Think Globally, Teach Electronically: UAF eCampus offers a climate course to a worldwide classroom.

• Author: Kvapil, Rachael
• Position: EDUCATION

With the click of a red "Enroll" button, anyone with internet access--and who can read and understand English--becomes a student of top experts in climate change based in Fairbanks. The button is on the website edx.org, host of massive open online courses (MOOCs) offered by institutions of higher learning around the world. Berkeley, Harvard, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are charter members of edX, and so is UAF. For its eCampus initiative, UAF chose edX as its platform for a dozen MOOCs, including two sets of three courses that can, for a relatively small fee, lead to professional certificates in geographic information systems (GIS) and sports business management.

One of the newest courses, launched last November, is Climate Change in Arctic Environments. Over four weeks, students watch video presentations from UAF's world-class climate modelers, biologists, and social scientists to understand the effects of global warming on the atmosphere, land, water, animals, and people of the Arctic region. All that--plus climate modeling tools and links to additional materials--free of charge.

For an extra a $139, students have access to graded assessments toward a verified certificate issued by edX upon successful completion.

Creating a Comprehensive Course

UAF scientists have researched climate change since the late '90s through the International Arctic Research Center (IARC).

"The warning signals really started showing in the 1990s but have accelerated since 2000," says John Walsh, IARC chief scientist. "What is happening in the Arctic is a preview to what will happen elsewhere if we don't get it under control."

Given the expertise of the UAF research faculty and the amount of data accumulated over the years, the IARC communications group figured a MOOC made perfect sense. Walsh emphasizes that the instructors selected for this course are the experts in their field globally. He says these scientists have dedicated their entire careers to studying the Arctic and the effects of climate change. They provide decision-makers with data, and their reports inform discussions about tackling climate change worldwide.

As co-lead instructor, Walsh worked with lARC's Alaska Climate Specialist Rick Thoman to outline the course. In the videos, Walsh and Thoman introduce each topic and the experts who provide specific instruction. UAF enlisted thirty experts to produce 10-minute video lessons and assist with additional content for the course.

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