Leading the #MOOC Discussion: Twitters to Follow

A few weeks ago we published a list of websites covering all aspects of Massively Open Online Courses (MOOCs), Open Courseware (OCW), and general open education resources, and the response was amazing. This is an incredibly important topic, and it is growing rapidly as the value of advanced education increases, and the technologies for distributing it get more advanced. One major benefit of MOOCs and OCW is that they provide unprecedented access to professional educational materials that may have been unaffordable or difficult to access for most people. Much of the discussion around this topic is happening in public forums online, and Twitter is a hotbed of conversation about MOOCs, OCW, and the overall increase of accessibility to education through digital media. Anyone who cares about educational accessibility should check out the following Twitter accounts and see what they have to say on the subject.

These accounts cover not only MOOCs and OCW, but many other closely related topics at the intersection of education, technology, and accessibility. Some of them even focus on much more analog styles of learning, from skill sharing to connecting with educational tutors or mentors. The accounts are ordered by category, reputation, follower count and general quality and frequency of the content they publish.

MOOC Platforms & Info

There are many sides to the MOOC discussion online. News sites covering education are watching the topic closely, and the creators and providers of MOOCs and OCW suites are naturally major participants in the conversation as well.

@insidehighered

Inside Higher Ed breaks down all the latest news in higher education and from a legislative perspective. They’re based in Washington D.C., so are able to have immense access to resources.

On Facebook: Inside Higher Ed
@MOOCList

MOOC List offers a comprehensive directory of MOOC courses offered by some of the best universities. Find posts of classes starting daily on their Twitter home page.

On Facebook: MOOC List
@udacity

Udacity is a free course server for tech courses in the fields of programming, computer science, math, and science. With new course listings, advice for online learners, career research for these fields, and other higher education info, Udacity connects with over 50,000 followers a day.

On Facebook: Udacity
@edXOnline

Founded by MIT and Harvard, edXOnline is helping to bring education to communities across the globe. Their MOOC and online classes are managed to offer students a high quality education, and their Twitter account works to answer student question and promote online learning.

On Facebook: edX
@educause

Educause is a non-profit organization that is a gathering place for IT leaders and education professionals who come together and promote higher education.

On Facebook: Educause
@Knewton

Knewton understands how learning is evolving and aims to capitalize on what technology is going to enable students to use for succeeding. By providing more personalized learning methods, Knewton helps establish an infrastructure for learning with in the future.

On Facebook: Knewton
@classcentral

Class Central is a MOOC aggregator that pulls courses from organizations such as Coursera, Udacity, and edX, who all have coursework from some of the top universities in the country.

On Facebook: Class Central
@EPFL_en

The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne promotes MOOCs and edtech learning initiatives with over 250 laboratories and research groups. The center has become a hub for European innovation relating to technology.

On Facebook: EPFL Center for Digital Education – MOOCS Factory
@ UNIMOOC

UniMOOC is a Spanish organization that focuses on the promotion of MOOCs globally and helps connect those in Spain with the online educational content to succeed.

On Facebook: UNIMOOC
@elearnindustry

eLearning Industry is one of the foremost places to attain useful information on developments as they relate to technology and learning.

On Facebook: Christopher Pappas
@amplify

A serious business for K-12 educators, including teachers and parents, Amplify is dedicated to creating digital products that can personalize learning for students – tablets and other hands on software can help make education more accessible and understandable.

On Facebook: AmplifyMOOC
@GoNovoEd

NovoEd promotes eLearning in exciting new ways, namely by having distinguished professors from some of the best universities in the country contribute and oversee different class offerings. Additionally, the site promotes an intuitive learning environment for students to come together and discuss different issues.

On Facebook: NovoEd
@EducationDive

Education Drive covers all angles of education news by sharing information from industry news, MOOC trends, and education studies. They share the latest education news from traditional to online education and everything in between.

On Facebook: EducationDive
@CourseHero

Course Hero is a way for students to learn in exciting new ways that are much more focused on individual learning methods and help create large amounts of crow sourced content.

On Facebook: Course Hero
@IUSchoolofEd

IU School of Communications Twitter account is the voice of the communications department at Indiana University. Sharing news from inside the university, from the communication field at large, as well as higher education news, their Twitter account is an effective education and communication tool.

On Facebook: Indiana University – School of Education
@cplong

Christopher Long is a professor at Penn State who specializes in MOOCs and other new trends in education. Follow his Twitter account for excellent insight and research into education and scholarship.

