Prompt Engineering is an edX introductory course on prompt engineering that starts with the basics and ends with creating your applications.

Prompt Engineering for ChatGPT is a specific 6-module course from Vanderbilt University (through Coursera) that offers beginners a starting point for writing better prompts.

Another course on ChatGPT Prompt Engineering for Developers is offered by OpenAI in collab with DeepLearning and it is taught by Isa Fulford and Andrew Ng. It covers best practices and includes hands-on practice.

Learning AI - Free College-Level Courses

ronkowitz@gmail.com (Kenneth Ronkowitz) — Mon, 13 May 2024 16:30:00 +0000

If you are interested in taking some free AI courses offered by Google, Harvard, and others, here are 8 you might consider on a variety of approaches. For Coursera courses without the trial, go to the course you want to take and click 'Enroll for free', then 'Audit the course'. You'll need to create an account to take courses, but won't need to pay anything.

Google offers 5 different courses to learn generative AI from the ground up. Start with an Introduction to AI and finish having an understanding of AI as a whole. https://lnkd.in/eW5k4DVz

Microsoft offers an AI course that covers the basics and more. Start with an introduction and continue learning about neural networks and deep learning. https://lnkd.in/eKJ9qmEQ

Introduction to AI with Python from Harvard University (edX) is a full 7-week course to explore the concepts and algorithms of AI. It starts with the technologies behind AI and ends with knowledge of AI principles and machine learning libraries. https://lnkd.in/g4Sbb3nQ

LLMOps are Large Language Model Ops offered by Google Cloud in collaboration with DeepLearning. Taught by Erwin Huizenga, it goes through the LLMOps pipeline of pre-processing training data and adapt a supervised tuning pipeline to train and deploy a custom LLM.

Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, and Ethics is a 4-module course offered by Coursera from the University of California - Davis that covers big data and introduces IBM's Watson as well as learning about big data opportunities and knowing the limitations of AI. I think the inclusion of ethics is an important element.

AI Applications and Prompt Engineering is an edX introductory course on prompt engineering that starts with the basics and ends with creating your applications.

Prompt Engineering for ChatGPT is a specific 6-module course from Vanderbilt University (through Coursera) that offers beginners a starting point for writing better prompts.

Push and Pull Learning

ronkowitz@gmail.com (Kenneth Ronkowitz) — Fri, 04 Aug 2023 08:11:00 +0000

Recently, a former colleague asked me what I thought about push versus pull learning. I knew the terms more from social media marketing but hadn't really used them in learning situations. In marketing, examples include whether to decide to subscribe to a newsletter by email or snail mail (you pull that information by choice) or a newsletter that comes to you automatically (it is pushed at you).

In general, I think people prefer to pull (choice) over having it pushed at them. Companies might prefer to push, but that probably comes with the option to stop that push (unsubscribe.)

Moving these approaches - or just the terms - to education makes some sense.

In a push approach, teachers decide on the information, approach, delivery method, and speed of delivery. It is how education has been done for centuries. It tends to start with what Bloom and his taxonomy would categorize as knowledge-level remember and understand questions. These would build toward more critical and creative thinking. With pull, students enter into creating, evaluating and analyzing that requires them to seek knowledge and understanding.

This conventional classroom-styled learning is not the only approach in the 21st century. Pull learning allows learners to access information at the point of need, the way they prefer (in some settings) at the speed they find comfortable. I think that the initial surge of MOOCs back in 2012 is a good example of learning that learners pulled as needed.

Pull puts learners more in control It flips the teacher-centered learning setting. However, we must acknowledge that learning in school at all levels is still very much push learning. Fortunately, the idea that students should be able to pull some learning as they feel they need it is gaining more acceptance and is being incorporated in instructional design planning.

Currently, pull learning experiences are probably best suited to workers who have learning needs based on job roles, personal knowledge, and advancing their career interests.

Ideally, learning is "push-pull" with appropriate information provided by a push and additional information required to complete tasks and goals pulled as needed. This is not really a new approach. When you were a student, you were certainly pushed information, but you might well have gone beyond what was provided and pulled additional information that you felt you needed.

MORE
https://www.responsiveinboundmarketing.com/blog/the-difference-between-push-and-pull-learning

https://www.teachthought.com/education/push-teaching-vs-pull-teaching-thinking/

https://barkleypd.com/blog/pushing-or-pulling/

Machine Learning MOOC Updated

ronkowitz@gmail.com (Kenneth Ronkowitz) — Thu, 14 Jul 2022 11:05:00 +0000

Photo by Christina Morillo

Andrew Ng's Machine Learning course on Coursera has been revamped and updated and it is getting good student ratings.

There are fewer online courses that I consider to be true MOOCs now. Massive is small. Open is more closed. But the "OC" portion remains for many. The three courses that make up the Machine Learning Specialization offered by DeepLearning.AI and Stanford on the Coursera platform still fit the MOOC definition more closely.

You can earn a certificate at the end, and enjoy the full experiences including quizzes and assignments if you enroll and pay a monthly subscription but the courses are free (Open) to audit and view the course materials. The Massive in this course is massive with over 20,000 students enrolled.

Andrew Ng is the co-founder of Coursera and was the founding lead of Google’s Brain Project, and served as Chief Scientist at Baidu. He then did two artificial intelligence startups - Deeplearning.ai (a training company founded in 2017) and Landing.ai (for transforming enterprises with AI). He remains an adjunct professor at Stanford University. His course on Machine Learning was one of the very first courses from Coursera when it first launched in 2012. I audited the course that year though I knew the content was way above my abilitiees but I was curious as to the structure of the course from a design perspective.

At that time, Machine Learning was a new concept and was close to applied statistics. Ng goes way back because his Stanford lectures were on YouTube in 2008 and got 200,000 views. Then, he converted them to an online format in Fall 2011 and they were offered for free. He had 104,000 students and 13,000 of them gained certificates.

On the tech side, this updated version:
uses Python rather than Octave
expanded list of topics including modern deep learning algorithms, decision trees, and tools such as TensorFlow
new ungraded code notebooks with sample code and interactive graphs to help you visualize what an algorithm is doing
programming exercises
practical advice section on applying machine learning based on best practices from the last decade