Skip to Content

MIT Technology Review

Sign in
Uncategorized

Open learning

Facts and figures to sustain your inner geek
August 21, 2019

In 1999, President Charles Vest asked a faculty committee how best to use the internet to further MIT’s mission. Its revolutionary recommendation: put all of MIT’s course materials online for free. In 2002, MIT OpenCourseWare did just that for 50 MIT classes; today it posts materials for 2,450. And since MIT and Harvard teamed up in 2012 to launch edX, a free open-source platform for online learning, MIT has been offering a growing number of classes online.Now MIT’s expansive Open Learning initiatives serve both MIT students and learners around the world.

Most popular MITx class on edX: Introduction to Computer Science using Python Total enrollment to date: 1.3 million
1,805 learners earned MITx MicroMasters credentials. 76 went on to complete MIT master’s degrees on campus.
1,805 learners earned MITx MicroMasters credentials. 76 went on to complete MIT master’s degrees on campus.
Average number of people who register for an MITx course every day: 3,307
3.8 million unique learners from more than 200 countries have earned 195,000 certificates so far. 187 MIT faculty representing 26 departments and all 5 schools have developed 176 MITx courses totaling 1,436.75 weeks of online course content. 75% live outside the US.
Undergrad admits who had taken an MITx course before being admitted were over 10% more likely to enroll at MIT.
Undergrad admits who had taken an MITx course before being admitted were over 10% more likely to enroll at MIT.
MIT Open Learning has filmed more than 1 petabyte —that’s 1 quadrillion bytes—of instructional video.
99% of MIT undergrads have taken an MIT class that uses MITx tools tailored to campus use

Keep Reading

Most Popular

Large language models can do jaw-dropping things. But nobody knows exactly why.

And that's a problem. Figuring it out is one of the biggest scientific puzzles of our time and a crucial step towards controlling more powerful future models.

The problem with plug-in hybrids? Their drivers.

Plug-in hybrids are often sold as a transition to EVs, but new data from Europe shows we’re still underestimating the emissions they produce.

Google DeepMind’s new generative model makes Super Mario–like games from scratch

Genie learns how to control games by watching hours and hours of video. It could help train next-gen robots too.

How scientists traced a mysterious covid case back to six toilets

When wastewater surveillance turns into a hunt for a single infected individual, the ethics get tricky.

Stay connected

Illustration by Rose Wong

Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review

Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.

Thank you for submitting your email!

Explore more newsletters

It looks like something went wrong.

We’re having trouble saving your preferences. Try refreshing this page and updating them one more time. If you continue to get this message, reach out to us at customer-service@technologyreview.com with a list of newsletters you’d like to receive.