On Facebook: Christopher Long
@UvAMOOC

The University of Amsterdam has a MOOC in Communication Science and actively promotes it through their Twitter account. They also post interesting material about MOOCs in general, including how to stay motivated, importance of discussion, finding a job, what success means, and more.

On Facebook: University of Amsterdam MOOC
@ensembleVideo

Ensemble Video is an online video platform for education, businesses, and libraries to deliver content to any online devices. Encouraging users across platforms and uses, their Twitter shares stories of those places that have used this technology to share data and learning.

On Facebook: Ensemble Video
@MOOCNewsReviews

MOOC News and Reviews is the ultimate in thoughtful critiques of MOOC courses and programs. As the MOOC landscape changes, this group continues its discussion of this online learning forum.

On Facebook: MOOC News And Reviews
@Prezage

Based in Sydney, Australia, Prezage is a software platform based on the internet that helps produce and deliver eLearning content to the masses. They focus on quality audio and video content and their tweets are offer great information and insight on the topic of MOOCs.
@WEU4FREE

The World Education University is based in Palm Springs, California and they work to enable everyone to have the ability to attend school and succeed in this difficult economy. The resources available on the site show an impressive range of how they’re building the next step in education.

On Facebook: WEU
@CourseTalk

Looking for upcoming MOOCs from the leading providers, reviewed by past students? Course talk provides hundreds of reviews for hundreds of classes, listing pros and cons and detailed information about each course – a great resource for students who are looking for the best way to start their MOOC education.

On Facebook: Coursetalk
@Knollop

Knollop is a portal to discover, review, and enroll in online learning materials from coursera, Edx, Udacity, Udemy, as well as top universities. Their Twitter feed is full of new course offerings being offered at these sources, new studies about online education, and other education related news.

On Facebook: Knollop
@MOOCCampus

MOOC Campus is the first physical campus for DIY students who are taking their own path through college – taking open online courses and distance learning courses. This community offers a real boost of support to self-directed learners.

On Facebook: MOOC Campus
@EdusonTV

Eduson offers MBA education to students worldwide. Their posts share tips for entrepreneurship, business, and organization.
@Instreamia

Instreamia teaches different languages from around the world through popular videos online. Their tweets all touch on a variety of teaching tools.

On Facebook: Instreamia
@MOOCScom

MOOCS is a blog focused on massively open online courses and the site’s content showcases some of the most impressive resources available today, along with impressive commentary.
@Mindboot

Mindboot is a search tool that allows individuals to find MOOCs from around the country and online courses from learning institutions globally.

On Facebook: Mindboot
@MOOC_Research

With the area of MOOCs still so relatively new, the research is growing and hugely important. MOOC research is one person’s dynamic and in depth exploration of this area of education with a Twitter account that follows newsworthy trends in this industry.

On Facebook: Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) Research
@coursera

Coursera is a popular and easy to use online course program – 3 million users log on to watch video lectures, take quizzes, complete assessments, and interact with new classmates and teachers. Through social media they share relevant MOOC and online learning news, innovations, and updates and information for their own course site.

On Facebook: Coursera
Udutu

Udutu is a straightforward way for authoring courses and it allows trainers to make very customizable course material for students.

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OCW & eLearning

Open Courseware is often provided by major universities, but there are many eLearning resources that are not directly involved with an institute of higher education as well. The full spectrum of OCW and eLearning enthusiasts can be found on Twitter.

@ALISONcourses

Alison offers hundreds of interaction and online learning courses and certificates for free. Their Twitter account serves two purposes – to help users with questions, as well as to share new courses available and education news.

On Facebook: Alison
@MITOCW

MIT OpenCourseWare is one of the most renowned eLearning sources with an extensive amount of content that is generally regarded as some of the most elite in the United States and even world.

On Facebook: MIT Open CourseWare
@courosa

Open Thinking is a blog run by Alex Couros, a professor of edtech at the University of Regina in Canada. His blog displays his impressive tact to present issues that often affect the education industry overall.

On Facebook: Open Thinking
@learningcouncil

Based in Austin, Texas, E-Learning Council is a community that works to culminate an environment that is more conducive to collaboration. Their Twitter account regularly posts interesting articles and tips for bettering education.

On Facebook: E-Learning Council
@udemy

Udemy houses a large collection of free and low cost classes from MOOC organizations and elearning universities all over the country. Any new classes are listed on their Twitter daily.
@WISE_Tweets

The WISE organization is all about understanding and overcoming the challenges in education. Focusing on the current innovations and other possibilities in education, their Twitter shares global education news and tips for effective learning and for teaching.

