Another great community-service MOOC is back – there should be more like it

A new run of Clare Collins and Tracy Burrows’ (Uni Newcastle) MOOC, “The science of weight loss: dispelling diet myths” (via edX) starts September 4.  It’s another great example of the MOOC as public-good, potentially reaching vast numbers of people with information to help change behaviour. As CMM’s fans know, (morning Dad, hello Buzz Border Collie) he is perplexed why government is not commissioning university teachers and researchers to create community-service MOOCs.

MOOC aggregator Class Central makes the point, six Aus health and well-being MOOCs are in its all-time top 100, Uni Tasmania’s self-published Understanding Dementia, Understanding MS and Preventing Dementia, two Monash U’s MOOCs on mindfulness plus its Food as Medicine (FutureLearn).

(Other Aus achievers are Uni Adelaides’ Shakespeare Matters (edX) and Uni Queensland’s Science of Everyday Thinking (edX) ).