On Facebook: wise-qatar
@moodle

Moodle is the world’s leading open source learning platform. Educators use this learning management tool to create classes and serve students. Their Twitter account is for interacting with students and sharing elearning news.

On Facebook: Moodle MOOCs
@MarkElgart

Mark Elgart’s Twitter account is dense with introspective material that often highlights interesting developments educationally. He’s the President and CEO of AdvancED, an educational community that works ardently to improve accreditation standards.

On Facebook: AdvancED
@davecormier

Dave Cormier is an education blogger and open education enthusiast. His Twitter feed is full of conversations about open education, online learning, and other academic pursuits.
@academicearth

Academic Earth encourages students and ardent learners to rethink the way they view education and engage in alternative methods for growing increased skill sets. They have great videos that are both educational and attention-grabbing.

On Facebook: Academic Earth
@hopkinsdavid

David Hopkins is interested in all things cutting edge and all things education. He is a writer and researcher and spends his time focused on things like eLearning, digital literacy, social media, eBooks and more – anyone interested in MOOCs or open course learning might benefit from his insight, as he has spent so much time researching these and the surround areas of education.

On Facebook: David Hopkins
@Curriki

Curriki works primarily as a digital curriculum group, offering quality education materials for teachers and students. Their resources are available to users in countries all over the world and their customizable curriculum is free.

On Facebook: Curriki
@FutureLearn

Future Learn offers free sources from the best institutions in the United Kingdom and other universities internationally. Launching in mid-September, they have been able to hit the ground running and learn from many mistakes of other MOOC aggregators.
@VeducaBrasil

Veduca is Brazilian course aggregate that pulls MOOCs from some of the top institutions in the United States, including Harvard, Yale, MIT, Columbia, Stanford, and more.

On Facebook: veduca
@OCWNews

OCW Consortium is an organization the pulls the abilities of many different universities together to make more advancements in Open Education Resources.

On Facebook: OCW Consortium
@skilledup

SkilledUP works to prepare individuals for advancement within their careers by providing online courses and training in which to learn new skills and have an edge on the competition.

On Facebook: SkilledUP
@elearningeuropa

With tips on learning apps, information about education conferences and seminars, and other educational tools, eLearingeuropa gives its users real information about innovative tools being used in education today. With a focus on eLearning and MOOCs, they are dedicated to bringing education to the masses.
@profology

Profology is a community designed for educational professionals at a collegiate level and provides a place for educators to discuss issues they’re having within their job.

On Facebook: Profology
@SHIFTelearning

SHIFTelearning is an integral part to the process of developing courses online and even allows for a free trial to see if the software is something that works for your specific needs.

On Facebook: SHIFTelearning
@studysync

StudySync is an education tool developed for students to encourage deeper engagement with writing, reading, and critical thinking. Their Twitter account shares accounts of the success of StudySync, as well as other technological breakthroughs in education.

On Facebook: StudySync
@OpusLearning

Opus Learning is a distance learning center for people wanting to study business, management, and leadership. Based in the UK, they promote a fully accessible and flexible education that includes tutor support, student interaction, individual choices, and is steeped in technology.

On Facebook: Opus learning
@TextandAcademic

Text and Academic Authors shares all the important information that academic, scholarly, and other writers need to know about getting published. Because of the many professors who are also writers, the organization lists lots of opportunities for academic writing as well as current academic news, including MOOC news.

On Facebook: Text&AcademicAuthors
@DegreeofFree

Degree of Freedom follows one man’s journey to earn the equivalent of a BA through free online classes, primarily MOOCs. His Twitter links to his blog, which chronicles each class experience.

On Facebook: Degree of Freedom
@FusionUni

Fusion Universal is built on combining knowledge, community, and culture. They believe in building leaders through learning and education and know that elearning is crucial component to continued learning and skill development.

On Facebook: Fusion Universal
@willtowncom

WilliamsTown Communication is made up of a team of educational experts who focus on elearning and online course learning. They share educational research news, new educational technology possibilities, and elearning information.
@cmuoli

Carnegie Mellon University- Open Learning Initiative uses the tools the school has available to change higher education and reform how we view learning. The tweets provide great supplementary information related to the community.

On Facebook: Carnegie Mellon University-Open Learning Initiative

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Open Education Resources

Some education providers are gung ho about offering fully open, free, unrestricted access to educational materials. Even organizations that offer paid subscriptions to educational materials often offer some content for free.

@khanacademy

Khan Academy is dedicated to making quality education available for free and to everyone. Their twitter posts links to lectures, documentaries, and other educational materials.

On Facebook: Khan Academy
@openculture

Open Culture posts, through their website and their Twitter account, free courses, movies, audio books, and eBooks to be used as educational media in coursework. Their daily posts are also often historic facts that can lead to self-directed learning.

On Facebook: Open Culture
@Codecademy

Code Academy is for people who want to learn to code – start learning PHP, JavaScript, Ruby, or other relevant, web building languages right away and for free! Their Twitter shares answers to code challenges and any user questions.

On Facebook: Codeacademy
@skillshare

Skillshare is a global community for coming together and developing skills that prove useful in real-world situations. Their Twitter account highlights great articles and insight onto some of the most prevalent issues and questions in the field.
@rkiker

Rich Kiker is an elearning expert – he is a director of online learning, elearning architect, and top rated Google trainer. His Twitter feed is full of education stories, resources, and reviews of education programs and elearning techniques.
@HarvardEXT

Harvard has been a leader in offering open courses and part-time degrees and certificates to the public for years. Their Twitter shares new course info, open course benefits, and other online course resources with their 9000 followers.

On Facebook: Harvard Open Courses
@TheConsultantsE

Two consultants out of Barcelona share their tips for elearning and stories about teacher tech training. They also share dozens of resources for education technology, online courses, and elearning.

On Facebook: The Consultants-E
@opencontent

David Wiley is a professor at Brigham Young University and works to develop more efficient methods for getting open content to the masses.

On Facebook: David Wiley
@p2pu

P2PU is an abbreviation for Peer to Peer University, an idea in which a university exists on the internet as part of an open-sourced community. They have a ton of great tools for assisting students today.

On Facebook: P2PU
@openstudy

OpenStudy, partnered with several long standing universities, offers online study certificates in things like solar cells, applied multimedia, and many others. Their social media reaches out to new students by sharing available courses and other educational news.

On Facebook: Open Study
@coursesites

CourseSites by Blackboard is a great tool for teachers and professors to manage different web-based courses they are teaching. It’s a great way to implement educational initiatives online.

On Facebook: CourseSites
@open_michigan

Open.Michigan is an initiative of the University of Michigan that helps faculty members, along with students and others, share educational resources and research with an entire community of learners across the world.

On Facebook: Open.Michigan
@openlrning

Open Learning posts about education – how to make it easier, how to use digital tools for learning, and ways to make it fun. They believe that open access to information and education is crucial to success.
@skillacademy

Skillacademy introduces students to over 10,000 free classes by compiling free class information from iTunes U, edX, Code Academy and more. With posts about the potential future of MOOCs, online education, and other tech trends, their Twitter is a collective of discovery and technology in education.

On Facebook: Skillacademy
@oerafrica

OER Africa confronts some of the biggest problems Africans have today, namely accessibility to the same educational opportunities as other parts of the world. Through the implementation of MOOCs and open coursework, OER Africa has been taking advantage of equipping many individuals for success.

On Facebook: OER Africa
@PulseLearning

Pulse Learning helps businesses implement fantastic eLearning solutions that better allow employees to get the skills to move up within their company and succeed.

On Facebook: Pulse Learning
@EvoLLLution

EvoLLLution works extensively to promote lifelong learning initiatives and through their Twitter account, they’re able to stream a wide amount of content to users.

On Facebook: EvoLLLution
@blendedschools

Blended Schools is an organization that provides K-12 curriculum, learning technologies, and professional development for teachers. These empowering tools, as well as a Twitter account that shares other classroom revolutions and technologies, are there for teachers to encourage real learning and success in their classrooms.
@MyEduPath

MyEducationPath works to help students find the MOOC classes that are right for them based on their long term education and career goals. The MyEduPath Twitter shares news from their MOOC provider partners and more on how to reach your educational goals.

On Facebook: My Education Path
@uneOpen

uneOpen is based in Australia, but offers classes online that are available to students around the world. It’s the first institution of its kind in Australia and has grown immensely in popularity.

On Facebook: une open
@Jisc

Jisc is a charity emphasizing the spreading of digital technologies across the United Kingdom for the sake of education. Their Twitter makes a great outlet for more information related to digital content and its place in an educational setting.

On Facebook: Jisc
@canvasnet

Canvas Network is an index of open online courses from Ivy League schools to Community Colleges. Their Twitter account is full of current class announcements, mobile resource updates, and fantastic links on leadership and skill updates.

On Facebook: Canvas Network
@CarolJCarter

Carol Carter runs an incredibly informative Twitter account that focuses on equipping students with all the knowledge to ensure success in the classroom and stay focused.

On Facebook: Carol Carter
@UoPeople

University of the People is a tuition free online university that is helping people all over the world earn their degrees. Their Twitter works to spread the message of free, accessible education and share the stories of lives being changed.

On Facebook: University of the People
@saylordotorg

Saylor Foundation is a website that provides over 270 courses online for free. They’re a non-profit and have an explicit intention to provide the most educational opportunities to students in the 21st century.

On Facebook: Saylor.org
@Open2Study

Open2Study offers quality education to anyone. Their classes can help enrich a student’s personal, professional, or academic lives, and the Open2Study Twitter shares the stories of students and answers educational questions.

On Facebook: Open2Study
@edmentum

edmentum helps educators and educational faculty to develop more efficient models for teaching students, allowing for more customizable programs.

On Facebook: edmentum
@LearningHouse

The Learning House, Inc helps universities and colleges create and implement the most effective, while still cost effective, ways to deliver degree programs online.

On Facebook: The Learning House, Inc.

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Related Subjects

The conversation about MOOCs, OCW, and open learning is a densely interconnected web of topics across many technological mediums. Twitter is a great place to get started, and for those who are looking for deeper involvement, there are plenty of opportunities.

@creativecommons

Creative Commons is a non-profit that works to propagate the resources available to students to increase the effectiveness of educational tools. Their Twitter account is an impressive extension of their website and is a great way to get better connected to a vast educational community.

On Facebook: Creative Commons
@iTunesU

iTunes U has quickly evolved into a leading source for educational material in contemporary society, often leading the way with educational podcasts, videos, and more. They have tapped into such a vast amount of universities to compile one of the most impressive sets of content available on the internet.
@Edudemic

Edudemic is made up of people, including educators and technologists, dedicated to bettering learning. By sharing learning trends, elearning and digital course information, and mobile learning, they are a foremost authority in online learning research with over 64,000 followers.

On Facebook: Edudemic
@Blackboard

Blackboard is a longstanding online learning course management tool that colleges have used for years. As an organization that has been in the field of education for a long time, they share the real news in the education industry.

On Facebook: Blackboard
@TechChange

TechChange is a great idea that helps promote social change through technology and provide teaching seminars for allowing other activists to contribute in a more effective manner.

On Facebook: TechChange
@OpenSesame

OpenSesame eLearning is a marketplace for finding, buying, and selling eLearning courses. Their tweets keep educators up to date on all the offerings available to effectively sell the courses.

On Facebook: OpenSesame eLearning
@leahmacvie

Leah MacVie is an instructional designer at Canisius College and an eLearning enthusiast. She is very active within the MOOC community and it’s definitely worth checking out her thoughts on contemporary learning methods.

On Facebook: Leah MacVie
@imaginek12

ImagineK12 is dedicated to transforming K-12 education with technology. Following education trends and innovations, ImagineK12 is right in the middle of an exciting education revolution.
@Melissa_Venable

Melissa Venable is an educational writer and online instructor whose content on Twitter is very informative for those unfamiliar edtech and MOOCs. She posts fascinating articles on relevant issues and engages in worthwhile discussions.

On Facebook: Melissa A. Venable
@WESPicks

World Education Services is researches on student mobility, international enrollment, and other trends in worldwide education. With a focus on the latest technology and turning online education into real world success, they share data and information that can help students, teachers, and other leaders in education.
@Raptivity

Raptivity was created with those in mind who design and develop online courses. Their useful tools help make content more engaging through helpful methods of increasing engagement and interactivity.

On Facebook: Raptivity
@eliademy

Eliademy is a way to create a classroom online for free – universities and other institutions can use their platform to host classes. Their social media outreach attempts to reach those who might have a use for their online classroom set up.

On Facebook: Eliademy
@TopFreeClasses

If you’re looking for a comprehensive directory of the top interactive courses from universities with their ratings and reviews, Top Free Classes is the answer. Their site breaks downs sites by top rated, new classes, and other features and helps students compare their options.

On Facebook: TopFreeClasses
@LearnMoodle

Learn Moodle is a MOOC that launched on September 1st and was immediately able to grab a foothold in the world of MOOCs. They are very active on Twitter, often discussing issues with other popular individuals in the community.

On Facebook: Learn Moodle

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